The University of Houston’s parking permits are going virtual, making physical hangtags obsolete. 

Instead of a physical parking permit that hangs on one’s rearview mirror, a car’s license plate will now be the parking permit. The change to virtual permits begins August 15. 

UH’s Parking and Transportation Department has been working towards this goal for approximately a year but conversations on the topic have been ongoing well before then. 

“Our transition to virtual permits was implemented in an effort to continue to embrace technology in our operations,” said Neil Hart, Executive Director of Parking and Transportation Services. 

“The virtual parking permit program should save time and streamline processes for both the end user and our operation. This transition should result in greater customer service and more operational flexibility.” 

Parking permits can be purchased online by signing in to the myParking account icon through AccessUH. Community members can have multiple vehicles linked to the virtual parking permit but only one can be in use at a time. 

Students who opt to purchase the permit online will have the permit charge added to their fee bill where all university-related fees are posted. Faculty and staff who purchase the parking permit online will pay via a deduction in their payroll. 

Those choosing to purchase a parking permit in person can do so at the University Lots office. 

Annual parking permit rates for faculty and staff for the upcoming academic year (fall, spring, and summer) are as follows: 

• Zone - $455 
• Gated - $790 
• Gated-Premium - $845 

• Garage - $845 
• Reserved - $1,270 

For students, the parking rates are: 

• Zone - $455 
• Garage - $770 

• Evening-Weekend - $150 

With license plates being the new parking permit, it’s imperative that vehicles have readable license plates. This allows the Plate Enforcement Vehicles to scan the license plates and determine whether a vehicle is authorized to park. 

Due to physical hangtags no longer in use, there are other methods to gain entry to garages and gated lots. 

For faculty and staff who have a toll tag (EZ Tag, TxTAG, or NTTA Toll Tag), they will pull up to the gate, and the toll tag will be scanned to provide entry. Staff members without a toll tag can use their Cougar Card. In some gated parking lots, staff can use their virtual Cougar Card on the UH Go mobile app as another means to gain entry. 

For more information about parking permits, visit the Parking and Transportation Services website at uh.edu/parking.