Government audits have identified compliance concerns at almost half of the private parking companies assessed for their access to vehicle keeper data, according to analysis of Freedom of Information disclosures by the RAC.
The Government Internal Audit Agency reviewed 57 car park management companies during 2025/26. Of these, 23 received a ‘red’ rating, indicating significant weaknesses or serious compliance concerns, while five were rated ‘amber’, meaning improvements were required. The remaining 29 companies were rated ‘green’.
The figures mean that 28 of the 57 operators, or 49%, were rated red or amber. RAC head of policy Simon Williams described the proportion as 52% in a statement calling for the Government’s Private Parking Code of Practice to be introduced.
Checks on DVLA access
The ratings concern operators’ use of the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency’s Keeper at Date of Event service. Private parking companies can use the service to obtain registered keeper details when pursuing parking charge notices, paying £2.50 for each record requested.
Access is limited to companies belonging to either the British Parking Association or the International Parking Community. Audits examine whether operators have a lawful basis for accessing the information, use it only for authorised parking enforcement and restrict requests to legitimate activity.
Other areas assessed include data retention and disposal, information security, staff access controls, complaints handling and record-keeping. Auditors may also examine evidence supporting parking charges, automatic number plate recognition controls and the way data is handled by third parties such as debt recovery agents, contractors, councils, NHS trusts and universities.
The agency stresses that red, amber and green ratings reflect an organisation’s compliance with DVLA requirements at a particular point in time.
Repeated red ratings
The RAC’s review of audit results since 2015 found that some companies had received repeated red ratings. G24 Ltd was rated red in five of its six audits, including assessments in 2025, 2023, 2020, 2019 and 2018.
UK Car Park Management Ltd received four red ratings across audits in 2023, 2019 and twice in 2018. Vehicle Control Services Ltd was also rated red four times, in 2023, 2020, 2018 and 2017.
APCOA Parking (UK) Ltd received a red rating in each of its three audits, the latest in 2024/25 and earlier assessments in 2022 and 2020.
Code of practice
The findings come ahead of the planned introduction of the Government’s Private Parking Code of Practice, which is expected to come into force later this year. The proposed framework would require operators to meet specified standards to retain access to the DVLA database.
The code was legislated for in 2019 but withdrawn in 2022 after legal challenges from the private parking industry and debt recovery firms.
Williams said the audits showed why the code was needed.
“These government audits into the way private parking companies work with DVLA data are very revealing with more than half (52%) being identified as having practices which led to them being rated as ‘red’ or ‘amber’,” he said.
He added that companies would need to meet key operating standards to retain access to registered keeper information, without which they would be unable to issue parking charge notices using the DVLA database.
Separate RAC analysis found that private parking companies requested a record 17 million vehicle keeper records from the DVLA in the year to the end of March 2026.