General

Permits • Tickets • Rules & Regulations • Other

Permits

How many people buy permits on campus? How much are permits oversold?
Where do I park with my bicycle? Should I register it somewhere? Do I need a permit for a bicycle?
What about my moped? Need a permit? Where do I park it?
Is my permit valid at the KU Medical Center? Is the KUMC permit valid on the Lawrence campus?
How do I get a temporary handicap placard or medical permit to park while I am injured or recovering from illness?
Where can I park with my motorcycle?
But the Parking Department employees get to park for free, don't they?
What if my permit is lost or stolen?

How many people buy permits on campus? How much are permits oversold?

Here is a basic breakdown of how many people buy permits, and how many spaces there are for those people to park on campus. If you have any questions about the particular breakdown of these permits, please check our Statistics page.

	Number on campus ¹	Number of permits sold	% who purchased a permit	Number of spaces available	% oversold
Commuting Students (yellow zones)	21,854	10,141	46.4%	6,370	59%
Students living on campus (dormitories)	5,126	3,946	77.0%	2,910	36%
Faculty and Staff	4,662	3,804	81.6%	3003	27%
Total/Average	31,642	17,891	68.3%	12,283	41%

¹ – Based on information from OIRP

Where do I park with my bicycle? Should I register it somewhere? Do I need a permit for a bicycle?

There are bicycle racks next to practically every building on campus. You do not need a permit for your bicycle, but we highly recommend that you register your bike with the Lawrence Police Department. It costs 25¢ per year, and is very helpful if your bike is stolen anywhere in the city, including on campus.

What about my moped? Do I need a permit? Where do I park it?

Mopeds can also park in bicycle racks, but unlike bicycles they do require a parking permit. This permit costs $25/year.

Is my permit valid at the KU Medical Center? Is the KUMC permit valid on the Lawrence campus?

Yes, we each honor the permit of the other campus. However, if you are at the Med Center more than 50% of the time (either work or enrolled in classes), you are not eligible to purchase a permit on the Lawrence campus.

How do I get a temporary handicap placard or medical permit to park while I am injured or recovering from illness?

Our recommendation depends a lot on the length of time you will need to park closer to your buildings. If it is just for a week or two, then a medical permit is a good choice. You need our form for your doctor to fill out, and it costs $8/week. If your need is more long-term, a handicap placard is cheaper, and offers you more choices: A handicap placard together with any KU parking permit is valid in any color zone, except reserved and service vehicle only stalls, and the handicap placard gives you access to all the handicap stalls, as well.

Where can I park with my motorcycle?

There are designated motorcycle parking spaces on campus. They are indicated by the motorcycle on the signs and on our map. You may NOT park in regular car parking spaces with a motorcycle!

But the Parking Department employees get to park for free, don't they?

No, actually we don't park for free. We pay the full price for our permits just like everyone else, and we have to pay our tickets, too.

What if my permit is lost or stolen?

Lost and stolen permits are replaced at a prorated fee; because this varies, please contact the Parking Department to determine the amount. Report stolen permits to the appropriate law enforcement agency in the location from which it was stolen. Use of a permit reported lost or stolen can result in issuance of a $100.00 ticket, the removal of the vehicle from campus, revocation of parking privileges for one year, and imposition of any and all appropriate University academic sanctions. For more information see Lost/Stolen Permits.

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Tickets

How do I pay a ticket?
When are the meters ticketed?
I forgot my permit — shouldn't the officer just know that I have a valid permit when they look at my license plate?
But I was just there for _____(fill in the blank) minutes!
What happens if I never pay my parking tickets? Or: Why did you tow my car today?
But downtown, the ticket is only $2!
Why can't you just cancel my ticket? I had a good reason to be parked there.

How do I pay a ticket?

To pay a ticket, you can mail a check along with the ticket in the envelope provided, or put it in one of the red fine boxes located around campus. Payment can also be taken in the Parking Department Office. We accept Cash, Check, Money Orders, Visa, Mastercard, American Express, and Discover. Click here for more information.

When are the meters ticketed?

20- and 40-minute meters are ticketed 24 hours.

Long-term meters (1-, 2-, 4- and 10-hour meters) are usually ticketed the same hours of the lot where they are located. For example, in yellow lots, meters are ticketed 8-4, in staff lots, meters are ticketed 7-5 or 7:30, and in the dorms, meters are ticketed 24 hours between 7AM on Monday and 5PM on Friday.

I forgot my permit — shouldn't the officer just know that I have a valid permit when they look at my license plate?

Our parking officers cannot tell that you have a valid parking permit just by looking at your car. The computerized ticketwriter also does not tell them any of this information, so they must see a permit to count it as valid. If you forget your permit, you should come into our office for a free courtesy permit — we give you up to 20 days per year of free parking when you've forgotten your permit.

But I was just there for _____(fill in the blank) minutes!

It doesn't matter how long you park illegally — the officer does not have any way of knowing how long you were there already or how long you will be there after he leaves, and even 1 minute in a handicap stall or anywhere else is too long. Just because you are only turning in a paper or homework, does not make it okay.

What happens if I never pay my parking tickets? Or: Why did you tow my car today?

The Parking Department puts a hold on your account, keeping you from enrolling or getting a transcript with just one ticket. If you have 3 or more tickets outstanding for more than 10 business days, your car is eligible to be towed. You have to pay your entire balance plus towing fees if that happens. If we don't catch your payment either of these two ways, we send the account to collections, and eventually write it off to the state, who will deduct the amount you owe from any state income tax refund due you.

But downtown, the ticket is only $2!

Yes, but we are not downtown, and we have our own rules... However, unlike city tickets, ours do not increase in price with late fees.

Why can't you just cancel my ticket? I had a good reason to be parked there.

Unfortunately, you really do have to follow the parking rules on campus. We're pretty strict about enforcing our rules. If you want to argue your case, you should fill out an appeal form.

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Rules & Regulations

Fire lane? What fire lane?
Lot restrictions
Why don't the city laws apply on campus?

Fire lane? What fire lane?

It is very important to pay attention to fire lane signs. Usually they also have red-painted curbs, but not always. Fire lanes are ticketed based on a state statute, so that there is a place for fire trucks in case there is a fire in any building. The fire lanes are 15 feet on each side of a fire hydrant. This includes the patio between the back of Budig Hall and Anschutz Science Library — this is a fire lane, not a loading zone, and you really should not be parking there to pick up or drop off your friends!

Lot restrictions — dorm and yellow lots vs. staff lots restricted year round

Only student lots (yellow and residence halls) are not ticketed when classes are not in session. The staff lots (red, blue and gold zones) and parking garages are restricted YEAR-ROUND, no matter whether classes are in session or not!

Why don't the city laws apply on campus?

City parking rules do not apply on campus because the on-campus parking is actually the private property of the University of Kansas and the Board of Regents, and Kansas laws (KSA 74-3209 through KSA 74-3216) authorize the Board of Regents to make its own rules and set its own fees on the KU campus.

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Other

Who do I complain to?
I need to update my address or vehicle information.
I have a comment or suggestion to make to the department.
What do I do if my car breaks down?

Who do I complain to about:

1. Rules — The Parking Commission makes and/or changes the Rules. If you have a suggestion about changes that you think should be made to the Rules, send a letter in care of the Parking Department, or email suggestions about rules changes to kupark@ku.edu.
   
   
2. Tickets — Most ticket must be appealed – they can not be cancelled by the Parking Department. In limited cases, such as duplicate tickets, tickets in a lot where you normally have a permit to park, etc., it is possible that Parking can help you with it. Please give us a call.
   
   
3. Parking Officers — Complaints about parking officers should be directed to the field supervisor, Dave Moore, by asking for him when you call the main parking number: 864-7275.
   
   
4. Parking Offenders —If you call the main parking number, they will take the information about the illegally parked car and/or forward your call to the dispatcher. We will send an officer to check out the situation.
   
   
5. Oversold parking — make a suggestion! There is not much the Parking Department can do about the amount of parking available vs. how many people buy permits. The Parking Commission is happy to consider any suggestions you might offer them on methods we could use to limit the number of parking permits sold each year.

I need to update my address or vehicle information.

Have you moved recently or have a new car? Then help us help you by letting us know your new address or vehicle information. Thanks!

I have a comment or suggestion to make to the department.

Give us feedback on what you think of the department, parking lots, employees, policies, or anything else that might come to mind. We welcome any and all comments.

What do I do if my car breaks down?

Call the Parking Department as soon as it happens, so that we can add your car to our Disabled Vehicle List. Although we cannot prevent tickets from being issued to your car, we can usually cancel tickets issued after you made the report.

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