Parking Permits & Accounts Help Center

To maintain a parking assignment, you must apply for a new parking permit every year. Annual parking permits are valid from September 1 through August 31 of the following year.

Here’s what you need to know when applying for base lot, flex, UW accessible, park & ride, carpool, and business alternate permits:

• May: Applications for the upcoming parking year open with multiple deadlines through the summer. Announcements with application deadlines are posted on the Transportation Services website, and appear in campus newsletters such as Working at UW. Also check with your Unit Transportation Coordinator (UTC).
• September 1: New parking year begins.
• September through April: Applications are accepted and processed every two weeks.
• May: Applications for the current year close. Any remaining permits move to direct purchase in the eBusiness portal.

Follow the steps on the employee parking page.

Please note that you must submit the Health Sciences Parking Request form if you are (a) applying for the first time and (b) you are employed by one of these groups:

• School of Medicine and Public Health
• School of Nursing
• School of Pharmacy
• State Lab of Hygiene
• University Health Services
• UW Hospital and Clinics
• UW Medical Foundation

Follow the steps on the employee parking page.

Please note that you must submit the Health Sciences Parking Request form if you are (a) applying for the first time and (b) you are employed by one of these groups:

• School of Medicine and Public Health
• School of Nursing
• School of Pharmacy
• State Lab of Hygiene
• University Health Services
• UW Hospital and Clinics
• UW Medical Foundation

Most graduate students with an employment appointment at the university (such as a teaching, research or project assistantship) are considered employees by Transportation Services and should follow the steps for UW employees on the parking application guide.

Most graduate students with an employment appointment at the university (such as a teaching, research or project assistantship) are considered employees by Transportation Services and should follow the steps for UW employees on the employee parking page.

Graduate students without an employment appointment at the university, or with an appointment classified as “Student Help” must go through the student parking process as outlined on the student parking page.

If you have questions about your employment appointment status, contact your department’s administration.

Graduate students may purchase buy-it-now and short-term permits.

Check student parking options on the student parking page.

Check the permit availability page for base lot, Flex, park & ride, and remote lot permit availability.

Check the e-Business portal for available afternoon, night, motorcycle, and moped permits and Lot 76 Quick Passes.

• Employees will automatically receive a reduced rate for a base lot or UW accessible permit if they are eligible at time of purchase. Eligibility is based on the employee’s pay rate.
• Park & ride and buy-it-now permits are lower-cost permits.
• Carpooling and vanpooling allow you to split the cost of a permit.

Learn more about lower-cost parking options.

For information about eligibility for the reduced cost parking permit program, check the reduced and low-cost options page.

• Return to the Permit Application System to check the status of your parking application.
• You may also contact customer service.

• Summer applicants: If you apply during the summer for the upcoming year, you may receive your assignment as early as July or August.
• Late applicants: For applications submitted after August 1, assignments are processed and emailed approximately every two weeks.

Please keep in mind that receiving a parking permit depends on current availability, and your application may be placed on a waiting list. Applying for parking does not guarantee you will receive a permit. Make a plan for campus travel, and explore your commute options.

The “lot full” sign does not apply to permit holders who are parking in their assigned lot. It means there is no more room for visitor parking. Permit holders should enter the garage and park as usual.

If you cannot find space in your assigned parking lot, park in the next nearest surface lot and submit a lot-full form.

After-hours parking is 4:30 p.m. – 7 a.m. Monday through Friday, and all day Saturday and Sunday.

Permit holders may park in their primary lot or alternate lots after hours, unless the lots are closed for construction or special events. Only park in unreserved (unsigned) permits stalls.

Refer to lot entrance signs for enforcement hours.

• Payment is required in lots where any UW permit is required after hours. These are the “yellow lots” on the campus parking map. Permit holders must display their permits when parked. Flex permit holders must display their permit and pay with ParkMobile.
• Payment is not required in lots that are unenforced after hours. These are the “green lots” on the campus parking map.

Only one vehicle/license plate may be associated with a personal parking permit.

You may transfer your permit to another vehicle, such as a rental car or loaner vehicle, on a short term basis without updating vehicle information or notifying Transportation Services.

If you are driving a different vehicle on a long term basis, update your vehicle and/or license plate information.

You may transfer your permit to another vehicle, such as a rental car or loaner vehicle, on a short term basis without updating vehicle information or notifying Transportation Services.

If you are driving a different vehicle on a long term basis, update your vehicle and/or license plate information.

Find information about exchanging and returning permits on the parking permits page.

Our enforcement program is based on the visible display of a permit. It is not based on license plates. This is because there are multiple types of permits – such as UW Service permits and department permits – that may be transferred among multiple vehicles and are not associated with a specific vehicle. As long as these permit types are used on campus, we cannot enforce based on license plate numbers.

Log in to eBusiness. You need to enter valid NetID or UW Health credentials, or create a guest account.

Log in to the Permit Application System (PAS). You need a valid NetID or UW Health credentials.

When purchasing your permit, you may have the option to select payroll deduction (if eligible) or pay in full with a credit card.

Exception: Flex permits are pay-per-use, which means you pay only when you park.

Payroll deduction amounts are determined by the cost of the permit or product and prorated by the remaining payments left in the permit year.

Deductions for parking permits are taken from your paycheck after all other voluntary payroll deductions, so please make sure you leave enough to pay for parking when adjusting your voluntary benefit contributions during open enrollment. For questions about this, contact your HR representative.

Refunds. There are no refunds for products purchased via payroll deduction or for products from previous fiscal or parking years, unless there was an administrative error as determined by Transportation Services. Products must be returned to avoid additional charges.

Missed payroll deductions for parking permits can happen for multiple reasons, such as going on leave (FMLA) without making arrangements with Transportation Services, or if you don’t have any funds left over for parking after other payroll deductions are taken.

Missed deduction payments must be made within 10 days from the date of the missed deduction. Missed payroll deductions can be paid by credit card over the phone at (608) 263-6667 or by mailing a check to:

UW Madison Transportation Services
Attn: Business Manager
610 Walnut St.
Madison WI 53726

Missing two consecutive deduction payments may result in the cancellation of the permit. Missing three or more deduction payments may result in the revocation of the payroll deduction eligibility.

Employees going on leave may keep their parking permit, but must continue making payments while on leave. 

Parking holds are not arranged for you by the Human Resources department. Contact Transportation Services Business Services at tsbilling@fpm.wisc.edu before your leave begins.

Employees on FMLA will be off the payroll system, so arrangements must be made with Transportation Services to pay any remaining permit costs in full or by the first of each month.

If your leave will extend past July, you may also need to make arrangements with Transportation Services to have an application on file for the following parking year and/or make sure any parking offers for the following year are accepted. 

Transportation Services can hold a parking permit for faculty going on sabbatical, but you do need to plan in advance. Parking holds are not arranged for you by the Human Resources department. Contact Transportation Services Business Services at tsbilling@fpm.wisc.edu before your leave or sabbatical begins.

How it works:

• Submit a signed letter from the Chancellor along with your permit to Transportation Services.
• The permit office will hold your permit for you. Payments on the permit are not required during the sabbatical.
• When you return to campus, notify Transportation Services that you are coming to the office to retrieve your permit.

If your sabbatical will extend past July, you may also need to make arrangements with Transportation Services to have an application on file for the following parking year and/or make sure any parking offers for the following year are accepted. 

Alternatively, you can cancel your permit and reapply when you return. 

If a parking permit, pass, or other Transportation Services product is no longer needed before it expires, it must be returned to stop automatic payroll deductions. Some products purchased in full may be returned for a prorated refund. Follow these instructions to return or cancel a permit or pass.

Please note that the Human Resources department does not automatically cancel parking on your behalf if your employment ends or no longer want or need your parking permit. If you are paying through payroll deduction, you will continue to be charged until you return the permit to Transportation Services.

For Flex parking assignments in a parking garage, add value to a Flex Gated permit before arriving on campus to park.

For Flex parking assignments in a surface lot, start a ParkMobile session to pay for Flex Surface parking when you arrive at the parking lot.

Yes, but this may cause your parking costs to increase.

This is because when you leave your garage and come back, or move to an alternate lot for after-hours parking, a new parking session starts and the rate period resets.

If you need to move around campus throughout the day, the campus bus is fare-free and arrives frequently.

Yes. ParkMobile will “remember” any previous parking sessions you started that day and resume charging without resetting a new rate period. Your parking charges will not exceed the maximum charge for that rate period (daytime, or evening/weekend).

After-hours parking is 4:30 p.m. – 7 a.m. Monday through Friday, and all day Saturday and Sunday.

• To park in your regularly assigned lot after hours, just use your regular payment method.

All Flex permit holders may also park in alternate surface lots after hours unless the lots are closed for construction or special events. To park in an alternate lot requiring a valid UW parking permit after hours, display the Flex permit and pay with ParkMobile. These are the “yellow lots” located on the campus parking map. Refer to lot entrance signs for enforcement rules.

After-hours ParkMobile instructions for Flex Gated permit holders

After-hours ParkMobile instructions for Flex Surface permit holders

There is no charge to park in green lots on the campus parking map after hours unless the lots are closed for construction or special events. Refer to lot entrance signs for enforcement rules.

Only park in unreserved (unsigned) permits stalls.

Gate not opening when entering the garage

• If there is no parking value on your permit, the gate will not open. Pull a ticket to enter the lot and pay the full visitor parking rate for that session. The visitor parking charge cannot be refunded.

Gate not opening when leaving the garage

• Press the “HELP” button and speak with a dispatcher.

This can happen if you keep more than one permit in your vehicle.

The only guaranteed way to avoid unwanted Flex charges is to remove the Flex permit from your vehicle when you don’t intend to use it for parking.

Transportation Services cannot refund value deducted from your Flex parking account if you intended to use a different permit.

Remaining value at the end of a parking year is either transferred to a new Flex permit or refunded by check if eligible, minus any amount due.

You may be eligible for a refund if you return your permit mid-year. The hangtag must be returned to Transportation Services.

Transportation Services cannot refund payments made to ParkMobile, including accidental overpayments, or double payments.

For assistance with ParkMobile, call them directly at (877) 727-5457.

Go to the Flex parking webpage.

UW departments sometimes make UW Service permits available to employees for occasional, short-term parking to conduct official university business. Acceptable uses of service permits include attending meetings or training sessions; conducting business in different areas on campus; or delivering items across campus. For detailed rules and restrictions, read the policy.

You can display a service permit to park in any open service/vendor stall on campus. Service/vendor stall locations can be found on the service/vendor stall map.

If no service stalls are available in the lot of your choice, move to another available service stall in a different lot.

Please be aware of these restrictions when parking with a UW Service permit:

• Service permits are only valid in signed service/vendor stalls. They are not valid in regular (unreserved/unsigned) permit stalls.
• Do not park in a service/vendor stall for more than a few hours at a time. Warnings and citations may be issued to vehicles found continuously parked in a service/vendor stall for extended periods.
• If you also have an annual parking permit (base lot, Flex), you may not use a service permit in or near the lot where your annual permit is assigned. For example, if you have a personal base lot permit in Lot 91, you may not use a service permit to park in a service/vendor stall in Lot 91 or surrounding nearby lots.
• You may not use a UW Service permit to park in a lot closer to your primary work location than where your personal parking permit is assigned.
• UW Service permits may not be used by employees in lieu of purchasing an annual parking permit.