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Undergrad Student Parking

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Application Information

Freshmen/Sophomore Parking Prohibition

First and second-year students with less than 90 units that reside in University housing facilities, including University Town Center, are not eligible to purchase a permit (except motorcycle permits) to park on-campus. Detailed information is available on the Residential Freshmen/Sophomore Parking Prohibition page. Also see the R Remote Lot Parking Permits for Eligible Undergraduate Students section below.

Leave Your Car at Home

Because parking is such a limited resource at UCSC, it is strongly recommended that students who are not eligible to purchase an on-campus parking permit not bring vehicles to Santa Cruz. Residential streets near campus and in downtown Santa Cruz have strictly enforced parking permit requirements managed by the City of Santa Cruz Permit Parking Program.

Off-campus paid parking options are extremely limited, and are usually sold out by mid-September. Detailed information is available on the Off-campus Parking Lots page.

Undergrad Permit Eligibility

Permit Eligibility status for students who reside in University Housing is determined by the number of units (90 units) completed by Fall of the current academic year. This status remains in place and does not change throughout the academic year. Residential students who have completed less than 90 units or achieve this threshold by Winter or Spring of the current academic year are ineligible for parking, but may pursue parking through an appeal process.

All commuting students (except those that live in UCSC Housing facilities) regardless of grade level, as well as eligible Junior, Senior, and Transfer students who reside in University housing are eligible to apply for an R Remote Lot parking permit valid in the East and West Remote lots on campus, as available. Being eligible to apply does not guarantee securement of a permit when permit sales are suspended due to high demand.

Academic Information System (AIS) Standing
NOTE: TAPS staff only see your standing in the Academic Information System (AIS), and cannot see your actual units. If AIS does not show your actual credits, please contact the Registrar's Office so that they can email TAPS directly with confirmation.

Undergrad Permit Options

Remote Lot ( R ) Parking Permits

Permits are valid only in the East Remote (104) and West Remote (127) parking lots (parking map). Permits are available for the following lengths of time:

Academic Year R - Valid only during the current academic year (mid-September through mid-June)
Quarterly R - Valid 90 days from the start date
Monthly R - Valid 30 days from the start date
Weekly R - Valid 7 days from the start date
Daily R - Valid only on the date of purchase. Available to parking-eligible students if lots have capacity. A certain number of Daily R permits are available each day on a first-come, first-served basis.

Close-in ( C ) Parking Permits

C permits are lot-specific and available for the current academic year only (mid-September through mid-June). Campus residents will be given first priority for C permits.

Most C permit parking is in lots that are shared by A, B, and C permit holders, unless otherwise indicated. TAPS will monitor permit sales in order not to “oversell” the lots; however, when a parking lot is full on any given day, the C permit holder will have to park in a remote lot.

The following lots are C Permit lots (parking map):

Lot 111 Crown
Lot 119 Merrill
Lot 150B North Perimeter
Lot 152-155 Crown/Merrill
Lot 158-159 Redwood Grove (RGA residents only)
Lot 162 Oakes/Carson

On your application, you may specify up to three lots (in order of your preference) where you would be willing to park. If all of those lots are sold out, you will automatically be issued and charged for a remote (R) permit.

Night Commuter (NC) Permits

These permits allow eligible commuting undergraduates access to the Core West parking structure, the East Field House, and most college parking lots, after 4:30 p.m. (parking map). NC Permits are available for the following lengths of time:

Academic Year NC - Valid only during the current academic year (mid-September through mid-June)
Quarterly NC - Valid 90 days from the start date
Nightly NC - Valid only on the date of purchase

Motorcycle Permits

All undergrad students, regardless of status, are eligible for Motorcycle (MC) permits.

Motorcycle A Permits
Eligible to park in all lots that allow MC permits (parking map)

Academic Year Motorcycle A - Valid only during the current academic year (mid-September through mid-June)
Monthly Motorcycle A - Valid 30 days from the start date
Weekly Motorcycle A - Valid 7 days from the start date
Daily Motorcycle A - Valid only on the date of purchase

Motorcycle R Permits
Free of charge, Annual or Academic year only. Eligible to park only in East Remote (104), West Remote (127), and Lot 118 (parking map)

Special Situations

Short-term Medical Parking

Students who have a temporary need (one month or shorter) for close-in parking due to medical reasons may request short-term medical permits.

To obtain a short-term Medical permit you need to submit medical documentation to Transportation and Parking Services (TAPS). The documentation must be from a medical professional (e.g., physician, surgeon, chiropractor, optometrist, etc.), and should include the duration of the Medical parking need. Students can submit documentation for up to one month in duration directly to the TAPS Sales Office (tapssales@ucsc.edu), or call the Sales Office at (831) 459-4543 for other arrangements.

Documentation for longer than one month of Medical parking must come directly from either the Student Health Center or the Disability Resource Center.

Parking Appeal for Commuting Students with Critical Need

Commuting or residential first- and second-year students with critical need for an R parking permit can submit an appeal for consideration by exception (applications available in early September). Carefully read the instructions and eligibility requirements before filling out an appeal form and uploading documents. For questions regarding appeals, email Patrick Randolph.

Applying for a Permit

Online

To apply for a permit online, visit ucsc.aimsparking.com. Undergrad permit applications for the 2024-2025 Academic year do not open until 8/26/24.

Payment options include Visa, Mastercard or Discover. Students may elect to pay through their UCSC Student Account (excludes all types of Temporary permits) by selecting the UCSC Student Account button in the Payment and Authorization section of the online application. Account charges will not be subject to late fees until after the scheduled Fall disbursement of financial aid.

At the TAPS Sales Office

The TAPS Sales Office is located in the H Barn on the lower campus. Sales Office hours are Monday through Friday, from 7:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. Please note that the Sales Office closes promptly at 5:00 p.m.; customers still in line at 5:00 p.m. will need to return the next business day to conduct their transaction.

At the Main Entrance Kiosk

Students enrolled during the academic year may not buy any type of parking permit at the Main Entrance Kiosk.

Family Student Housing Parking Permits

Family Student Housing residents should contact the Family Student Housing Office to obtain their FSH parking permit; parking is included in the monthly rental fee.

Undergraduate student residents that have more than one vehicle may purchase an R Remote permit to park in the nearby West Remote parking lot.

Each Family Student Housing unit is assigned one parking space to be used to park a car or motorcycle belonging to the resident or their visitor; visitors must display a valid FSH permit to park in the resident's space. All Family Student Housing parking spaces are enforced 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Please check the parking designation signs for all Family Student Housing spaces to avoid a parking citation.