As at 25 September 2026

How does parking with licence plate recognition work?

When parking with licence plate recognition, the licence plate replaces the parking ticket and fob.

Drawing: a camera at the entrance captures a car's licence plate

Licence plate recognition, also known as ANPR (Automatic Number Plate Recognition), LPR (License Plate Recognition) or, in German, Nummernschilderkennung, is a camera technology that reads a vehicle's licence plate and converts it into text. In car parks, multi-storey car parks and underground car parks, one camera captures the licence plate together with the time at entry, and another at exit. These two timestamps create the parking session, to which the tariff and payment are applied.

For drivers, this changes one thing above all: they don't take a ticket and have nothing to keep. For you as the operator of the site, issuing tickets, cards or transponders is no longer needed. The process works without a barrier as Free Flow Parking, and equally with a barrier, which then opens automatically for authorised licence plates.

How does a parking session with licence plate recognition work?

The vehicle enters, the camera captures the licence plate, and the parking session starts. On exit, the camera at the exit reads it again, the session is closed and the amount due is fixed.

Whether the entrance stays open or a barrier opens is decided per entrance. Both can be combined on one area, provided the zone behind the barrier has its own entrance.

Entry: licence plate and time are recorded
Parking time runs in the background
Exit: the parking session is closed
Payment via app, QR code, online afterwards or at the pay station

What is free flow parking?

Free Flow Parking means parking without a barrier and without a ticket: the entrance stays open, the camera records the licence plate on entry and exit, and no one has to stop. There's no queue at the entrance and no equipment in the way.

Where access needs to be strictly limited, for example for quotas or staff spaces, the same licence plate recognition works together with a barrier. Which solution fits when is explained in the guide on car parks with and without a barrier.

How do drivers pay when parking with licence plate recognition?

Because the parking session is tied to the licence plate, no parking ticket is needed. Drivers pay by parking app, via a QR code on the sign or online afterwards. If a pay station is available on request, drivers enter their licence plate there and pay by card, contactless or Apple/Google Pay, and with the PARQ Automat A2 also with cash.

You decide which payment options apply on your area. All payments come together in the same parking system, so you see in the portal what has been paid and what is still open. Anyone who exits without paying can pay online for 48 hours afterwards. If no payment comes in by then, or if someone stays longer than permitted, the system records the violation and transmits it via interface to the service provider for violation processing.

What affects recognition?

Viewing angle and distance matter; light does not. A camera that looks straight at the entry or exit reads more reliably than one that looks in from the side. The cameras are designed for use by day, at night and in all weather and are connected by mobile network.

What data is generated when a licence plate is captured?

The licence plate is captured with a timestamp at entry and exit, which creates the parking session. No faces, no vehicle occupants, no continuous video recording. Transmission is encrypted, and data is stored only for as long as needed for billing and evidence.

In the PARQ system

More guides.

Car park with or without a barrier: what fits whenFree traffic flow or entry only for authorised vehicles. Both have their place, even on the same site.Setting car park tariffs and time windowsHow to structure prices for short-term and long-term parkers so that they fit the site and don't need constant adjustment in day-to-day operation.Managing your car park yourself: the stepsFrom the initial survey and the parking concept through to ongoing operation, without handing the site over to someone else.

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Questions on this topic

Yes. The entrance stays open and the parking session still runs: the camera captures the licence plate on entry and on exit. With a barrier it works in just the same way, except that the barrier also opens. You can also switch from barrier-free to a barrier later, without replacing the system.

None. ANPR stands for Automatic Number Plate Recognition, LPR for License Plate Recognition, and both refer to the same technology that is called Kennzeichenerkennung, Kennzeichenerfassung or Nummernschilderkennung in German. It always means a camera that reads the licence plate and passes it on as text, so the parking system can build the parking session from it.

Licence plates from other European countries are captured, which matters for hotels, leisure destinations and border regions. For further handling, the rules you define apply, for authorisations or outstanding receivables for example. The processing of violations abroad is clarified by your service provider.