Every rule I enforce, in plain English: the zones and their hours, the lines and kerb marks, the new pavement ban, what it costs to get it wrong — and the free windows most drivers never learn. One page, no jargon, current as of July 2026.
Nearly every street inside the bypass sits in a numbered zone, signed at the entrance to the street. The zone decides your hours and price:
| Zones | Where | Charged hours | Price |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1–4 (central) | West End, New Town, St James, Royal Mile, Old Town & Grassmarket | Mon–Sat 8:30am–6:30pm + Sun 12:30–6:30pm | £6.80–£9.00/hr, max stays apply |
| 5–8 (inner) | Stockbridge, Broughton, Southside, Tollcross | Mon–Fri 8:30am–5:30pm only | ~£4.60/hr |
| N & S zones | Leith to Gorgie, Marchmont to Comely Bank | Mon–Fri 8:30am–5:30pm only | ~£4.20/hr |
| Outside the CPZ | Outer suburbs | No controls — free 24/7 | Free (watch for yellow lines) |
The free windows that follow from this: everywhere outside the centre is free from 5:30pm on weekdays and all weekend. The centre itself is free after 6:30pm Mon–Sat and before 12:30pm on Sundays. One first-hand warning on those Sunday mornings: they are limited enforcement, not zero enforcement — the pay-and-display machines are off, but we still patrol for yellow-line, loading-ban and blue-badge contraventions, exactly as we do in the early weekday window. Free to park in a bay is not free-for-all. Full detail in the free parking guide, or check your exact street.
Double yellow lines mean no parking at any time — no sign needed, no exceptions for hazard lights or “just two minutes”. Single yellow lines apply only during the hours on the nearby plate (or the zone entry sign); outside those hours they are legal to park on. Yellow blips painted on the kerb are a loading ban — one blip bans loading during signed hours, two blips ban it at all times, and they catch out more drivers than any other marking because people never look down. The full picture, with photos of the real signs, is in my yellow lines guide.
Since January 2024, parking on pavements, across dropped kerbs, or double parked is banned everywhere in Edinburgh — not just in the zones, and the council chose no exemptions. This is the rule most locals still have not caught up with: your street may have allowed two wheels on the kerb for twenty years, and it is a £100 ticket today. Enforcement is complaint-driven as well as patrol-driven, so a neighbour’s report is all it takes.
A permit holders bay is exactly that during its hours — no grace period for visitors. A loading bay requires actual, visible loading; sitting in one without goods moving is a code 25 ticket, a different offence from ignoring a loading ban. Blue Badge bays, car club bays and EV charging bays are enforced around the clock in most cases. And in central pay-and-display bays, max stay means max stay — buying a second session does not reset the clock, and we do check.
Pay at the machine, or by phone/RingGo quoting the location code on the sign — the app is worth having since it can top up a session remotely. Residents and businesses park by permit in their own zone; the detail lives in the zones guide. Separate from parking entirely: the city centre is a Low Emission Zone, so an older vehicle can collect a £60 LEZ penalty even while parked completely legally — check your vehicle before driving in. Bus lanes and bus gates are camera-enforced at £100/£50, same as parking.
A Penalty Charge Notice: £100, cut to £50 if you deal with it inside 14 days, climbing to £150 and then sheriff officers if you ignore it. What the code on your ticket means is decoded here, and the full pay-or-appeal walkthrough — deadlines, the council portal, the appeals that actually win — is in Got a ticket? Start here.
Already holding a ticket and not sure it’s fair? Send it to me. I review every submission personally — photos, signage, the lot — and give you a straight verdict: pay it, or fight it on these exact grounds. The verdict is free.
Send me your ticket →Almost every ticket I issue comes down to one of three misreadings: assuming the weekend rules apply in the centre, missing the kerb blips, or trusting twenty years of habit against a rule that changed. Read the sign at the entrance to the street, check the kerb, and when in doubt, ask the tool that knows. The rules are not designed to catch you — but they do not forgive guesswork either.
Edinburgh Parking Guide · Written first-hand by an experienced enforcement officer in Edinburgh
Zones, hours and permits can change — always check the sign on the street. Back to the full guide