Frequently Asked Questions

All parking on campus is allocated and signed for specific uses. A CampusParc permit or paid hourly parking is required at all times, and parking regulations are enforced 24/7.

Permits provide access to designated surface lot parking and may provide garage access depending on the type of permit purchased. However, permit holders parked in designated surface lot hourly parking spaces and at single-space meters are required to pay the hourly rate.

It is the customer’s obligation to use the permit in accordance with parking rules and regulations. Parking permits may not be shared and are not transferable to another individual.

A parking permit does not guarantee the holder a specific parking space. It provides the opportunity to park within an area designated for a specific permit type. Drivers are responsible for finding an authorized parking space. Lack of available space, inclement weather, or other conditions do not justify parking illegally.

The university is a 24/7 operation, and not every customer who purchases a permit parks on campus at the same time. As a result, there are always available parking spaces for the different permit options. Cutting off the sale of a parking permit to a customer who has a need for it becomes challenging to defend when there are empty spaces where the customer could park. 

Anytime you purchase a new vehicle or change the license plates on the vehicle you drive to campus, you need to ensure that your new license plate is linked to your parking permit prior to parking on campus to avoid citations. You can update your personal information via the online self-service portal or by visiting, calling, or emailing our Customer Service Center.

Online Self-Service Portal

Add New Vehicle

1. Click on Login in the top right corner of the CampusParc website homepage.
2. Log in to your account to navigate to the self-service portal. (Note: After clicking on “University Username,” faculty, staff, and students should enter their NAME.# user name and password and click on “login.”)
3. Click on “Add New Vehicle” in the Registered Vehicles section, or click on “Add Vehicle” in the Quick Links section. (Note: Only two vehicles at a time may be linked to a permit. You will be prompted to remove a vehicle if attempting to add a vehicle when there are already two linked to the permit.)
4. Enter the Vehicle License, Make, Style, and Color.
5. Click on “Create.”
6. The vehicle should automatically link to the permit associated with your account. To verify a successful link, click on the arrow to the left of the vehicle information to view the vehicle’s valid permit association.

Update Vehicle Information

1. Click on “Login" in the top right corner of the CampusParc website homepage.
2. Log in to your account to navigate to the self-service portal. (Note: After clicking on “University Username,” faculty, staff, and students should enter their NAME.# user name and password and click on “login.”)
3. In the “Registered Vehicles” section, click on “Edit” next to the vehicle whose description you wish to edit. (Note: To update a license plate, you will need to remove the vehicle and re-add the vehicle with the new license plate information.)
4. Use the drop-down menus to update the State, Make, Style, or Color.
5. Click on “Update.”

Customer Service Center

You will be asked to provide your name, OSU identification number, vehicle make, and license plate number. CampusParc will then update your account information accordingly.

Note: Any citations obtained on a vehicle’s license plates, even if the vehicle has been sold with the plates attached, are the responsibility of the license plate registration holder, not the owner of the vehicle, unless proof can be obtained from the Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV) of sale of the vehicle, stolen plates, or nonrenewal of the plates. Please note that once a vehicle is registered to you, it will always remain on your record. You are encouraged to contact us when a vehicle is sold or no longer used so we can note a vehicle association end date.

The parking system allows flexibility to move around campus, but this also means that at times you may not find parking in the exact location you prefer to park because the spaces for your permit designation are filled. There are consistently available surface parking spaces for any Central Campus permit (A, B, or C) during the weekday peak hours in the Riverbank lots off Olentangy River Road, at the Schottenstein Center, and in the remote parking lots.

There are many areas on campus where it might appear that a car would fit, when in fact it is not a legal parking space. We are required, for safety reasons, to maintain specific widths in drive aisles. Parking spaces are always designated with two painted lines on each side, or in gravel lots there are curb blocks creating the “edge” at the end of each row. If a car is parked in a space that has only one line or in an area marked with yellow hash marks or a large “X,” it is not a legal space, and a citation may be issued. For additional details, please view the parking map.

Customers may need to change the type of permit they have at some time during the permit year. For example, students may accumulate enough credit hours to move from West Campus to Central Campus, or staff may change titles or relocate from Central Campus to West Campus. Permit types must be changed by stopping by our Customer Service Center, returning the original permit’s access hangtag or garage access keycard (as applicable), and completing a new application. Proof of rank or appointment change is required. If the returned permit has a lesser value than the new permit, the difference must be paid. If the returned permit has a greater value than the new permit, a prorated refund will be issued.

To upgrade a permit purchased via payroll deduction, a one-month payment of the prorated annual cost of the new permit type is due at the time of exchange. Your new rate of deduction will take effect in the next calendar month. If upgrading your permit type, you are encouraged to exchange your permit on or shortly after the first of the month to maximize your new permit type. The opposite is true for a downgrade; you will want to exchange the permit near the end of the month. As a reminder, all permit rates prorate the first of each month.

You can add the vehicle you will be using temporarily to your account via the CampusParc online self-service portal. You should ensure that the vehicle is linked to your permit prior to parking on campus, to avoid potential citations. See our related how-to guides for detailed instructions on adding a vehicle and updating vehicle information.

Once you are no longer using the borrowed or rented vehicle, be sure to remove it from your account to avoid responsibility for citations potentially issued to the next person driving the vehicle on campus. Also, be sure to re-add and link your usual vehicle to your permit if you removed it to add a borrowed or rented vehicle.

If you have trouble adding or removing a vehicle, simply send an email to osuinfo@campusparc.com with the vehicle make, model, and license plate number along with your OSU ID, and CampusParc can assist you with the necessary update. You can also call our Customer Service Center at 614-688-0000.

Ideally, a vehicle should be associated with only one permit at a time; that is, only your vehicle should be associated with your permit, and only your spouse’s/partner’s vehicle should be associated with his or her permit. Maintaining this one-to-one ratio will help prevent you from receiving a citation for having multiple vehicles parked on campus at the same time. 

If your garage access keycard is lost or stolen, you will be required to sign an affidavit stating the item is no longer in your possession. You will be required to provide a picture ID with signature to file an affidavit. In the absence of an affidavit, you, as the registered permit holder, will continue to be held liable for any citations accrued to the permit. Please note that registered permit holders may be subject to prosecution if the affidavit or information supplied is falsified.

A replacement fee for a lost garage access keycard will be assessed.

Annual and visitor permit holders are not routinely required to display a physical credential, as paid permit verification is accomplished through license plate recognition technology. However, during events held on campus, annual permit holders are required to display their access keycard to gain no-cost entry into surface lots (or garages, for customers whose access package normally grants them access to the garage) sold at an event rate.

Customers with physical variants of permits, such as day passes or departmental permits, must display their permit with the permit type and number clearly visible through the vehicle windshield to avoid citations. Physical credentials are not issued for visitor permits purchased online.

Customers who will be on leave from their job and/or studies must stop by our Customer Service Center to return their garage access keycard (as applicable) and obtain a prorated refund. Refunds cannot be generated for parking permits until the associated garage access keycard is returned to CampusParc. Customers who are eligible for a refund when they return their parking permit item may provide a debit or credit card to be refunded directly or will be sent a check within approximately six to eight weeks. Customers may purchase a new permit at a prorated price upon return from leave. All refunds are prorated on the first of each month. Refunds for student, staff, and faculty current-year permits are not available after June 30.

CampusParc uses license-plate-recognition equipment that is mounted to our enforcement vehicles. As the vehicles drive through campus, a camera reads the license plate and verifies that the parked vehicle has either a valid permit and is parked in the appropriate area based on permit type, or has paid for hourly parking via pay-by-plate machine, single-space meter, or ParkMobile. Visitors parking in designated garages pull a white entry ticket to enter the garage and must pay the associated parking fee to exit the garage. 

A garage access keycard is provided only to customers who purchase an annual permit. In addition to facilitating garage access (if included in the permit purchase), the keycard provides access to event parking facilities. Annual permit holders unable to present an access keycard will be required to pay the nonrefundable event rate. Customers are encouraged to have their access keycard readily available year-round.

• Read all parking signs before you park.
• Allow enough time to park and walk to your destination.
• Remember the allotted amount of time when you are parked at a meter or in an hourly parking space.
• Consider using ParkMobile when parking at a meter or in an hourly parking space. Parkmobile is a payment option that uses pay-by-phone and smartphone applications. You can create a Parkmobile account online at parkmobile.io, via the ParkMobile app, or via their automated phone system at 877-727-5009. Parking sessions can be terminated early or extended via the same method used to start the parking session. 
• Consider parking away from Central Campus (i.e., on West Campus) and riding CABS. It is often faster to park remotely and ride the bus than to find a closer parking space.
• If you forget your garage access keycard, you may pull a white entry ticket to enter a garage and pay the garage fee upon exit, or you may purchase a visitor permit (day pass) to park in a surface lot.
• Residence hall students are not permitted to park overnight (3 a.m. - 5 a.m.) in a campus parking garage at any time unless they have the appropriate “CP” permit.
• If your vehicle experiences mechanical difficulties and you are parked illegally, please contact CampusParc to report the incident. Parking light flashers and notes on the dashboard do not authorize illegal parking.
• Events and construction requirements may impact travel and parking on campus. Please check our website for updates.