Rules & Regulations

• If you have a change in any vehicle information (such as license plate number, license plate state, vehicle make/model, vehicle color, etc.) update your account information in the Parking Portal or contact the parking office immediately to update your vehicle information.
• If you are using or planning to use a rental vehicle, please contact the parking office directly rather than entering the rental vehicle information into your account through the portal.
• If you receive a citation you have 10 calendar days to pay or appeal the citation via the UNCW Parking Portal. See Citations & Appeals for more information.

Visitor (Non-Student, Faculty or Staff) Accessible Parking

Visitor Lot - No Additional UNCW Permit Required Location

• All visitors (non-student, faculty, or staff) may park for free in Visitor Lot.
• If parking in reserved accessible spaces in Visitor Lot, a NC disability placard or plate must be displayed.

Unlike public parking in surrounding cities, beaches and retailers, campus parking, including accessible reserved parking spaces, is by UNCW permit ONLY (excludes Visitor Lot).

• All visitors (non-student, faculty, or staff) must come into the parking office to obtain a temporary UNCW parking permit to park in any reserved accessible parking space, apart from Visitor Lot.
  • Please bring your NC disability placard or plate information and license plate number.
  • Temporary parking rates are $5/day or $20/week. UNCW permit will allow parking in any reserved accessible parking space in non-gated lots.

Student, Faculty and Staff Accessible Parking

• Annual accessible parking: students, faculty and staff with a NC disability placard or plate must register with the parking office:
  • Renewing a permit or new permit registration - Log in to the Parking Portal and select an 'RA' designated permit (reserved accessible); follow instructions to upload NC disability placard or plate information.
  • Modifying an existing permit - Email parking@uncw.edu with NC disability placard or plate information.
    • Allows parking in any lot on campus (including gated lots), and all accessible reserved parking spaces on campus (excluding Visitor Lot).
• Temporary accessible parking: students, faculty and staff who have an annual UNCW permit should email parking@uncw.edu with either a doctor's note, a recommendation from the Disability Resource Center or temporary NC disability placard or plate information.
  • The maximum time that temporary accessible parking can be given by the parking office with a valid doctor's note is 30 days.
  • If temporary accessible parking is needed longer than 30 days, an official temporary NC disability license placard should be obtained.
  • Allows parking in any lot on campus and all accessible reserved parking spaces on campus (excluding Visitor Lot and gated lots).

Students, faculty and staff with a NC disability placard or plate without a current UNCW parking permit are required to have a UNCW parking permit to park on campus, including in reserved accessible parking spaces.

• Permanent accessible parking:
  • Renewing a permit or new permit registration - Login to the Parking Portal and select an ''RA' designated permit (reserved accessible); follow instructions to upload NC disability placard or plate information.
  • Temporary permit registration (day or week) - Login to the Parking Portal and select the day or week temporary parking permit, then submit either the NC disability placard or plate information to parking@uncw.edu prior to parking on campus.
    • Only annual UNCW faculty and staff permits allow parking in gated lots. Temporary permits allow parking in any non-gated lot. Both include parking in accessible reserved parking spaces on campus (excludes Visitor Lot).
• Temporary accessible parking: Students, faculty and staff without a permit should register for either a temporary parking permit (day or week) or an annual parking permit in the Parking Portal (see above), then email parking@uncw.edu with either a doctor's note, Disability Resource Center recommendation or temporary NC disability placard or plate information.
  • The maximum time that temporary accessible parking can be given by the parking office with a valid doctor's note is 30 days.
  • If temporary accessible parking is needed longer than 30 days, an official temporary NC disability license placard should be obtained.
  • Only annual UNCW faculty and staff permits allow parking in gated lots. Temporary permits allow parking in any non-gated lot. Both include parking in accessible reserved parking spaces on campus (excludes Visitor Lot).

General Resident Parking Information

Residential parking permits are assigned to on-campus housing residents.  (See Zones and Maps for more information.) Resident students may request a permit for the residential zone for white-lined spaces in residential surface lots, or a deck permit (Central Deck or East Deck) which would allow them to park inside the requested deck only.

Permit holders must stay in their assigned zone from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m.

• Residential permits also allow parking at the Center for Marine Science (CMS) campus at any time of day, in white-lined spaces.

Parking permits are virtual and linked to the vehicle's license plate number. (Note: Enforcement for parking permits will resume 48 hours after classes begin for the semester/term.)

Special Night and Weekend Parking Regulations

Residential permit holders may park in non-gated faculty/staff lots or other commuter zones between the hours of 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. Monday-Friday and anytime on weekends, unless the lot or space is otherwise reserved (see Night & Weekend map).

General Commuter Student Parking Information 

Commuters are assigned virtual permits by zone within commuter areas. Zones are assigned based on the time of registration and availability. (See Zones and Maps for more information.)

Commuter zone permit holders must stay in their assigned zone from 7 a.m. to 5 p.m. and can NEVER park in a residential zone.

• Commuter permits also allow parking at the Center for Marine Science (CMS) campus at any time of day, in white-lined spaces.

Parking permits are virtual and linked to the vehicle's license plate number. (Note: Enforcement for parking permits will resume 48 hours after classes begin for the semester/term.)

Special Night and Weekend Commuter Regulations

Commuter permit holders may park in non-gated faculty/staff lots or other commuter zones between the hours of 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. Monday-Friday and anytime on weekends, unless the lot is otherwise reserved (see Night & Weekend map).

One-Mile Radius Rule

Contact our office to see if your address is within the one-mile radius: parking@uncw.edu or 910.962.3178 OR view the Off-Campus Shuttle Map to see the one-mile radius. 

• Undergraduate students living within the one-mile radius of campus are prohibited from parking their vehicle on campus or in the Park-and-Ride lots during the hours of 7 a.m. - 5 p.m. The Seahawk Shuttle (free with your UNCW One Card) is available at convenient pickup locations at local apartment complexes and on campus. Students may also purchase a night/weekend permit to park on campus after 5 p.m.
  
  • Complete the Permit Upgrade/Change request form if requesting an exemption. Parking permit upgrades are not guaranteed. All permit upgrades will be issued based on space availability and the date/time of the submission form.
• Graduate students are exempt from one-mile radius restrictions.
• Center for Marine Science (CMS) Campus Parking: Students within the one-mile radius may purchase a Night and Weekend permit to park at the Center for Marine Science (CMS) campus at any time of day, in white-lined spaces.

One-mile radius appeals will be reviewed for students who have special circumstances. All appeals must be written and accompanied with supporting documentation. Going to work after class is not a valid appeal.

Warning: students who provide false local address information with their vehicle registration will forfeit the cost of their permit and will be subject to disciplinary proceedings through the Dean of Students Office. If a student moves within the one-mile radius after purchasing a virtual permit, the student must deactivate their current virtual parking permit for the appropriate refund.

Night/Weekend Commuter Permits

(only needed with no residential or commuter permit)

Vehicles registered with night/weekend permits are allowed to park on campus between the hours of 5 p.m. to 7 a.m. Monday-Friday and anytime on weekends (see Night & Weekend map).

• Night/Weekend permits are encouraged for those who live within the one-mile radius and participate in extra-curricular activities or take classes after 5 p.m.
  • Night and Weekend permits also permit parking at the Center for Marine Science (CMS) campus at any time of day, in white-lined spaces.
• Night/Weekend permit holders can never park in residential areas.
• All other rules such as service vehicle parking, accessible parking, 24-hour reserved and fire lanes must be observed at all times.

Any student with a valid Residential or Commuter student parking permit may park at the Center for Marine Science (CMS) Campus at any time of day, in white-lined spaces. See the interactive map.

Any faculty/staff with a valid permit may park at the Center for Marine Science (CMS) Campus at any time of day, in yellow-lined or white-lined spaces. See the interactive map.

Visitors to the Center for Marine Science (CMS) Campus should follow visitor parking rules and regulations. See visitor parking for more information. 

Current UNCW parking permit holders may park in other commuter areas outside of their assigned zone during summer sessions (excluding Central Deck and East Deck). Everyone must be parked in white lines until 5 p.m. Commuters are not allowed to park in the residential areas at any time.

Central Deck permit holders may park in other commuter areas (excluding East Deck) during summer sessions. Resident Central Deck permit holders may also park in the residential zone.

East Deck permit holders may park in other commuter areas (excluding Central Deck) during summer sessions. Resident East Deck permit holders may also park in the residential zone.

Night and weekend permit holders must purchase a Summer permit in order to park on campus before 5 p.m. during the summer sessions.

All annual faculty and staff virtual permits, regardless of the date of issue, expire annually on July 31. Faculty and staff vehicles must be registered by August 1 annually.

Faculty/staff virtual permits are linked to the vehicle's license plate. It is important that you update your vehicle information in the portal should anything change. If you are using or planning to use a rental vehicle, please contact the parking office directly rather than entering the rental vehicle information into your account through the portal.

Parking spaces for faculty and staff are outlined by yellow lines. Faculty/staff may park in white-lined spaces when designated employee spaces are unavailable.

Deck parking permits: Faculty/staff with a valid deck parking permit may park in the deck as well as any other faculty/staff parking lots. (See Zones and Maps for more information.)

Faculty/staff gated parking lots: Gated lot access is provided to all permanent faculty and staff members with a valid virtual annual permit. Hold your UNCW One Card in front of the large HID reader and the gate will automatically raise once the system confirms access privilege. You will not need to hold your UNCW One Card at the exit; the equipment will detect the vehicle and raise the gate automatically.

Faculty/staff may not use their UNCW One Card to allow visitors or students to enter gated lots. If you have any difficulties with your gate access, please contact Parking and Transportation Services at 910.962.3178 or parking@uncw.edu.

New Employees

New employees will receive instructions from onboarding to obtain their parking permit by day two of employment:

• Login to MySeaport, select the Administrative Services tab (at the top of the page), then select the Faculty/Staff Parking Registration link (under UNCW services & links section).
• In the Parking Portal select "Permits," then select "Get Permits " and follow the step-by-step instructions within the portal to complete your parking permit purchase.
• Once completed you will see a permit registration receipt and will receive an email that you successfully registered for a permit.

Please note: While in the portal please update your current vehicle information to ensure that your new permit is associated with your current license plate(s). To add/edit vehicles, select "Vehicles" within the parking portal:

• To add a vehicle to your active permit:
  • Select "Permits" and "View Your Permits" then select the active permit that you would like to add your new vehicle to then follow the step-by-step instructions within the portal to complete.
  • You must link your new vehicle to your active permit.

• To edit/delete a vehicle description:
  • Select the license plate of the vehicle description you wish to edit/delete.