The short answer
Pay the Birmingham Airport drop-off charge (from £8) within 24 hours of exit: online at the airport's Post Pay service, reached from Birmingham Airport's own drop-off page, at the on-site payment machines before you leave, or automatically with an autopay account. Cameras record your number plate on entry; you can settle at the on-site machines or online afterwards. Miss the 24-hour window and a Parking Notice is issued — £100 within 28 days, reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days.
Charges and deadlines change without notice — reconfirm on the day.
Key facts: paying the Birmingham drop-off charge
- Charge
- Premium Set Down outside the terminal: £8 for up to 15 minutes; the separate Drop Off car park is free for 10 minutes
- If you stay longer
- £13 for 15–20 minutes, £19 for 20–25, £25 for 25–30, £31 for 30–35, £37 for 35–40, £43 for 40–45, £49 for 45–50, £55 for 50–55 and £61 for 55–60 minutes, then £8 for each extra 15 minutes
- Pay by
- Within 24 hours of exit
- Pay online
- the airport's Post Pay service, reached from Birmingham Airport's own drop-off page
- Pay by phone
- Not listed by the airport
- Pay at the airport
- Yes — on-site payment machines as well as online Post Pay
- Autopay / account
- Yes — set up an account with your vehicle and a card before your visit, and each visit is charged automatically, so there is no deadline to remember
- If you don't pay
- Miss the 24-hour window and a Parking Notice is issued — £100 within 28 days, reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days.
- Exemptions
- Blue Badge holders get 30 minutes free in Premium Set Down (validate at the customer service cabin); go over 30 minutes and the standard tariff applies to the whole stay. Premium Set Down can also be used to pick up disabled passengers.
- Verified
- 26 Oct 2026, against www.birminghamairport.co.uk
How to pay the Birmingham drop-off charge, step by step
- Drop off as normal. There is no barrier and no ticket at Birmingham's drop-off zone — ANPR cameras record your registration on entry.
- Pay within 24 hours of exit. Go to the airport's Post Pay service, reached from Birmingham Airport's own drop-off page, or use the on-site machines before you leave. You'll be asked for your vehicle registration so the system can match your visit, then pay.
- Keep the confirmation. Hold on to the payment reference or email until well after the deadline has passed, in case of a query or a notice sent in error.
- Regular user? Set up autopay. Birmingham offers an account that charges each visit automatically, with no deadline to remember — worth it if you make this run more than a couple of times a year.
When is the deadline to pay?
Pay within 24 hours of exit. The deadline runs from the visit, not from when you remember it, and because there's no barrier, nothing stops you driving off unpaid — that is exactly how people get caught. The habit that works: pay before you leave the airport, or as soon as you get home.
What happens if you don't pay?
Miss the 24-hour window and a Parking Notice is issued — £100 within 28 days, reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days. If a notice does arrive, pay it inside the 14-day window for the reduced amount; the notice itself sets out how to challenge it if you believe it was issued in error.
Can you pay at the airport?
Yes. Both the Premium Set Down and the Drop Off car park are barrierless: ANPR reads your plate, and unusually Birmingham still keeps on-site payment machines (card only) alongside online Post Pay. So Birmingham is the exception among post-pay airports: you can settle at a machine before you leave, or online within the deadline — either counts.
Is there an autopay or account option?
Yes. Set up an account with your vehicle and a card before your visit, and each visit is charged automatically, so the deadline stops mattering — the sensible default for anyone who does the Birmingham run regularly, including taxi and private-hire drivers.
Post Pay, the machines and AutoPay
Birmingham gives you 24 hours from leaving the car park, not until midnight. Pay online through Post Pay, at the machines on site (card only), or set up an AutoPay account in advance. AutoPay accepts Visa, Mastercard and Amex cards, Google Pay and Apple Pay. Post Pay covers Premium Set Down, the Drop Off car park and the Freeport car park.
Checking in with Twilight Check-In or dropping bags the day before? Customers who booked direct get the first 60 minutes free at Premium Set Down, then £8 for each 15 minutes; those who booked through a third party pay £8 for 60 minutes.
Forgot to pay? The Parking Charge Notice
An unpaid visit brings a Parking Charge Notice: £100 if paid within 28 days, reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days of issue. The airport says Birmingham Airport Limited and APCOA Parking enforce its parking restrictions; appeals go to APCOA Parking, PO Box 222, Lowton Way, Hellaby, Sheffield S98 1NX, or 0345 303 7397. We can't see, change or refund your payment.
Who doesn't have to pay?
Blue Badge holders get 30 minutes free in Premium Set Down (validate at the customer service cabin); go over 30 minutes and the standard tariff applies to the whole stay. Premium Set Down can also be used to pick up disabled passengers. How each UK airport treats Blue Badge holders varies enormously — the Blue Badge drop-off guide compares all 29.
How to avoid the charge next time
You don't have to use the charged zone at all: Drop Off car park — 10 minutes free, 400 metres from the terminal by covered walkway. Allow extra time for the transfer. Details in the Birmingham drop-off guide, and every airport's free option is in the free drop-off guide.
Collecting someone is a different transaction — see the pick-up rules for Birmingham and the UK pick-up charges guide.
If you're the one flying next time
No drop-off charge, no collection car park, no deadline to remember: park.
Pre-booked parking at Birmingham means nobody pays the £8 forecourt charge on the way out, nobody sits in a car park waiting for your bags on the way back, and there's no payment deadline to remember. The car is waiting when you land.
Book Birmingham Airport parking →
Affiliate link — we may earn a commission if you book, at no extra cost to you. It never affects our charges data.
Sources
- Birmingham Airport — drop-off charge terms: https://www.birminghamairport.co.uk/parking/turn-up-prices/ (checked 26 Oct 2026)
- Our full entry for this airport, with location, pick-up rules and fee history: Birmingham drop-off charge
- Paying with AutoPay and Post Pay: www.birminghamairport.co.uk/parking/paying-with-autopay-and-post-pay/
- Drop-off and pick-up (penalties and appeals): www.birminghamairport.co.uk/parking/drop-off-and-pick-up/
- Premium Set Down: www.birminghamairport.co.uk/parking/premium-set-down/
Paying at Birmingham: your questions
How do I pay the Birmingham Airport drop-off charge?
Pay the Birmingham Airport drop-off charge (from £8) within 24 hours of exit: online at Birmingham Airport's Post Pay service, at the on-site payment machines before you leave, or automatically with an autopay account. Cameras record your number plate on entry; you can settle at the on-site machines or online afterwards. Miss the 24-hour window and a Parking Notice is issued — £100 within 28 days, reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days.
When do I have to pay the Birmingham drop-off charge by?
Pay within 24 hours of exit: online afterwards, or at the card-only machines on site before you leave. There's no barrier, so nothing stops you driving off unpaid.
What happens if I forget to pay the Birmingham drop-off charge?
Miss the 24-hour window and a Parking Notice is issued — £100 within 28 days, reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days. If a notice does arrive, pay it inside the 14-day window for the reduced amount; the notice itself sets out how to challenge it if you believe it was issued in error.
Can I pay the Birmingham drop-off charge at the airport?
Yes. Both the Premium Set Down and the Drop Off car park are barrierless: ANPR reads your plate, and unusually Birmingham still keeps on-site payment machines (card only) alongside online Post Pay.
Can I pay the Birmingham drop-off charge by phone?
The airport lists no phone line in the material we checked; pay online at Birmingham Airport's Post Pay service or at the on-site machines.
Can I pay the Birmingham drop-off charge in advance or automatically?
Automatically, yes: set up an autopay account before your visit and each visit is charged to it, so there is no deadline to remember. Without one, pay after each visit, within 24 hours of exit.
Do Blue Badge holders pay the Birmingham drop-off charge?
Blue Badge holders get 30 minutes free in Premium Set Down (validate at the customer service cabin); go over 30 minutes and the standard tariff applies to the whole stay. Premium Set Down can also be used to pick up disabled passengers.
How much is the Birmingham drop-off charge?
£8 for up to 15 minutes; £13 for 15–20 minutes, £19 for 20–25, £25 for 25–30, £31 for 30–35, £37 for 35–40, £43 for 40–45, £49 for 45–50, £55 for 50–55 and £61 for 55–60 minutes, then £8 for each extra 15 minutes. Where the zone is, the free alternative and the pick-up rules are in the Birmingham drop-off guide at https://airportdropoffcharges.co.uk/birmingham/.
How long do I have to pay the Birmingham Airport drop-off charge?
24 hours from leaving the car park, by Post Pay online, at the card-only machines on site, or automatically with AutoPay. An unpaid visit brings a £100 Parking Charge Notice, reduced to £50 if paid within 14 days.
Method & corrections
Every charge on this page is checked against the airport's own published charges and stamped with the date we checked it. We re-verify the full dataset quarterly, and after any reported change — see how we check every figure and who maintains the site.
Spotted an error? Email hello@airportdropoffcharges.co.uk — corrections are made visibly and dated. The dataset behind this page is free to reuse with attribution: JSON · CSV (CC BY 4.0) — about the data.