Residents' parking permits

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Proof of residence

To apply for a resident's parking permit, you must prove you live in the borough.

You need to provide copies of two proofs of your address.

We accept:

• Council Tax registration - we can check this for you so you don't have to send a document
• valid driving licence
• current council or housing trust rent statement
• valid home contents insurance policy
• benefits or pension statement for current financial year
• firearms certificate
• tenancy agreement (not handwritten and valid for the full life of the permit) or a letter from the Housing Allocation Service
• current bank, credit card or building society statement showing your address and dated within the past three months

If you are an accredited diplomat, you can use a letter from your embassy as one proof of residency.

If you are live-in staff, you can use a contract of employment as one proof of residency.

All documents must clearly show your name and your address in the Royal Borough.

New residents

Permits are currently processed electronically to create a virtual permit. Civil enforcement Officers can check if a vehicle has a valid permit.

If you are moving into the borough and don't have the required documents, we will issue a three-month permit if you provide:

• a solicitor’s letter of completion dated within the last three months
• or a tenancy agreement valid for at least six months

If you are the registered keeper of the vehicle, you must arrange to have the address on your vehicle registration certificate(V5C) changed to your new Royal Borough address. It is your responsibility to arrange this in time if you wish to apply for further permits.

Proof of ownership

To apply for a resident's parking permit, you must prove that you are the keeper or main user of the vehicle.

Your own vehicle

If you are the registered keeper of the vehicle, you must produce the vehicle registration certificate (DVLA form V5C). This shows your name and the address in Kensington and Chelsea.

If you have just bought the vehicle, we will accept copies of your insurance documents and either your new keeper supplement (V5C/2) or a sales invoice (from a garage or dealers). We can then issue you with a three-month permit.

Hire and lease vehicles

If you are hiring the vehicle, you must produce a copy of the contract hire agreement showing your name and the name of the lease-hire company.

Company/employer owned vehicles

If you have a vehicle which is owned by your employer, you will need to provide a letter dated within the past three months naming you as an employee who has exclusive use of the vehicle. The letter should be signed by the company secretary or someone with similar authority. We won't accept a letter signed by you.

You must also provide either a copy of the V5C Vehicle Registration Certificate or the lease/hire agreement.

If the company has just purchased the vehicle, you can provide a copy of the the sales invoice and the insurance cover note. We will then issue a three-month permit.

Vehicles that are registered abroad

By law, UK residents must tax and register their vehicles in the UK before they drive or park them on the public highway. If you are a visitor to the UK you may keep your  foreign registered vehicles here for up to six months.

As we do not issue permits to visitors, only to residents, we will not issue permits for foreign registered vehicles until they have been registered with the Driver and Vehicle Licensing Agency (DVLA). Registration takes approximately two to three weeks. For more information contact the DVLA office on 0870 850 0007.

International students

If you are an international student you are allowed to keep your vehicle in the UK during your studies without re-registering it.

We will issue a permit for the period of your studies. You must provide a document from your college confirming registration and course start and end dates every time you renew your permit.

Parking

Residents with foreign registered vehicles may park in the Town Hall Car Park at a reduced rate, subject to a minimum stay of one week. Visit Hornton Street Town Hall car park for more.

 

Proof you can drive

Information on how to prove that you can drive and details about EU and non-EU licences in order to apply for a resident's parking permit.

You must prove that you can drive in the UK.

GB licence holders

Full UK licence and Provisional UK licences accepted.

Important: Additional documentation is required if you are supplying a provisional licence – this licence must be covered with insurance and proof you are learning to drive such as proof of driving lessons or a valid theory test certificate or practical test within the past 12 months.

After 3 years, you must produce a valid theory test certificate to be eligible for a permit.

Important: You cannot apply for a permit for a vehicle owned by a company or employer with a provisional licence. 

Northern Ireland (NI)

Northern Ireland licences are valid in the UK until they expire, or they can be exchanged for Great Britain (GB) licences.

European Community/European Economic Area EC/EEA

A full, valid driving licence from an EC/EEA country allows you to drive in Great Britain (GB) until you are 70, or for three years after becoming a resident, whichever is the longer period.

If your driving licence has been previously exchanged from a non-EC/EEA country you can drive for up to 12 months from the time you first became resident. After this time, you must exchange your licence for a British one.

List of European Community/European Economic Area (EC/EEA) countries:

• Austria
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Czech Republic
• Republic of Cyprus
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Italy
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Netherlands
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Slovenia
• Slovakia
• Spain
• Sweden
• United Kingdom

Gibraltar, Jersey, Guernsey, Isle of Man or a Designated Country

A licence issued in Gibraltar, Guernsey, Jersey, Isle of Man or a Designated Country allows you to drive for up to 12 months from the day you became resident in Great Britain. After this time you must exchange your licence for a British one. You can exchange your licence within five years of becoming resident.

List of Designated Countries:

• Australia
• Barbados
• British Virgin Islands
• Canada
• Falkland Islands
• Faroe Islands
• Hong Kong
• Japan
• Monaco
• New Zealand
• Republic of Korea
• Singapore
• South Africa
• Switzerland
• Zimbabwe

Any other country

You can drive in Great Britain (GB) on your full, valid driving licence for up to 12 months from the time you first became resident. After this time, you will need to apply for a GB provisional driving licence and pass both a theory and a practical driving test to qualify for a GB driving licence.