An information sign
Controlled parking zone entrance
A controlled parking zone (CPZ) entry sign tells you you're entering an area where parking is controlled, and sets the waiting restriction hours that apply to all the single yellow lines inside the zone.
01
What it means
Inside a CPZ, the single yellow lines don't each need their own time-plate - the hours on the zone entry sign cover the whole zone. During those hours you can only park in marked bays (often resident-permit or pay-and-display), not on the yellow lines. Outside those hours the yellow-line restriction lifts, but any bay rules and double yellows still apply.
Zones are used to stop commuters and shoppers filling residents' streets all day.
02
Where you'll see it
The boundary of residential parking zones, common across inner London and town centres.
03
On your driving test
Not something you're tested on directly, but reading zone signs is part of choosing a legal place to stop - the hours and bay types decide whether a spot is usable.
Fines and penalties
Parking on a yellow line in a CPZ during its hours, or in a permit bay without a permit, is a civil PCN: up to about £160 in London (band-dependent, halved if paid within 14 days), or £70/£50 outside London (halved to £35/£25). No licence points.
Often confused with
Quick answers
Do single yellow lines in a CPZ have their own time-plates?
No - that's the point of a zone. The hours on the CPZ entry sign apply to every single yellow line inside it, so individual lines aren't signed separately.
Can I park in a CPZ outside the controlled hours?
On the single yellow lines, usually yes once the zone's hours end - but double yellows still mean no waiting at any time, and marked bays keep their own rules.
Sign artwork is Crown copyright, reproduced under the Open Government Licence v3.0; meanings from the Highway Code (gov.uk).
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