Frequently Asked Questions
The following is a list of commonly received questions regarding parking general information.
For our top 10 FAQs, click here.
To view our entire list of FAQs, click here.
The UTRGV Parking Portal is available for students to purchase their permits or pay for citations online. To access the UTRGV Parking Portal, click here.
Parking permits can also be purchased in person at the following Parking & Transportation Office locations:
Brownsville Campus: BVAQP: Building A
Edinburg Campus: EASFC 135
After you purchase your parking permit (whether online or in-person), the charge is posted to your student account the next day. You can pay for your parking permit online by logging into your student account or if you have excess financial aid, it will be applied towards the outstanding balance. There are no late fees or drops associated with posting of these types of charges.
Your parking permit is mailed to the address associated with your student account. You can display your purchase confirmation on your dashboard until the permit arrives.
If for some reason, you don’t see the charge or don’t receive your parking permit within two days, please contact us at parking@utrgv.edu.
Yes, parking permits will be required for this year. Permits can be purchased in-person, but we encourage you to buy online to avoid the wait and to reduce in-person interaction.
To purchase you're parking permit click here.
If you do not need a yearly parking permit, students have the option of purchasing semester permits, or evening permits at a reduced rate and both students and employees can use the pay stations for short-term parking.
Yes, you can register your vehicle at the time of purchasing your parking permit. You can register up to two vehicles, but you must display your parking permit at all times while on campus.
UTRGV permits are valid in TSC lots, but pay attention to the lot signs to ensure that you are parking in the correct lot—students may not park in faculty/staff lots. Yes, if you intend to park in a TSC lot and do not have a UTRGV permit, please visit our office for a free temporary zone 2 permit.
Parking Services is self-funded--it does not receive funding from the state or tuition. Revenue generated from permit sales and citations funds parking lot improvements and construction, campus safety, security, police services, lighting and surveillance cameras in the parking areas, transit routes, and operations.
By law (see Texas Education Code, Sec. 54.503(b)), parking fees cannot be included as part of tuition.
There are no parking permit rate increases for FY23. There have not been any increases since 2018. UTRGV’s Zone 1 permit rate of $60 has not increased since UTRGV’s inception in 2015.
Recommendations to increase parking permit rates are voted upon by the Parking and Traffic Advisory Committee (“PTAC”). PTAC membership consists of representation from Student Government Association, Faculty Senate, Staff Senate, Facilities Management, Police Services and Parking Services. The purpose of this Committee is to a) review parking and traffic regulations, b) develop recommendations for regulation revisions, as necessary, and c) to develop an efficient parking and traffic system as it relates to differential parking zones, parking fees, penalties for violations of regulations, arrangements for bicycles, motorcycles, and pedestrian traffic.
There are no plans to increase permit rates.
There will be opportunities for community engagement before future permit rate increases, if any, are implemented in a future year.
All students have the option to purchase Zone 1 or Zone 2 parking permits. This allows students to make their buying decision based on proximity and price. Semester permits are also available for students to purchase. Please see the Parking Rate Card for applicable rates.
At $60 for a 12-month period (averages to $5 per month), a Zone 1 parking permit is the most affordable option and allows students to park in remote parking lots. VOLT vehicles make trips from and to the remote parking lots providing students with FREE rides to designated drop-off locations on the Brownsville and Edinburg campuses. Students can download the Ride Systems mobile application to see when the next bus will arrive. View the Ride Systems app for more information. If you don’t mind walking, Zone 1 parking is about a 10-minute walk to the campus core on the Edinburg campus.
At $100 for a 12-month period (averages to about $8 per month), Zone 2 allows students to park in parking lots that are closer in proximity to academic buildings. Zone 2 permit holders can also park in Zone 1 areas at any time.
After 4 pm, students with a Zone 1, Zone 2 parking permit can park in Zones 1, 2 or 3 (employee parking).
We continuously analyze supply and demand for parking spaces, redistribute spaces across zones depending on use, and recommend additions.
The current parking industry standard ratio for permits to spaces is approximately 3:1. UTRGV’s parking ratio is approximately 3:1.
We are working to identify possible expansion opportunities in the near future.
UTRGV assesses supply and demand for parking on a continual basis. While it may become a necessity in the future, there are currently plenty of underutilized parking spaces (Zone 1 specifically). The cost for construction of a parking garage, at minimum, would be in the neighborhood of $20,000 per space. (For purpose of comparison, a surface lot costs an estimated $3,500 per space.) Funding such a structure would cause permit prices to increase substantially (remember, we would not receive state or tuition funding to pay for the garage) and would not result in the same quantity of spaces that could be achieved with surface parking. Many Texas public universities with parking garages sell parking permits in the range of $400-$600.
Zone 1 often has the most open parking spaces, particularly during peak periods of the day. Peak periods are generally between the hours of 8 a.m. and 3 p.m., Monday through Thursday. VOLT vehicles make trips from and to the remote parking lots providing students with FREE rides to designated drop-off locations on the Brownsville and Edinburg campuses. Students can download the Ride Systems mobile application to see when the next bus will arrive. View the Ride Systems app for more information.
This pre-tax benefit is available only through payroll deduction for qualified parking permits, as defined by the IRS and established by UTRGV. Appropriate deductions will be made before federal, state, Social Security, and Medicare taxes are calculated. As a result, your taxable income is reduced, as well as the taxable income reflected on your annual W-2 statement. An employee’s gross pay will not change, but the amount of pay subject to tax withholdings will be reduced. The effect is that employees will have an increase in their net pay because less tax will be withheld from their pay.
Parking Rules and Regulations can be found on our website, under Parking Policies.
Any vehicle parked on university property must display a permit at all times, except on weekends and university-approved holidays that require campus closure.
“Reserved” spaces, also known as “Zone 3”, can be used by Zone 1, Zone 2, and resident permit holders on Monday through Friday after 4 PM, on Saturdays and Sundays, and on holidays unless otherwise marked. Note that a parking permit is required at all times when parked on campus.
No, these spaces are solely for visitors and neither a Zone 1 or Zone 2 permit will allow you to park in visitor spaces. Visitor spaces are for the use of official guests to the university, those who are not affiliated as a student or employee. A visitor permit is required at all times.
Yes, the evening permit is available to students taking classes only after 4PM. Evening permit holders may park in Zones 1 & 2 after 4PM and in Zone 3 after 5PM.
A map of zones and their locations can be found on our website.
As a general rule, you shouldn't leave your convertible with the top down in any parking lot. However, if this is what you want to do, we can assign you a nonremovable sticker.
A valid permit is required to park on campus at all times. For those times when you forget your permit you must obtain a temporary permit at the Parking and Transportation office. Current permit holders may obtain up to 5 free days per semester, thereafter, a dollar per day will apply. Refer to the Parking Rules and Regulations for more information about limitations.
You should immediately report the permit as lost/stolen and call the Parking and Transportation office so we can deactivate it. In order to obtain a replacement permit for $5, you will need to provide proof of the loss, such as, but not limited to, a police report or a bill of sale. If you cannot provide proof, you will need to purchase another permit at the pro-rated cost depending on the period of time for which you will need it.
No – the permit is assigned to the individual who purchased it. If a fellow student or staff member requires a permit, encourage them to purchase their own.
Yes, you do. A resident parking permit is required to park in all residence spaces.
Eligible permit changes (for example, going from a Zone 1 to a Zone 2) can be handled at our offices. You must bring the current permit and pay any difference in the fee.
When you ordered your permit you should have received a confirmation email. Check that email to see if the permit was erroneously sent to a different location that you intended. Thereafter, you must report the permit as lost/stolen and come to our office for issuance of another permit.
If you are having problems ordering your permit online, you can always come by our office or contact our staff for assistance at parking@utrgv.edu or 956-665-2738 in Edinburg or 956-882-7051 in Brownsville.
You can obtain a refund on a pro-rated basis depending on how long you’ve had the permit. More details can be found in the Parking Rules and Regulations at www.utrgv.edu/parking. Refunds are not issued for student permits after the 12th class day in which the permit was purchased. Employee permit refunds are determined by the number of weeks/months it was used at the time that it is returned.
Student permit refunds are issued only up to the census date (12th class day) of the semester that the permit was purchased. Employee permit refunds are issued upon exiting the University. No refunds are issued after the Spring semester.
You don’t need a specific permit to park in an accessible space. Simply use your government-issued placard or plate; you must also have a UTRGV parking permit displayed.
Those with outstanding citations are subject to having a hold placed on their records and transcripts and their vehicles wheel-locked or towed. In addition, they will be ineligible to purchase a new permit.
Anyone may appeal a ticket they feel was wrongly issued on our UTRGV Parking Portal. Appeals should be submitted within 10 calendar days, starting with the issued date of the citation. It may take several weeks to receive a judgment depending on the volume. During the time your appeal is being considered you will not be charged any late fees.