Reporting an illegally parked vehicle

How to report a vehicle parked where it shouldn’t be.

If you see a vehicle parked where you think it shouldn’t be, you can report it to us.

Parking permit check

Before you report a vehicle, you can check if it has a valid parking permit.

We update the permit search at 8 am every day. Therefore, the results only include data from the previous 24 hours.

Information you need to provide

You will need to tell us the street name, the location (such as the number of a property the vehicle is parked outside of) and a description of the problem. Providing the vehicle's details will also help us.

Please provide your contact details so that we can reach you should we need further information.

What we can't take action on

Oxfordshire County Council can only enforce vehicles that are parked in breach of a parking restriction within Oxfordshire.

If you see a vehicle parked causing an obstruction but not parked in breach of a restriction, we will be unable to take any action and you will need to report this to Thames Valley Police on their non-emergency phone number, 101.

If we receive a report that we cannot act on, we will endeavour to forward this to the relevant persons.

Virtual permits

Warning

We only issue virtual permits. So permit holders are not required to display a paper permit.

Before you report a vehicle, you can check if it has a valid parking permit. We update the permit search daily at 8am. Therefore, the results only include permit data from the previous 24 hours.

Report an illegally parked vehicle

Alternatively, phone our parking contractor Trellint's control room at 0345 337 1138, option 3.

When a Penalty Charge Notice is issued

Oxfordshire County Council enforces parking in Oxford under the Traffic Management Act 2004. PCNs will be issued to vehicles observed parked in breach of a restriction. The types of illegal parking we enforce include vehicles parked:

on single/double yellow lines
in a permit bay without displaying a valid permit
in a pay and display bay without a valid ticket on display
in a disabled bay without displaying a blue badge
for longer than permitted
outside of the bay markings
in a suspended bay
in a place not designated for that class of vehicle
in a loading bay without loading
on a pedestrian crossing or zig-zags
in a cycle lane
on a bus stop/stand
on a clearway.

What happens when we receive your report

When we get your report, a Civil Enforcement Officer (CEO) will be dispatched to the area to assess the situation, and if a vehicle is observed parked in breach of a parking restriction, a PCN will be issued.

Our CEOs usually operate between the following hours:

Monday-Saturday 7am-11pm
Sundays 8am-10pm
Bank holidays 10am-7pm

However, we can enforce 24 hours per day if and when required.

An officer may only be available to attend to your request after a period of time as they may be patrolling different locations. Still, an officer will attend as soon as one becomes available.

Please note due to the volume of reports we receive; you will not be advised of the outcome of your report.

How to report an abandoned vehicle

If you believe a vehicle has been abandoned, please see our Abandoned vehicle page.