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POFA 2012, Schedule 4 — Keeper Liability Conditions

By GetRighted Legal Research TeamLast updated July 2026

Summary

Protection of Freedoms Act 2012, Schedule 4 is the only legal mechanism by which a private parking operator can pursue the registered keeper of a vehicle rather than the driver. Paragraph 4(2) makes keeper liability conditional: it applies 'only if' conditions in paragraphs 5, 6, 11, and 12 are satisfied AND the vehicle was not stolen. Paragraph 3 restricts the regime to 'relevant land' — excluding public highways, traffic authority parking places, and land subject to statutory controls. Any single condition failure defeats keeper liability entirely. Success rate for POFA-based defenses is approximately 80%.

Operative Text

Schedule 4, Paragraph 3 — 'Relevant Land': means any land excluding a highway maintainable at public expense; a parking place provided or controlled by a traffic authority; any land where parking is subject to statutory control. Paragraph 4(1): 'The creditor may recover any unpaid parking charges from the keeper of the vehicle.' Paragraph 4(2): 'But this only applies if' conditions in paragraphs 5, 6, 11, and 12 are met, and the vehicle was not stolen. Paragraph 4(4): recovery rights commence after 28 days from the notice to keeper. Paragraph 4(5): maximum recovery is the amount specified in the notice to keeper.

What This Means for Your Ticket

If you were not the driver, the operator can only pursue you as registered keeper through this Schedule. The 'only if' language in Paragraph 4(2) is critical: every single condition in the listed paragraphs must be satisfied. Operators sometimes fail one or more conditions through procedural errors — late notices, missing mandatory information, or incorrect content. Any single failure means keeper liability does not transfer, and the operator has no claim against you.

Conditions That Must All Be Met

Check each against the notice you received:

  • ✓Para 5: if a Notice to Driver was given, it must have contained all required information
  • ✓Para 6: the creditor must have unpaid parking charges relating to the vehicle
  • ✓Para 9 or 8: a valid Notice to Keeper must have been served within the prescribed period (14 days for ANPR cases — see para 8-9 legislation page)
  • ✓Para 11: the keeper liability warning must have been given in the notice
  • ✓Para 12: if an 'approved operator' scheme applies, additional conditions

Impact on Appeal Outcomes

Approximately 80% success rate at POPLA where strict POFA non-compliance is evidenced. The 'only if' language means adjudicators take a strict approach — operators cannot cure defects retrospectively.

Sources

  1. Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 (c.9), Schedule 4
  2. https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2012/9/schedule/4

Frequently Asked Questions

Does POFA apply to council parking charges?
No. POFA Schedule 4 applies only to private parking operators on private land. Council parking charges are governed by the Traffic Management Act 2004 and associated regulations.
What is 'relevant land' and why does it matter?
Paragraph 3 limits POFA keeper liability to land that is not a public highway, not a traffic authority parking place, and not subject to statutory parking controls. If you were parked on a public road or in a local authority car park, POFA does not apply — the council's statutory enforcement regime applies instead.
I was the driver — do these conditions still protect me?
POFA Schedule 4 protects the registered keeper when the keeper and driver are different. If you were the driver, the claim is a direct contractual one against you as driver (not keeper), and the POFA conditions are not directly in play. Other defenses (signage, grace period) would be relevant.
Can the operator just re-serve a defective notice?
No — the conditions must be satisfied in the first instance within the prescribed time windows. A defective notice cannot be corrected by serving a new one after time has expired. The operator's only option would be to pursue the driver directly if they can identify them.

Related

  • pofa-non-compliance
  • late-notice
  • incorrect-vehicle-details

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