OU Parking Services is now using license plate recognition (LPR), which is a system that allows you to use your license plate as your permit! No more worrying about properly displaying your parking permit or transferring your permit between vehicles.
***Note: OU Faculty/Staff will still be sold a physical permit in order to access gated lots.
A valid OU parking permit will still be required to park on campus, and permit holders will still be assigned to specific locations to park. Rather than displaying a physical permit though, a "virtual permit" will be associated with license plate(s) on the customer's account. The following student permits will now be virtual: Commuter, Commuter Law, Housing, Headington Hall, Asp Reserved, Elm Reserved and Evening.
LPR is a system of cameras and accompanying software, which are placed on OU Parking Services vehicles to scan license plates. Once a plate is scanned and read by the software, the information is sent to the secure parking database for validation. This happens instantaneously, allowing the enforcement officers to cover the entire campus multiple times per day. When a scanned license plate number is not associated with a valid permit or is not entered correctly, enforcement is prompted to investigate further and potentially issue a citation.
Customer Service Benefits
The license plate is associated with the virtual permit and anyone who parks on campus must have a valid OU parking permit and link their vehicle(s) to their permit through their OU Parking Services account. The purchaser is responsible for the accuracy of the license plate and vehicle information in the parking portal. Citations will be issued to the vehicle owner if inaccurate license plate information is self-reported in the parking portal or parking enforcement staff are unable to scan a license plate when the vehicle is parked.
License plates must face the drive lane to be scanned for compliance. Vehicles from states that don't require a front license plate must be parked allowing the rear plate to be scanned from the drive aisle (don't back in).
Only one vehicle linked to your virtual permit may be parked on campus at a time to avoid receiving a citation. The LPR system will notify parking enforcement personnel to write a citation if two or more plates are scanned within 4 hours on campus. Students can have a maximum of three vehicles linked to their current parking permit.
Temporary, paper license plates on new vehicles need to be 1) registered online using the last 8 digits of the VIN number and 2) linked to an individual's permit to avoid receiving a citation. Once the permanent plate has been obtained, it should be added to the permit online. The temporary plate should be removed from both the permit and the parking profile.
