Virtual parking permits

How do virtual permits work?

It’s as easy as one, two, three:

1. Enter vehicle information and purchase a parking permit. Customers enter vehicle information, including the license plate number(s), for as many vehicles as they plan to park in Stanford-enforced parking areas. Be sure to purchase a permit for the day(s) you plan to park on campus and confirm your license plate is entered correctly. You need to enter the time period you want the permit to be valid—whether for a day, week, month, or year(s). Please check your total for daily parking permit purchases before finalizing your transaction. If you notice a discrepancy, contact us at transportation@stanford.edu.
2. Enforcement officers will scan license plates of vehicles parked in Stanford-enforced parking lots and garages. Using a mobile, hand-held, or vehicle-mounted system, they will scan license plates one vehicle and one area at a time.
3. The system will identify parking violations. Enforcement officers will determine whether to issue a citation when the system identifies a vehicle that does not have a permit or has the incorrect permit for the parking space. During the transition to a fully virtual system, the officer will check the front windshield to determine whether a correct and valid physical permit is displayed. If not, a parking citation will be issued.

Entering License Plate Information

Can I have multiple vehicles on my account? What about having the same vehicle on multiple accounts?

Each user can have multiple vehicles in their account and associated with their permit. However, each license plate can only be entered in the system once. All subsequent attempts will be blocked. You have to remove the license plate from your account before another person may use the license plate as their permit.This ensures that another person cannot use your license plate and parking permit without your knowledge.

Please note that only one vehicle may be parked on campus at a time for each permit. 

For each vehicle you add, please make sure to link your vehicle information to your parking permit. To learn how to link your vehicle(s) to your active parking permit, visit our "How to" Guide.

If you are in a carpool/vanpool, you can have the same vehicle on multiple accounts since that vehicle is associated with your carpool permit. If you or one of your carpool/vanpool members are driving separately to campus, whoever is driving the second vehicle to campus will need to purchase a daily permit.

I share a car with my spouse, family member, or other commuter in the same household. What should we do?

If couples/same-household commuters share a vehicle, one commuter needs to purchase the permit and associate the license plate with the permit. It does not matter which commuter does this.

If same-household commuters are sharing two vehicles with two permits, we recommend that each commuter enter only one unique license plate. When one household member drives the vehicle not associated with him/her, it will be valid, as long as there is a valid permit associated with the vehicle.

If each household member has a different vehicle and different permit type (‘A’ or ‘C’ permit, for example), they will have to know and remember which permit type is registered for each vehicle and park in the correct parking space to avoid citation.

If household members want to switch their permits and vehicles, they need to remove the information of their vehicle from their current permit designation and add that vehicle's information to the other permit account. For example, if you have an 'A' permit and your spouse has a 'C' permit, and you will be driving your spouse's vehicle, then your spouse would remove their vehicle from their 'C' permit account. You would then be able to add your spouse's vehicle to your 'A' permit account. The same process would have to be followed each time you switch vehicles and want to switch permits.

What if I get a new car and it does not have a license plate yet?

In the license plate field in the Stanford Transportation system, enter the dealer-issued temporary number. If unavailable, enter the last eight characters of the vehicle identification number (VIN). The VIN is visible through the windshield and can be found in the lower corner of the windshield, on the driver’s side. IMPORTANT: Update this field with the permanent number once you have it.

What if I get a rental or loaner car?

If you have a rental, enter the license plate and vehicle information to your permit. You can enter this information on the day that the rental is being used and the permit will be activated in real time.

What if I have a personalized license plate or a special character/symbol in my license plate?

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 in the six letters in a row with no spaces.

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

What if my license plate is dirty or I do not have a front (or back) license plate?

Enforcement officers will have to exit their vehicle and walk to the front or back to do a manual search of the license plate on their tablet.

Please note that California law requires that when the Department of Motor Vehicles issues two license plates for a vehicle, one must be affixed to the front of the vehicle and the other to the back. (CVC 5200)

What if someone enters my license plate to use my permit?

Only one license plate can be entered in the system, and only one license plate can be used to park on campus at the same time. This prevents anyone else from trying to use your license plate. If they want to use it, they have to ask you to remove it from your permit, then they can assign it to their permit.

What if someone steals my license plate?

If someone steals your license plate, they are committing a felony. Altering, counterfeiting, and stealing license plates is a felony according to the California Vehicle Code CVC 4463 and “shall be punished by imprisonment pursuant to subdivision (h) of Section 1170 of the Penal Code for 16 months, or two or three years, or by imprisonment in a county jail for not more than one year.”

If someone does steal your license plate on Stanford’s main campus, you will need to file a police report with Stanford’s Department of Public Safety and notify the Department of Motor Vehicles. If it is stolen elsewhere, you will need to file a police report with the city/jurisdiction where the theft occurred. While you wait for the DMV to send new license plates, please enter the last eight digits of the vehicle identification number (VIN) for your vehicle in the license plate field in our system. When you receive the new plates, you can update your information in our system.

Departments

Visit our FAQ about departments and the virtual parking permit system to learn more.

How will SH and Emeritus parking permits work?

If you have an SH or Emeritus permit, please continue to use your current permit until it expires on Dec. 31, 2024. If you need a new permit, please contact us at 650.723.9362 or transportation@stanford.edu.

How will you protect the privacy and security of my data?

We understand and respect concerns about privacy and data security. With the system, we only collect, store, and use data for parking and transportation program-related uses (i.e., parking enforcement, program management and improvement, and communications) or to comply with Stanford’s policies or the law. Those accessing the data are strictly limited, and they are required to log in, enhancing security and accountability.

The principles we developed to manage our program are based on Stanford University data management practices and have been informed by License Plate Recognition (LPR) data management practices from the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and International Association of Chiefs of Police (IACP). In addition, our program is consistent with Santa Clara County’s Automated License Plate Recognition Policy.

For more information, please visit our privacy policy and LPR data management principles.

About the System

What are the benefits of the virtual parking permit system?

The system has a number of advantages for the Stanford community:

• Increased Speed and Convenience. You can purchase parking permits anywhere, at any time, from a variety of devices. Permits are valid immediately, so you don’t have to make a trip to our office or wait for a permit to arrive in the mail.

• Greater Flexibility. Register multiple vehicles on the same parking permit, so you don’t have to transfer one permit between vehicles. Rental and loaner cars can also be added to the system on the day they are being used, with the permit activated in real time.

• Improved Sustainability and No Lost Permits. Did you know we replace hundreds of lost permits each year? With the system, you won’t have to worry about paying to replace a lost or stolen permit. In addition, our office will stop printing and distributing tens of thousands of permits annually, which is a plus for sustainability at Stanford.

• Automatic Renewals. For those who drive, if you purchase a long-term virtual permit, you can choose an end date years in the future, so you don’t have to remember to renew your permit every year.

We invite you to read more about these and other benefits and view an illustration.

What if I have other questions?

We will be glad to assist you. Our customer service staff is available to assist you in English or Spanish. We can answer your questions at 650.723.9362 or transportation@stanford.edu. You might also want to visit our parking management system microsite for updates and resources, including a "How To" Guide to help you use the system.