Reminder fees and debt collection on a parking fine
What it costs to leave the fine — and the important protection you have if you appealed in time.
An unpaid parking fine does not disappear; it grows with reminder fees and collection charges and can ultimately be enforced. How that happens depends on the fine type.
Unpaid control sanction
An unpaid control sanction is collected as an ordinary monetary claim (Parking Regulations § 37). It is not increased, but the operator can send a reminder and then hand the claim over to debt collection. Reminder fees and collection charges then accrue under the Debt Collection Act and the Debt Collection Regulations. These rates are set by regulation and adjusted regularly — check the current rate rather than relying on a specific amount. Liability is joint: the driver is pursued first, and after 30 days the claim can be directed at the registered owner.
The important protection: appeal in time
If you have appealed in time and brought the case on to the Parking Complaints Board within three weeks of the refusal, a disputed claim cannot be sent to debt collection before the case is finally decided (Parking Regulations § 44). The same applies if the operator does not reply in time. This is the best reason to appeal in writing and within the deadline — it stops enforcement while the case is ongoing.
Unpaid parking fee
A parking fee on a public road follows a stricter track: from 2026, late-payment interest runs from the due date, and the fee is secured by a lien on the vehicle. The details — and the important rule change that abolished the old 50% increase — are on the page about unpaid parking fines.
In short: if you leave a control sanction, it grows with reminder fees and collection charges even though the sanction itself is not increased. But if you appeal in time and bring the case to the board, the claim cannot be enforced before the case is decided. If you think the fine is wrong — appeal instead of leaving it.