Alberta Private Parking Enforcement Laws: Private Tickets, Towing, and Signs

Alberta has no provincial law on private parking tickets. Instead, the Traffic Safety Act lets cities pass bylaws against parking on private property without permission, and Calgary and Edmonton both do. In Calgary, a ticket for unauthorized parking on private property is $40 to $75 depending on how fast it is paid. Edmonton lets approved private agencies write City tickets on their own lots under Traffic Bylaw 5590, as long as the signs meet the City’s standard. A notice from a private parking company outside those programs is a civil claim, pursued through a licensed collection agency or the Alberta Court of Justice. We found no provincial rule on booting or on private towing fees.

Summary

In Alberta, city bylaws supply most of the rules. The province supplies the authority in section 14 of the Traffic Safety Act and a police power to remove cars from private property in section 77. Everything practical, from sign wording to who may write tickets, comes from the municipality. Here is the summary for the two largest cities.

Private parking notices and municipal tickets

Section 14 of the Traffic Safety Act lets a municipality pass bylaws governing parking without permission on private property that the public generally has access to, such as a shopping centre lot, and prohibiting it on private property the public does not, such as a condo garage. The same section covers issuing tickets and placing them on vehicles.

Edmonton uses that power in Traffic Bylaw 5590. Section 40 says a vehicle may not be parked on privately owned property with public access unless the owner or person in control has given permission, and applies only where the property is clearly identified as having parking restrictions. Under the bylaw, a car parked against the posted restrictions is presumed to be parked without permission, and any higher penalty for the specific violation still applies. Section 41 covers property without public access.

Edmonton’s Private Agency Parking Program lets property owners do the ticketing themselves. The City describes it as a free, volunteer program that authorizes agencies to issue City parking tickets on private property, with members including shopping centres, property management companies, hospitals, and condominiums. Under the program, each agency needs a parking administrator and at least one agency parking enforcement officer per site, with security clearances from the Edmonton Police Service. Owners prove ownership with a Land Titles certificate, or managers show a letter of authority from the owner. Officers may write tickets only on their agency’s property where proper signs are posted.

Calgary’s bylaws and fines page lists unauthorized parking on private property under Traffic Bylaw section 28(1): drivers need permission from the owner, tenant, occupant, or person in control, and where signs clearly indicate private property, a violator can be ticketed and towed. The page does not say who enforces on private lots.

A notice issued by a private parking company, outside these programs, is a civil demand under the lot’s posted terms. We explain that contract theory in can private companies issue parking tickets. It is not a City ticket.

What signs must say

Edmonton publishes the most specific standard in Alberta. Its private property sign guidelines, dated January 22, 2024, say:

• The sign must read “Private Property,” “Unauthorized Vehicles may be Tagged & Towed at Owner’s Expense,” and “Bylaw 5590.” It may also name the property, such as “ABC Condominium Parking Only.”
• Two signs go at every entrance, one on each side, parallel to the roadway. Extra signs inside the lot are not required, though signs for fire lanes or loading zones may help.
• Signs are about 60 cm by 60 cm, with the lower edge 2.15 m above the ground, in black on a white reflective background.
• No handmade or handwritten signs; the guidelines call for durable material with professional lettering.

The guidelines say Parking Enforcement Services will not enforce signs that name a specific towing company, list an outdated fine, or depart from the standard. They put the designated fine at $100 but recommend leaving the amount off the sign because it changes.

Calgary’s published guidance is shorter: the signs must clearly indicate the property is private. For private notices anywhere in the province, the sign also supplies the contract terms the notice relies on, which is why many operators list the terms, the charge, and how to pay. Our guide to parking lot signage for enforcement covers the wording.

Towing from private property

Section 77(1)(f) of the Traffic Safety Act lets a peace officer have a vehicle removed and stored when it is parked on private property without the owner’s consent. Section 76 bars abandoning a vehicle on private property without consent and treats a car left there for more than 72 consecutive hours without consent as abandoned. Section 14 lets municipalities make bylaws on removing vehicles parked in breach of their private property rules, subject to sections 77 to 79.

We did not find a provincial statute that sets notice steps, sign wording, or rates for tows ordered by a private property owner. Calgary and Edmonton both warn that unauthorized vehicles on posted private property can be towed, and Edmonton’s required sign wording includes the tow warning. Edmonton will not remove derelict, wrecked, or dismantled vehicles; it treats them as a nuisance for the property owner to address. City business licensing rules for tow companies, and each tow company’s own rates and release process, fill in the remaining details.

Booting

We found no Alberta statute and no Calgary or Edmonton bylaw that authorizes, licenses, or bans booting by private operators. We could not confirm any source of authority for private booting, and bylaws can change. How the law applies to a boot program at a particular lot is a question for a lawyer licensed in Alberta and for the city. For how boots and tows compare, see booting vs. towing.

Fees, caps, and driver remedies

Municipal tickets carry the amounts the bylaw sets. Calgary’s private property ticket is $40 if paid within 10 days, $50 between 10 and 30 days, and $75 after 30 days. Edmonton’s guidelines put the designated fine at $100. Drivers dispute those through the city’s ticket process, not with the property owner.

We found no provincial cap on private notices. An unpaid notice can be pursued as a civil claim in the Alberta Court of Justice, which hears claims up to $100,000. For third-party collection, Alberta requires a collection agency licence for anyone collecting debts in a name other than the original creditor’s, under the Collection and Debt Repayment Practices Regulation. By that description, the licence requirement is aimed at collecting in another’s name, not at a business collecting its own notices in its own name.

Municipal bylaws to check

• Edmonton Traffic Bylaw 5590, sections 40 and 41, the Private Agency Parking Program, and the 2024 sign guidelines.
• Calgary Traffic Bylaw section 28(1), and what Calgary Parking offers private lot owners.
• Each city’s rules on tow truck licensing and any private property towing provisions.
• Any bylaw that mentions vehicle immobilization.

Questions to raise with your attorney

Alberta leaves most details to city bylaws, so these are questions an operator may want to bring to a lawyer licensed in Alberta:

• In Edmonton, would our lots qualify for the Private Agency Parking Program, and what would our parking administrator and officers need under it?
• Do our Edmonton signs match the January 2024 guidelines’ wording, size, height, and placement, so Parking Enforcement Services will enforce them?
• In Calgary, do our signs clearly indicate private property under Traffic Bylaw section 28(1), and who enforces that section on our lots?
• How are our private notices labelled and worded so they are not mistaken for City tickets, and what evidence would support a claim in the Alberta Court of Justice?
• If we refer unpaid notices to a third party, does that party hold a collection agency licence under the Collection and Debt Repayment Practices Regulation?
• Does any provincial law or city bylaw address booting or owner-ordered towing at our lots?

Lotably works with operators in Alberta. Its enforcement tools attach photo evidence and let drivers pay or contest online. Booting and towing records start switched off in Lotably and are turned on when the operator asks. Lotably does not check whether booting or towing is allowed where an operator enforces; the operator is responsible for following the law and assumes all risk of using them. Canadian accounts are billed in CAD at the same plan prices, and online signup is not open in Quebec yet. For other provinces and states, see private parking enforcement laws by state.