POPLA stands for Parking on Private Land Appeals. It is the independent second-stage appeal for parking operators that are members of the British Parking Association. It is free to the motorist.

How long do I have to appeal to POPLA?

You have 28 days from the date of the operator’s rejection letter that contains the 10-digit POPLA verification code. The code cannot be used after that window.

Is a POPLA decision binding?

A POPLA decision is binding on the parking operator. It is not binding on the motorist. If POPLA refuses the appeal, the operator can still be challenged if it later issues a County Court claim.

14 October 2026

What is POPLA?

POPLA is Parking on Private Land Appeals. It is the independent service that reviews a private Parking Charge Notice after the parking company has already rejected your appeal. It is free. It applies when the operator is a member of the British Parking Association. Euro Car Parks, ParkingEye, NCP, APCOA, and Horizon are BPA members, so a rejection from those companies should include a POPLA verification code.

You cannot open a POPLA case on the day the notice arrives. POPLA is the second stage. The first stage is the appeal to the operator. If you skip that appeal, you do not get a code, and the reduced-rate window on the original notice can close while you wait.

POPLA or the IAS: which one is on your letter?

The trade-association logo on the notice decides the independent appeal.

BPA members use POPLA. The rejection letter contains a 10-digit verification code.
IPC members use the Independent Appeals Service. The process and the form are different. A POPLA code will not appear.

Check the back of the Parking Charge Notice and the rejection email. If you are unsure, the operator’s website names its association. Sending a POPLA-style argument to the wrong service wastes the deadline.

When you can submit a POPLA appeal

The operator must send the verification code with the rejection. You then have 28 days from the date of that rejection to submit the POPLA appeal. The code expires. POPLA does not extend it because the post was slow or because you were gathering photographs, so start the evidence file when you send the first appeal, not when the rejection arrives.

While the POPLA case is open, a BPA operator is expected to hold the charge. Debt collection should stop. Paying the charge after you have started a POPLA appeal can be treated as withdrawing it, so do not pay “to be safe” once the case is in.

What POPLA actually decides

A POPLA assessor looks at the case again. The operator has to provide its evidence: the signage plan, the photographs, the landowner authority, and the ANPR log if the charge is camera-based. You can comment on that evidence once it is filed. The assessor applies the BPA Code of Practice and ordinary contract rules. They are not a court, and they are not there to invent a ground you did not raise.

Appeals that succeed at this stage are usually specific. Examples that come up repeatedly:

The Notice to Keeper was given outside the Schedule 4 time limit, so the keeper is not liable. See what a Notice to Keeper is.
The signs were not capable of forming a contract: too small, too high, missing the charge, or contradicted by another board.
The ANPR stay includes the consideration period and the grace period, and the alleged overstay falls inside those windows.
Payment was made for the correct vehicle and the operator’s system failed to match it.
The operator has not shown authority from the landowner to issue charges on that site.

A short note that says “this is unfair” without dates, photographs, or a POFA point gives the assessor very little to allow.

Is the POPLA result final?

If POPLA allows the appeal, the operator must cancel the Parking Charge Notice. It should not reissue the same charge or pass it to a debt collector.

If POPLA refuses the appeal, the decision binds the operator in the sense that the independent stage is over. It does not bind you. You can still pay, or you can defend a County Court claim if one is issued later. POPLA is not a judgment and it does not put anything on your credit file. Credit-file risk is explained in does a parking charge notice affect your credit score.

How to use the operator appeal so POPLA is ready

Write the first appeal as if a stranger will read it in a month. Include the PCN number, the vehicle registration, whether you appeal as keeper or driver, the date of the event, and each ground in a separate paragraph. Attach the receipt, the machine photograph, or the pictures of the signs. The POPLA form will ask for the same material, and the operator’s evidence pack will be compared with it.

How to send that first appeal is covered in how to submit a parking appeal. The £3.99 letter is built for the operator stage, with a closing you can carry into POPLA if the rejection arrives.

Official resources

Start the operator appeal — £3.99 How to appeal a PCN