Your car can't be clamped on a private car park

On private land — at a shop, supermarket or private car park — your vehicle cannot be wheel-clamped or towed away. Since 2012 this is a criminal offence under section 54 of the Protection of Freedoms Act.

Clamping by a private firm is a crime

Section 54 makes it an offence to immobilise or restrict someone's vehicle without lawful authority, intending to stop the owner removing it. Crucially, the consent claimed on car-park signs is not lawful authority. A private operator cannot clamp your car even if a notice says 'offenders will be clamped'.

The exception is a fixed barrier that was already there when you parked (such as a gated yard). That is not clamping. Bodies with legal powers (police, local authorities) are separate and not caught by the ban.

So what is a private parking 'fine'

A private parking charge notice is not a state fine — it is a demand for payment under a contract for breaching the car park's terms. To recover it from the registered keeper when the driver is unknown, the operator must follow Schedule 4 of the same Act:

• if no notice was left on the car, serve a 'notice to keeper' within 14 days of the parking;
• obtain the keeper's details lawfully and meet the signage requirements;
• it cannot demand payment from the keeper until 28 days after that notice.

What to do

1. If your car is clamped on private land, that is usually an offence — call the police (101) and photograph the clamp and the signs.
2. If you get a private charge, do not blindly ignore it: check the signs and dates, and if you disagree appeal to the operator first, then to the independent appeals service.
3. Keep photos of the signs, ticket and any notice.

Do not confuse them

Penalties from local authorities on council roads and car parks are statutory and have their own appeal route — those cannot be ignored. This article is about private land.

Source: section 54 and Schedule 4 of the Protection of Freedoms Act 2012. Checked 25 October 2026.