Private Parking Firms Made 16.9m DVLA Requests in One Year

Private Parking Warning as DVLA Requests Rise to 16.9 Million

Private Parking Firms Made 16.9 Million DVLA Requests as Private Parking Charges Surge Private parking companies made almost 17 million requests for vehicle keeper details from the DVLA during 2025/26, according to newly published analysis of official data. The figure of 16,921,728 requests represents a 17.7% increase on the previous year's 14,381,119 enquiries, putting renewed attention on the scale of private parking enforcement across the UK. The figures cover requests made by private parking companies to identify the registered keeper of a vehicle following an incident on privately managed land. Importantly, a DVLA request is not the same thing as a parking charge being issued. It is a request for keeper information, meaning the numbers should be treated as an indication of enforcement activity rather than a precise count of Parking Charge Notices. Private parking is becoming a bigger issue for drivers Private car parks are now a familiar part of everyday journeys, covering locations such as supermarkets, retail parks, restaurants, gyms, hospitals and other privately managed sites. The Competition and Markets Authority said in July that private parking operators issued around 14.4 million parking tickets during 2024/25, more than double the number issued six years earlier. For drivers, the growing scale of private parking enforcement makes understanding the rules before leaving a vehicle increasingly important. A motorist might believe they are simply stopping for a short visit, only to discover that the car park has specific conditions covering payment, registration, maximum stay or customer parking. The CMA has highlighted complaints involving unclear signs, broken payment machines and faulty parking apps, as well as concerns about how some operators handle appeals and additional charges. The regulator has also opened an investigation into Euro Car Parks over practices at petrol stations and its appeals processes. The investigation is ongoing and the CMA has made no finding that the company has breached consumer protection law. That wider scrutiny means private parking is becoming an increasingly important issue for motorists, particularly as more journeys involve ANPR cameras and digitally managed car parks. The government has also acknowledged the rise in DVLA keeper requests. In a parliamentary answer published on 8 September 2026, the Government said DVLA data provides a proxy for the volume of private parking charges and shows a sustained increase over time. For drivers, one of the simplest ways to reduce the risk of an unexpected parking problem is to know the parking arrangements before leaving home. Checking whether a car park requires payment, registration, a particular app or a maximum stay can prevent an otherwise straightforward visit from turning into a parking dispute. And when a driver does encounter a problem, keeping evidence can be important. The CMA advises motorists to photograph faulty machines or other problems and retain receipts, payment confirmations and other records. There is also a practical lesson here for anyone regularly visiting busy shopping centres, retail parks, hospitals, leisure facilities or other private car parks: finding suitable parking is only part of the process — understanding the conditions matters too. Planning where to park before travelling can make that process easier. Instead of arriving at a busy destination and immediately searching for somewhere suitable, drivers can consider their parking options before they set off. That is where EveryonesParking can help. By helping drivers find parking options for their destination before a journey, the aim is to make parking more predictable and reduce the need for last-minute searching. With private parking enforcement now generating millions of DVLA keeper enquiries each year, taking a few minutes to understand where and how to park could save drivers considerably more time and hassle later.