[Published Nov. 2018; Updated July 5, 2024]

It is important to enter information correctly and completely. Here are some helpful tips to help you avoid citations.  

1. Check the status of and vehicles associated with your parking permit.

To avoid getting a parking citation, you must ensure you have an active parking permit, your vehicle information is correct, and all vehicles are added to your permit (only one vehicle can be parked per day). Please also be sure to update your license plate information if you have a temporary/dealer plate with a new car.

To link your vehicle(s) to your active parking permit, please complete the following steps:

1. Login to the Parking Permit Management System.

2. Select the “Permits” tab.

3. Check your active parking permit and the vehicles linked to the permit. For assistance, use these step-by-step instructions.

If you need assistance purchasing a new parking permit or making changes to an existing one, please refer to these "How To" guides. 

2. Enter your license plate without the special characters

Please enter the letters and numbers of your license plate in the 'Plate' field when adding a vehicle to your account. Do not insert any special characters, spaces, or half-spaces when doing so. License plate recognition systems are unable to read special characters/symbols. For example, if your license plate has a special character and there are three letters on each side, please only enter the six letters in a row with no spaces.

We also recommend that you add your Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) in the 'VIN' field.

3. Confirm the accuracy of your license plate 

Once you have entered your license plate, please double-check that the information you have entered is correct. For example, did you enter a zero when the information is actually the letter ‘O’?

Please note that the standard layout for California license plates is a number, letter, letter, letter, number, number, number. This will help you avoid parking citations since your correct license plate will be associated with your parking permit.

Vehicles awaiting permanent plates - Enter the temporary number. If unavailable, enter the last 8 characters of the VIN. IMPORTANT: Update with the permanent number once you have it.

4. Complete all required steps when purchasing a permit

Review your final order details and complete the checkout process.

• If you pay by "Credit Card/Debit Card," you will review your final order details "Pay By Credit" or "Pay By Debit" and then "Checkout".

• If you are paying by "Payroll," you will review your final order details and "Checkout".

Once you complete these steps, the receipt will display on the screen, and you will automatically receive a copy of your receipt via email.