Parking Permits

Parking Operations

The following permit information applies only to the West Lafayette location. For Indianapolis permits, go to Indianapolis Parking Permits.

Types of Permits

If purchased in advance, annual permits are valid August 1 of that year until August 15 of the following year. If an annual permit is purchased after August 1, it becomes effective on the date purchased.
A permit, Garage Access Card and Front Plate may only be used by the individual to who it is assigned. Violators may have their parking permit revoked.

Most permits are virtual and must be linked to an individual’s license plate using steps in the Purchasing a Permit section. Update vehicle information in the parking portal if there are changes.
License Plate Recognition (LPR) is used for parking enforcement. Although faculty and staff may link multiple vehicles to their permit, only one vehicle can park on campus at a time using that permit. Students are limited to one vehicle per permit. Learn more about LPR and linked vehicles.
A vehicle’s license plate must face the drive lane, unless an active Front Plate from Parking Operations is in use.

Physical cards that are issued with some permit types carry forward from year to year and should be retained if the permit is renewed.
They are not parking permits and should not be displayed on windshields.
Eligible permit holders should keep their Garage Access Card with them when using the gated garages as a backup entry and exit method, should LPR not open the gates.

Interactive parking map by permit type – Tip: If a pop-up box with links to other maps appears, skip directly to the blue “Enter” key at the bottom to view the parking map.
- If you prefer to bypass the pop-up box completely when accessing the parking map in the future, check the “Don’t show this again” option and then click “Enter.” If you select this option, you can still access those other maps later by selecting the “i” icon at the top of the parking map.
- When viewing the parking map, select the icon in the top right to change the parking types that display (e.g. Surface parking lots by permit, ADA parking).
Traffic and Parking Regulations
Purdue Parking Portal

Purdue parking enforcement uses License Plate Recognition (LPR), which allows most permits to be virtual and tied to a vehicle’s license plate. Have the following information ready to register your vehicle through Purdue’s online parking portal:
- License plate number, type and state
- Vehicle year, make, model and color
Take a picture of your license plate so you have license plate and registration information readily available. This photo is only for your personal reference and won’t be uploaded to the parking portal.

Go to the Purdue Parking Portal.
Select “Get Permits” from the middle of the webpage.
Select “Permit Options” to choose the type of permit you wish to purchase.
Click “Purchase a New Permit.”
Select “Purdue Login” if you are a student, faculty or staff; choose “Guest Login” if you are a visitor.
Purchase a permit, and follow the remaining steps accordingly.
When prompted to register your vehicle for license plate recognition, please ensure the correct vehicle(s) are linked to your permit. If faculty or staff need to add a new vehicle to their account or permit, instructions are included in Step 3 below. Students will need to submit a request form to add or change the vehicle tied to their permit.

Visit the Purdue Parking Portal.
Select “Vehicles” from the top navigation section of the webpage.
Select “Purdue Login” and use your Purdue career account credentials.
Click “Add Vehicle” to add a vehicle to the account, or click the underlined license plate number of an existing vehicle to edit the information.
Populate all fields with your license plate and vehicle information.
In the top navigation bar click “Permits” > “View Your Permits.”
Select a permit number listed.
Click “Add Vehicles to Permit” at the bottom of the page.
Check the box next to the vehicle(s) to be associated with the permit and select “Add the selected vehicle.”