Smolny to Allow Fixing Parking Payment Mistakes

The authorities of St. Petersburg have moved closer to changing parking payment rules. The prepared draft decree will allow errors in parking sessions to be corrected until the end of the day, which previously led to fines.

According to the draft, for payment via the internet or SMS, it will be possible to adjust the state registration number of the vehicle, the parking zone number, or the end time of the paid period. Changes are allowed only once per session.

Statistics show that in 2025, the majority of transactions (65.2%) were made through the mobile application «Parking St. Petersburg». The application «Parking Russia» was used by 25.6% of drivers, 7% paid for parking through chat-bots, bank terminals or parking meters, and 2.2% via SMS.

It is clarified that it is not possible to completely reset a session and create a new one. If the vehicle number or zone is changed, the time cannot be adjusted anymore, and vice versa. Also, edits cannot be made if the parking session was ended prematurely.

The Committee for Transport emphasizes that this is not the introduction of post-payment. The parking session must be started on time, but errors made can be corrected until midnight.

The innovation is particularly relevant for those who face a parking session gap — when a driver fails to extend payment and receives a fine of 3000 rubles (approximately $32 at current rates) for a short period of time.

The error correction function already operates in Moscow. Deputy Mayor of the capital Maxim Liksutov noted in an interview: «The application is not only fast and convenient but also, for example, allows post-factum — that is, after the parking session has ended — to make corrections if an inaccuracy was made. For instance, one can change the start or end time of parking or the vehicle number and parking zone number. Drivers can independently correct the error and avoid violations, which also positively affects the general attitude of motorists towards paid parking.»

In St. Petersburg, many use the Moscow application, which raised questions about the possibility of using it for both cities. The situation was worsened by failures and periodic mobile internet shutdowns due to electronic warfare.

In April 2025, Vice-Governor Kirill Polyakov explained that federal legislation does not allow correcting violations after they are recorded. St. Petersburg, unlike Moscow, does not have a special law, so the development of new software was required.

Back in October 2025, former Deputy Chairman of the Committee for Transport Mikhail Kazakov stated that adding such a function was not planned due to regulatory restrictions.

In November 2025, the transport commission of the Legislative Assembly considered a bill from the Yabloko party, proposing to extend the time for parking payment until midnight. The initiative was supported in spirit and sent for revision.

Head of the transport commission Alexey Tsivilev reported that the draft decree allowing the correction of parking session data has already been developed and is undergoing approval.

«The goal of the changes is to create convenient conditions for conscientious users. If a person is ready to pay for parking but did not manage to do so at the prescribed time due to technical failures or simple forgetfulness, they should not pay twice — both for parking and the fine,» noted the deputy. He added that at the federal level, a mechanism for post-payment is also being developed.

Society raises questions about why such measures were not adopted earlier, especially after the expansion of paid parking and tariff increases.