The Northern Ireland areas where most parking fines have been issued

The areas of Northern Ireland where the most parking fines were issued and successfully appealed in the last quarter of 2024 have been revealed.

Parking tickets, or Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) are on the rise, with on-street parking, bus lane contraventions, and three park and ride sites showing a steady increase, with millions of pounds charged each month.

For October 2024, parking charges reached a total of £4.90 million across Northern Ireland, rising to £5.69 million in November, £6.27 million in December and increasing further in January to £6.99 million.

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The most gathered in the last two years was in March 2024 with a total of £7.42 million – bringing the total amount of PCN revenue from April 2023 to January 2025 to £85.35 million. This is a year-on-year increase

Traffic attendants issue Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) to illegally parked vehicles, a penalty charge is not a fine, it's a civil charge owed to a civil authority, that is the Department for Infrastructure (DfI).

In terms of areas where the highest number of PCNs issued for on street parking offences have been issued in Northern Ireland, Belfast comes out on top with 5,385 in October 2024, 5,101 in November and 4,310 in December. Derry was in second place with 1,065 issued in October, 953 in November, and 873 in December.

Between April 1, 2023, and January 31, 2025, 7,455 parking fines were successfully appealed for on-street. Per council area in this time period, the most parking fines successfully appealed were in the Belfast City Council area with 3,809, followed by Newry and Mourne with 763, and Lisburn and Castlereagh with 555.

For the off-street appeals the number of successful appeals between 1 April 2023 and 1 April 2024 showed Fermanagh and Omagh had the most with 1,455, followed by Derry and Strabane with 1,149.

The full appeal details per council area:

Drivers can’t make an online challenge until the PCN information has been uploaded, however it’s normally live on the same day the PCN has been issued. If it isn't, drivers can contact the Parking Enforcement Processing Unit.

Popular reasons why people in NI get parking tickets:

Commenting on the figures, Ian Wilson, Managing Director at CompareNI.com, said: “Parking charges are another expensive issue for drivers in Northern Ireland, and for the most part, are avoidable. The fact that the PCN revenue from April 2023 to January 2025 is a staggering £85 million means this growing issue isn’t going away.

“It’s sensible for drivers to recap parking laws and even check the restrictions for each area online on their phone as it isn’t always obvious what the restrictions are in certain locations. Motoring has never been so expensive and with the fluctuating costs of fuel, tax and insurance, additional charges are the last thing drivers here need.”

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