UMBC requires all parked vehicles to have a valid UMBC virtual permit, Monday through Friday between the hours of 8:00 AM – 4:00 PM, excluding visitor pay to park spaces. All vehicles must be registered before being driven to campus. Change plates? Please update before bringing your vehicle to campus.
When the last name and/or address from the MVA match what is on-file for someone affiliated with UMBC, the vehicle is the responsibility of the UMBC affiliate, whether it is student, staff, or faculty. Parking permits are required year-round and the permit is attached to your vehicle(s).
Permits are available on the UMBC Parking Portal. (DO NOT CREATE VISITOR ACCOUNTS)
Permits are issued for an academic year from August 15th through August 14th and remain valid for the entire school year for students enrolled in both fall and spring semester. Permits are deactivated for students that are not actively registered for courses during the fall or spring semester. Resident students with 29 credits or less, who are in their first year at UMBC are considered First-Year Residents. This is based on the credits you have at the beginning of the school year in August. You may not change mid-year. Please note, no decisions have been made at this point regarding First-Year-Resident parking for the 2024-25 school year.
Go to the Parking Account Portal to request a permit. To log in, please use your myUMBC credentials. Please Do Not Create A Visitor Account. Contact parking@umbc.edu with questions or inquiries.
Watch the short video below on how to get a parking permit.
Virtual Permit System
UMBC uses virtual permits for all parking across campus. The system uses License Plate Recognition and will identify your vehicle by its license plate, removing the need for physical hangtags and allowing all permit holders to easily add and maintain multiple vehicles on their accounts.
Please make sure ALL letters and numbers are entered correctly. The plate below would be entered as EST1634.
Permit Zones
Student parking permits are issued according to your classification for the following parking zones:
Zone A – Commuter Students
Zone B – Walker Community Residents
Zone C – Residential Students (excluding Walker Apartments)
Modified parking zones may be in effect during the winter and summer sessions.
If your residential classification changes, you must contact the Parking Services Office so that we can change your virtual permit designation.
Permit Registration
Permit registration begins the middle of August for the fall semester, December 1st for the winter session, January 16th for the spring semester and early May for summer semester. Only students registered for credit courses are eligible for a parking permit. Please allow 24 hours for your record to update in the parking system. You will receive an error message ‘Invalid Authentication’ if your account is not updated as a student in the parking system.
Fees
There is no additional fee for the student parking permit; it is covered under the mandatory transportation fee with your tuition. Permits will NOT be automatically renewed each year. It is the student’s responsibility to obtain a new permit each academic year, if needed.
Vehicle Removal
If you need to remove a vehicle from your account, please email Parking Services at parking@umbc.edu with your campus ID and the plate information. Please note, vehicles with outstanding violations cannot be removed.