Parking fine appeal deadline
Three weeks is the main rule — but there are several deadlines you should know, and they work differently for a control sanction and a parking fee.
The deadline to appeal a parking fine is, as a main rule, three weeks, regardless of fine type. But what the deadline runs from, and what happens if you miss it, differs in the two systems.
Control sanction: three weeks to the operator
For a control sanction you must appeal to the parking operator within three weeks after the sanction was issued (Parking Regulations § 44). The appeal must be in writing. The operator must give you a preliminary reply within three weeks and a final reply within eight weeks.
On to the board: two deadlines to keep track of
If you are refused, you can bring the case before the Parking Complaints Board. Here two deadlines work together:
- Within one year after you appealed to the operator, the case can be brought before the board (Parking Regulations § 45). This is the outer deadline for having the case heard at all.
- Within three weeks of the refusal you should send the case on to the board if you want to avoid paying while it is being handled. If you bring the case in within this deadline — or if the operator does not reply in time — a disputed claim cannot be sent to debt collection before the case is finally decided.
Parking fee: three weeks to the issuer
For a parking fee from the municipality or the police, you appeal to the issuer within three weeks. The Parking Complaints Board does not handle such fees; the next step is to require the case to be brought before the district court. The fee itself must normally be paid even if you appeal — if you are upheld, it is refunded.
When is the deadline met?
The deadline is calculated under sections 29 and 30 of the Public Administration Act, cf. section 44, third paragraph, of the Parking Regulations. Under section 30 it is enough that the appeal was handed to the postal service before the deadline expired — it need not have reached the operator by then. If it never arrives, however, you must send it again within one week of learning that, or of when you ought to have realised it.
What if you miss the deadline?
A late appeal can be rejected. The operator or issuer may still choose to handle it, but they are not obliged to, and you lose the strong protection against enforcement while the case is ongoing. So appeal as soon as you discover the fine — and always in writing, so you can document that the deadline was met.
In short: three weeks is the starting point in both systems. For a control sanction: appeal to the operator, and send it on to the board within three weeks of a refusal to avoid paying in the meantime. For a fee: appeal to the issuer, then the district court.