Your car was clamped. Now what?

If the problem is payment, the operator must wait at least 10 minutes before clamping or moving your vehicle:

• You didn't pay at all: 10 minutes after the breach is detected.
• You paid, but your time ran out: 10 minutes after your paid time expired. If your ticket ran out at 2:00pm, the earliest lawful clamp is 2:10pm.

For any other breach — such as parking in a reserved space, or somewhere parking isn't allowed — the clamp can go on as soon as the breach is detected.

If the only problem is that you didn't pay, your vehicle can't be relocated until 24 hours after the breach was detected, apart from a few exceptions (for example, if the Gardaí ask for it to be moved).

In a private car park, the law caps what you can be charged. These amounts include all taxes and charges:

• €125 — clamped
• €50 — relocated within the car park
• €150 — relocated and clamped
• €150, plus €50 for each further day or part of a day — relocated to a pound

No premium or extra fee of any kind can be added. The operator must let you pay straight away, at any time, by at least two methods (such as card and cash), and can't charge extra for the way you pay.

Charging more than these maximums is a criminal offence, with a fine of up to €4,000. So is putting up a sign that shows a higher fee.

Once you've paid the release fee, the operator must remove the clamp as soon as practicable, and no later than 2 hours after payment.

If your vehicle was moved somewhere you can't get to it, it must be released within 1 hour of payment. If it's in a pound, you can only collect it during the pound's opening hours.

If they miss these deadlines, the charge must be refunded in full, and the clamp must still be removed. A late release is also grounds for a formal complaint to the National Transport Authority (NTA).

If someone parked your vehicle while using it without your permission, and you can show this, the operator must waive the charge.

A car park where clamping is in operation must have clamping information signs at every vehicle entrance and, in car parks open to the public, at every signed pedestrian exit. There must also be enough signs throughout to give reasonable notice that clamping is in operation.

Each sign must show the official clamping symbol and state:

• that clamping is in operation
• the name and contact details of the clamping operator
• a summary of the parking restrictions
• the clamp release charge and the relocation charge, plus any extra charges for relocated vehicles

Entrance signs must be at least 0.25 m² and readable from the driver's seat as you enter. Other signs must be at least 0.16 m². Wording must be in plain language.

Missing, obscured, incomplete or non-compliant signage is a legitimate ground for appeal.

When a clamp is fixed to your vehicle, the operator must also attach a clamping notice. It must state:

• The reason for clamping
• The date and time the parking breach was detected
• The date and time the clamp was fixed
• The release charge and the steps to get the clamp removed
• Details of how to appeal

The official form also includes a notice number and the staff number of the person who fixed the clamp. The notice must be fully legible, waterproof, and on a single sheet.

The times on the notice help you check the grace period. If you didn't pay at all, compare the detection and clamping times. If your paid time ran out, compare the clamping time with the expiry time on your ticket or app.

You can appeal any clamping or relocation, and appealing is free. You appeal after paying the release fee; if you win, the charges are refunded. There are two stages:

• Stage 1: appeal in writing or by email to the parking controller (the company responsible for the clamping) within 60 days of the clamping or relocation. They must give you their decision in writing within 21 days.
• Stage 2: if you're not satisfied, appeal to the NTA's independent Clamping Appeals Officer within 30 days of receiving the Stage 1 decision, called the Letter of Determination. Include a copy of it.

You can only go to Stage 2 after Stage 1 is finished. The appeals officer can ask either side for more information, and you have 10 calendar days to respond. In 2025, the NTA received 4,501 second-stage appeals.

Separate from an appeal, you can make a formal complaint to the NTA about:

• A parking controller not properly carrying out their responsibilities — for example, not removing a clamp within 2 hours of payment
• The conduct, behaviour or identification of clamping operators
• Unnecessary delays in responding to complaints or other communication
• The identification of clamping vehicles

Complain by email to clampingregulation@nationaltransport.ie or through the NTA's online complaint form. In 2023, the NTA received 144 complaints and upheld 28% of those it investigated.

Some vehicles are exempt from clamping by law: ambulances, fire brigade vehicles, Garda and Defence Forces vehicles in the course of duty, and safety camera vans operating at a Garda-approved location.

In statutory clamping places — such as public streets, airports, train stations and harbours — a vehicle displaying a valid disabled person's parking permit cannot be clamped, unless the operator has reasonable grounds to believe it isn't parked for the permit holder's convenience.

The NTA's Code of Practice also says that, because people with disabilities may need extra time to comply with parking rules, any decision to clamp must take this into account.