Restrictions, permits and controlled zones

Controlled parking zones

In a controlled parking zone the restriction applies across the whole zone during the hours shown on the entry signs, and individual bays may not be separately marked. If you have driven past a zone entry sign, the zone rules apply until you leave it.

This catches out visitors constantly. If you are parking somewhere unfamiliar in a town or city, look for a zone entry sign as you arrive.

Bays that look available but are not

• Residents' permit bays, often enforced at specific hours only
• Loading bays, where waiting to load is allowed but parking is not
• Disabled bays, which require a valid Blue Badge correctly displayed
• Car club and electric-vehicle charging bays
• Suspended bays, usually flagged with a temporary sign on a pole or cone

Places you must not park even without markings

Some restrictions exist independently of any line or sign — across dropped kerbs, in front of an entrance, on a pedestrian crossing zig-zag, or anywhere the vehicle would obstruct traffic or sight lines. The Highway Code sets these out.