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Learn about our permit options here.
Student Permits
Non-permanent employees wishing to order a permit will use the same process outlined below.
Student Permits for Fall Quarter 2023 open Wednesday, September 20th at 9 am.
How to purchase your parking permit:
- Select the lot you want. Have a backup in mind as permits can sell out quickly. View Parking Lots and Garages.
- Go to the online purchasing portal.
- Place your order and pay with Visa, MasterCard, American Express or Discover Card.
- That's it! Your license plate will immediately become authorized for the quarter.
Be sure to have the following information close at hand when placing your order:
- UW Net ID
- a valid EID or SID
- emergency contact phone number
- make, model, color and license plate number of vehicle(s)
Student permits are not sold on a pro-rated basis. In other words, you pay the full amount no matter when you purchase it. Permits are available to registered UW Tacoma students, staff and faculty on a first-come, first-served basis. Only one permit may be purchased per person.
Check the drop down below to see if you need to put a physical pass on your rearview mirror.
On-Campus vs Community Lot Permits - Know the Difference!
On-Campus Permit holders do not need a physical pass. We use License Plate Recognition that goes live as soon as you purchase the permit.
Community Lot Permits (such as Vision Deuce, Tacoma Dome, or the Convention Center) will have a physical permit mailed out to you. Until you receive the physical permit you will need to print out your confirmation email and place it on your dashboard when you park.
This can be done for free at the UW Y or in the IT Center.
Learn about which parking lots are Community and which are On-Campus on our "Where to Park" page.
Need to check the status of your permit order?
Please email us at transit@uw.edu and we will get back to you with an update on your order status.
- Sign up for the Quarterly Parking Waitlist in the parking portal to receive notifications regarding available parking permits. Please note that students, staff, and faculty that have already purchased a parking permit are not eligible to sign up for the waitlist.
- Want to carpool to campus? We don't have separate permits yet, but you can always split the cost with your carpool buddy and add the vehicles that will be used for carpooling inside the parking portal! Shoot us an email and we'll make sure your joint permit is linked correctly.
- Try transit! The U-PASS allows you to ride the bus anytime, anywhere without paying fare — it's even good on the Sounder Train! Learn more about public transit.
CH. 31 VA Vocational Rehabilitation Parking Permits
Current UW Tacoma students approved through the VA and using Chapter 31 can acquire a parking permit by signing into the parking portal. Please choose "get permit" and follow through the normal process of purchasing your permit. (Only those using CH.31. are eligible to use this benefit).
You must select the VA permit options that showcase $0 Dollars as the price. If you do not see this during your purchase, please call us at 253.692.5926 so that we can troubleshoot this with you.
Disability Parking
Parking for drivers with disability permits is available in all on-campus parking lots with hourly parking available.
The UW Tacoma campus has permit-only C1 and C2 disabled parking spaces available in the Dougan lot located on the north end of campus and the Cragle lot on the south end campus. The current rate is $195 per quarter.
Employees who wish to purchase a disability parking permit must obtain prior approval each quarter from the UW Disability Services office in Seattle at 206-543-6450.
Students who wish to purchase a disability parking permit must obtain prior approval each quarter from UW Tacoma Disability Support Services at 253-692-4508 or dssuwt@uw.edu.
Employee Permits
Employee permit requests for Fall Quarter open at 9am on September 20th.
We now process permits through our Flex Parking Portal. You will be able to login with your NetID. Be sure to have your vehicle information and license plate number. Transportation Services has transitioned to License Plate recognition for ON-CAMPUS permits. You will not have to pick up you permit in person from our office. As soon as you purchase your permit, it is active. Community Off-campus lots will have their permits mailed to you (please print out receipt and place on your dashboard until you receive it).
Permanent faculty and staff may order parking permits online prior to each academic quarter through pre-tax payroll deduction.
Annual and nine-month permits are available during the autumn quarter order period and become pro-rated and available upon request with Transportation Services (for new hires).
All permanent employee payroll deduction orders for quarterly parking permits will be assessed a $6.00 fee to cover administrative costs associated with processing these orders. This is automatically included in the pricing. The fee will not be assessed to annual or nine-month permits.
Faculty and staff who do not order permits using payroll deduction may instead purchase quarterly permits using the same process as students and non-permanent employees.
