What’s on this page?

Click on a link below to jump to that section.

 

Parking Fees

Every student and employee must register each vehicle they park on any University at Albany campus and comply with parking rules and regulations. 
 

Register your vehicle online


Unless otherwise specified, decals must be obtained in our office during business hours by appointment only. Note: Registration fees are non-refundable.

Students and employees with fuel efficient vehicles (at least 35 miles per gallon in combined city and highway driving, per EPA's fuel economy ratings) are eligible for a 20% discount. Please select "fuel efficient" while registering.
 

fees
Students

Students may choose to register their vehicle for on-campus parking. The fee is $50 per vehicle.

Student decals are renewed annually and last from September 1 to August 31 each year.

The University charges broad-based fees — including the Comprehensive Service Fee, which helps fund the Office of Parking and Mass Transit Services — to all enrolled students.

Graduate Student Employee Union (GSEU) members pay the standard student vehicle registration fee of $50, with no additional parking fee.

Note: Residential first year students are not eligible for on-campus parking. Read our residential first year student policy for more information.

Military Discount

Students who are honorably discharged veterans or active military personnel, including in the National Guard and Reserves, can request a 20% discount ($10) when they register their vehicle.

Veterans will be asked to provide DD Form 214 or a retired Military ID card. Active military personnel will be asked to provide a Military ID card. Please contact the Office of Veteran and Military Student Services with questions regarding eligibility.

Unionized Faculty & Staff

The fee is $25 per vehicle for UAlbany employees who are members of CSEA, UUP, PEF or Council 82.

Non-unionized Faculty & Staff

UAlbany employees who are non-union are may select one of the following options:

  • Full year (September 1 to August 31): $105.60

  • Academic year (September 1 to May 31): $94.80

  • One semester: $84

  • One month: $46.20

Retired Faculty & Staff

Retired faculty and staff members can register for a parking decal at no charge through our Parking Services Online Store  or by making an in-person appointment. Retirees returning to state service must pay a $25 fee per vehicle.

Decals must be renewed each August and are valid for all faculty/staff and student parking areas. Retiree decals cannot be used in visitor lots, reserved spaces or metered spaces, and cannot be used for accessible spaces without the proper placard.

Your status as a retiree is determined by the Office of Human Resource Management.

Note: Current faculty, staff and students are not allowed to use retiree decals.

University Volunteers

Volunteers are eligible for a commuter student permit at a rate of $50.

Decal Regulations

Parking decals are required to park in student or employee parking lots.
 

decals
Vehicle Registration

For employees and students, the vehicle must be legally registered with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in either your name or the name of an immediate family member.

New York State Public Health Law Section 238 defines “immediate family” to include your spouse, parents (including birth parents, adoptive parents, stepparents and parents-in-law), children (including stepchildren and children-in-law), siblings (including siblings-in-law), grandparents and grandchildren. Proof of relationship is required if the last name or address does not match DMV and/or University records. 

For vehicles registered outside of New York State, you must provide a copy of the registration when you buy your decal. If you make the purchase online, you must provide the copy of your out-of-state registration when you pick up your decal.

Decal Display

Decals must be permanently affixed inside the lower passenger side of the front windshield to be valid. Your decal is not considered active and valid until properly affixed to your registered vehicle. 

Failure to affix your decal in the designated area will result in a citation. The decal must also be readable from outside of the vehicle.

Individuals with multiple vehicles will be issued one hang tag to move between vehicles. Failure to properly hang the tag from your rearview mirror, with the plate number facing forward, will result in a citation. Please remove the hang tag before driving the vehicle.

You are only eligible to have one vehicle on campus at any given time.

Resident & Commuter Parking Areas

Resident and Commuter students with a valid permit are permitted to park in their specifically designated lots or a shared lot as noted below.

Resident Parking Lots include:

  • Colonial Northwest Resident Student 

  • State Quad Annex Resident 

  • Empire Commons

  • Liberty Terrace

  • Freedom Quad (excluding Freedom North)

Commuter Parking Lots include:

  • Colonial Quad commuter

  • Colonial Quad North commuter

  • State Quad North Commuter 

  • Indigenous Quad East Commuter 

  • ETEC 

Shared Resident and Commuter Parking Lots include:

  • Dutch South Student 

  • Freedom North

  • SEFCU Arena (no overnight parking.

Resident students with a valid permit can also park in any commuter or faculty/staff parking lot besides the hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Commuter students with a valid permit can also park in any resident or faculty/staff parking lot besides the hours of 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday. 

Replacement Decals and Vehicles

The following policies apply for obtaining a replacement decal:

  • If you get a new vehicle but keep the same license plates, place the old decal on the new vehicle and call or email Parking Services with the updated vehicle make, model, year and color.
  • If you receive new license plates or if the old decal rips in the removal process, make an appointment to bring your old decal back and obtain a replacement for $5. The same process applies for license plate changes when the vehicle has not changed. Decals are license plate specific, not vehicle specific.
  • If the old decal is not returned to our office, a new decal will need to be purchased at full price. The only exception to this policy is if the vehicle was deemed a total loss. In this case, proof of total loss will be required to obtain a $5 replacement.
Temporary Permits and License Plates

If you need to bring a different vehicle to campus, you must obtain a temporary pass from Parking Services during business hours by making an appointment. Anyone with a valid decal is allowed 10 free one day temporary passes per academic year. Temporary passes can be purchased after business hours online or by using the pay-and-display machine outside of Parking Services.

The license plate indicated on the decal must match the plate on the vehicle. Decals are non-transferable.

University community members are responsible for obtaining a replacement decal if their license plate and/or vehicle information changes in any way.

The following policies apply for obtaining a replacement decal:

  • If you get a new vehicle but keep the same license plates, place the old decal on the new vehicle and call or email Parking Services with the updated vehicle make, model, year and color.
  • If you receive new license plates or if the old decal rips in the removal process, make an appointment to bring your old decal back and obtain a replacement for $5. The same process applies for license plate changes when the vehicle has not changed. Decals are license plate specific, not vehicle specific.
  • If the old decal is not returned to our office, a new decal will need to be purchased at full price. The only exception to this policy is if the vehicle is deemed a total loss. In this case, proof of total loss will be required to obtain a $5 replacement.
Parking Violations

The person who was issued the parking decal is responsible for any parking violations issued to their vehicle and/or vehicles belonging to family members.

It is your responsibility to know and follow University parking rules and regulations, and to inform your family of these policies.

Please visit the general Parking page for more information on parking violations, including instructions on how to pay and/or appeal citations.

Health Sciences Campus Parking Permits

The Health Sciences Campus has different parking permits from those used on the Uptown and Downtown Campuses. Health Sciences Campus permits are not valid on the Uptown and Downtown Campuses.

For questions about Health Sciences Campus parking, contact Health Sciences Campus, at 518-591-8400.

Visitors' Lots

To maintain enough parking for our daily visitors and guests, UAlbany restricts who can park in areas designated for visitors.

Campus community members (including students, faculty, staff, vendors, affiliates and contractors) who have purchased a valid UAlbany parking decal, including a Special Permit, or anyone who is eligible to purchase an UAlbany parking decal, are not permitted to use visitors' lots or metered parking spots.

Those who park in any area designated for visitors will be subject to a citation — even if proper validation has occurred.

Motorcycles

Motorcycles must be registered with a valid University decal to park on campus.

You may register more than one vehicle (including one motorcycle and one car), but you cannot have more than one vehicle on campus at any given time.

Motorcycles can be parked in any area covered by your current decal, in any open or registered parking area during posted hours, and directly behind any light post, so long as it does not take up a space that could be used by a car.

Motorcycles cannot be parked on sidewalks or under stairs. Tandem parking is prohibited. Motorcycles parked in bicycle racks are subject to tickets and/or towing.

Accessible Parking

Accessible parking is available to students, faculty, and staff members who have both a valid parking decal and a license plate or valid placard displaying the Universal Symbol of Access. Students, faculty, and staff members who meet these requirements can park in any designated student, faculty, staff, accessible, or special permit area. Review accessibility maps of our campuses.

Vehicles parked in accessible spaces without a license plate or valid placard displaying the Universal Symbol of Access will be ticketed.

For information on how to obtain a license plate or valid placard displaying the Universal Symbol of Access please visit the New York State Department of Motor Vehicles website.

Temporary Placards

Students who do not have a license plate or valid placard displaying the Universal Symbol of Access but who need a temporary accommodation must contact the Disability Access and Inclusion Student Services (DAISS) before contacting the Office of Parking and Mass Transit Services (PMTS).

The DAISS will review your request and, if you are eligible, provide a recommendation that PMTS approve a temporary special permit accommodation.

New residential students with medical accommodations that have been approved by Student Health Services or Counseling and Psychological Services may be granted an exemption for expected duration of need.

PMTS cannot accept or review medical documentation.

 

accessibility

Parking Policy for Resident First Year Students

Resident first year students are not allowed to bring a vehicle to campus, purchase a parking permit, or park in visitors’ lots and metered parking spaces. Credits earned during high school or in pre-college courses does not have an effect on this policy.

Students who do not live in on-campus housing, who are 21 or older, or who are entering at least their third semester at a college or university can park on campus with a valid parking permit.
 

first-year
Who is eligible for an exemption to this policy?

Students with medical accommodations that have been approved by Student Health Services or Counseling and Psychological Services may be granted an exemption for expected duration of need. Note: PMTS cannot accept or review medical documentation.

Students with military obligations may be granted an exemption if they provide supporting documentation from their commanding officer on military letterhead. Military exemptions are granted one semester at a time and renewals will not be granted if the student receives a parking violation.

What are the repercussions for breaking this policy?

Anyone who attempts to register a vehicle for a resident first year student will be referred to the Office of Community Standards.

Any vehicle registered to a resident first year resident student will also be ticketed and/or towed at the owner's expense, even if legally parked.