Parking Permits - FYI
Are you a student thinking of bringing your car to campus for the upcoming school year? We want to demystify the parking permit process...
- Waitlists for students opens August 10, you will want to log into the parking portal and add yourself to the waitlist. Students who live on campus are eligible for R lots and students who live off campus are eligible for the C lot (R stands for resident and C for commuter). For the R lots, you can have up to 3 lots on your waitlist, you should prioritize them with your top choice as number 1.
- Waitlists are based on seniority, or number of credits WWU has accepted. This means when someone adds themselves to a waitlist and they have more credits than you, they will jump ahead of you in line.
- August 31 will be the first round of awards for the 2026/27 school year. Those who receive an award will be notified by email to your student email account. You will then have until Sunday at 9 PM to purchase a permit; if you do not purchase a permit then your offer expires and will passed along to another person the following week. If you still wanted a permit but missed your window to purchase it, you will need to add yourself back to the waitlist in the parking portal.
- Transportation Services awards permits weekly, typically on Mondays, based on how many permit spaces there are available in a given lot. If you do not receive an award at the beginning of the school year, there is still (some) hope.
- R lots are sold 1 permit for 1 space. When someone who does not have a permit parks in an R lot, they are taking another person's parking space (not cool!)
86% of Western Students regularly ride the bus. What that means is you don't actually need a car to attend Western! Consider leaving your car at home; especially if you are not awarded a permit.
Lincoln Creek is an off-campus parking lot that is sold at a discounted rate. If you do not receive a parking permit, but need to bring your car to campus, consider a Lincoln Creek permit.
After Hours Permits: After hours permits are a free permit which allows you to park in some lots from 4:30 PM to 7 AM Monday through Friday and on Weekends. You can obtain an after hours permit through the parking portal.
NOTE: Parking on city streets is subject to 72 hour durations. This is enforced by City of Bellingham. What this means is your car is not allowed to be parked in the same spot for longer than 72 hours, if it is, it is subject to a parking ticket.