POFA Deadline Calculator
Was your Notice to Keeper served in time? Enter two dates and find out. This applies the actual Schedule 4 rules - including deemed service and the 28-56 day window for windscreen tickets, which most online guides miss entirely.
Enter the parking date and at least one notice date to see your result.
The date printed on the notice, against the date you parked
Ignore the day it came through your door. Nobody can prove that, so the law treats a posted notice as delivered two working days after the date printed on it. It must be delivered within 14 days starting the day after you parked, so the printed date usually needs to be 12 days or fewer after you parked.
| Date printed on the notice | Result |
|---|---|
| 13 or more days after you parked | Late, whatever day it was issued |
| 12 days after | Late if issued on a Thursday, Friday or Saturday |
| 11 days after | Late if issued on a Thursday or Friday |
| 10 days or fewer | In time, unless a bank holiday fell in the next two working days |
This is the rule where nothing was left on your windscreen, which covers camera car parks and airport drop-off zones. After a windscreen ticket a different 28 to 56 day window applies. The calculator above checks both, weekday included.
How this calculation works
Posted on day 13, a notice is not given until the second working day after posting - day 15, and outside the window. This is where most operators fail.
A window, not a deadline. A notice given on day 20 is as defective as one given on day 60 - too early fails for the same reason too late does.
So you can check it, and so you can explain it to the operator in your own words if you would rather appeal yourself.
Step 1: which paragraph applies
If no ticket was placed on the vehicle, paragraph 9 of Schedule 4 applies and the Notice to Keeper must be given within 14 days beginning with the day after the parking event. If a ticket was placed on the vehicle, paragraph 8 applies instead, and the notice must be given between 28 and 56 days after it.
Step 2: when the notice counts as “given”
A notice sent by post is treated as given on the second working day after posting, not the day it was put in the postbox. This is where operators most often fail: posting on day 13 of a 14-day deadline produces deemed service on day 15 or later.
It also cuts the other way. The day the notice actually came through your door does not decide it, unless you can prove that date. The law presumes delivery two working days after posting, so a notice that arrives late can still be in time.
A worked example
You parked on Thursday 4th June 2026. Day 1 is Friday 5thJune, so the notice must be delivered by Thursday 18th June.
- Posted Tuesday 16th June: presumed delivered Thursday 18th June. In time, even if it reaches you on Saturday 20th June.
- Posted Wednesday 17th June: presumed delivered Friday 19th June. Late, even if it arrives the next morning.
- Posted Thursday 18th June: presumed delivered Monday 22nd June, because the weekend does not count. Late.
Step 3: counting the days
The 14-day and 28-56 day periods run in calendar days, weekends included. Only the two-day deemed-service step is counted in working days. This tool skips weekends in that step but does not know your bank holidays, so a result of exactly day 14 may in fact be late - a bank holiday in the gap pushes service past the deadline.
AppealPilot is not a law firm and this calculator is not legal advice. It is a guide to how the Schedule 4 time limits are generally applied.
Deadline calculator FAQ
From the posting date, not the day it came through your door. The notice must be delivered within 14 days beginning the day after you parked, and the law presumes a posted notice is delivered on the second working day after posting. So a notice posted on day 12 is usually in time even if it reaches you on day 16, while one posted on day 13 is late even if it arrives the next morning. Use the date printed on the notice.
The 14-day and 28-56 day periods are counted in calendar days, including weekends. The two-day deemed-service period is counted in working days, so weekends and bank holidays extend it. This calculator skips weekends but not bank holidays, which means a borderline result may actually be in your favour.
Enter the date it arrived instead, but treat the result with care. A notice usually arrives after the date the law presumes it was delivered, so an arrival date can make it look later than it legally was. It only overrides the presumed date if you can prove when it actually arrived, for example from a dated postmark on the envelope.
It means the operator cannot lawfully hold you liable as the registered keeper. They would have to identify and pursue the actual driver, which they are rarely able to do. The charge is not automatically void, so the argument still has to be put to the operator properly - that is the service we provide.
Related parking appeal guides
Timing is one requirement of many. Check whether your notice contains the prescribed wording Schedule 4 demands.
The full plain-English guide to Schedule 4: keeper liability, relevant land, and why operators lose on technicalities.
Calculator says your notice was late? This is how we turn that finding into a submitted appeal for £14.99.
We build the argument properly and submit it for you. £14.99 flat, money back if a covered appeal is unsuccessful.