Permits

Students

Before continuing to purchase a student permit, you will need the following:

• UT NetID  and password
• Credit card or MyUTK
• License plate number
• License plate registration expiration date
• Make, model, year, and color of the vehicle(s) you will be driving to campus

Students are required to purchase their commuter or residential: non-commuter or Greek House parking permit online. Online Academic Year Permit sales begin August 1st each year and remain open. Permits will be mailed from our vendor in Arkansas on the first business day following the date of the sale.  Since they are stored at our vendor, they may not be picked up in our office.

For your convenience, every parking permit payment receipt will have a temporary permit attached. The temporary permit will allow you to immediately park in your designated area for ten days until your hang tag arrives. At the end of your transaction, choose the option to Download Receipt and Permit to print later or choose to Open Receipt and print it now.  

Once a permit is sold online, the mailing process is automated.  No changes are allowed until the permit is received, so please select your options carefully.

Please note our database is populated through the enrolled students and those with signed UT Housing contracts. You also need to be enrolled for classes.

All set? Purchase a student permit

Temporary parking for student areas may be purchased at rate of $5.00 per day when space is available.

2022-24 Fall 2023 and Spring 2024 Student Parking Permit Rates (first increase in 7 years)
Purchase online only

• Non-Commuter Permit (N/NW/NA): $310
• Commuter (C/CW/CA): $198
• Economy Commuter (EC/ECW/ECA) $99
• Evening (T/TW/TA): $42 (valid beginning at 3 p.m. in commuter lots and 5:00 p.m. in unreserved staff lots)
• Fraternity or Sorority (GF/GFW/GFA/GS/GSW/GSA): $283

Fall/Spring permits expire May 31, 2024 – summer permits are required if working or taking classes on campus

One Day Permit – Temporary parking for student areas may be purchased at rate of $5.00 per day when space is available

Parking Permits

• Sold for the full academic year (we do not sell Fall only at the beginning of the year)
• Mid-December permit prices are cut in half for the Spring ONLY semester permit

Refunds

• If you no longer need to park on campus
• Leaving campus – graduating, internship, leaving school
• Full Refund – within one week of classes beginning (or two weeks with a withdrawal slip from the university)
• Half Refund – after the initial deadline and for anyone turning in the permit after the fall semester

View our regulations for more information.

Link to refund page

Late Night Commuter Parking
There is NOT commuter overnight parking on campus. This is a benefit only for residential students in UT Housing.

Student commuter permits are valid from 6:00 a.m. until 3:00 a.m. each weekday. Commuter permits are not valid from 3:00 a.m. until 6:00 a.m. Enforcement is 24/7.

Faculty/Staff

Renewals

Sold online in mid-July to staff with current permits and purchase link is distributed via e-mail

Temporary, contract, and staff who purchase by the month are sold in person starting the last week of July

New Faculty/Staff

• Mondays after New Employee Orientation – HR provides a master list for the Monday hires, so no additional documentation is needed IF you are on that list
• Individual hires not listed on a master HR listing require a letter from their department verifying their new employment
• Parking rates are determined by base salary, if this information has not been input into the UT system yet, new hires will pay $31.50 for the first month. They will need to return the next month to ascertain the correct monthly rate (see below)

Annual faculty/staff permits expire on July 31 as indicated on each parking permit

Faculty/Staff permit categories include Unreserved Staff Area, Accessible, Gated Restricted Access, and Reserved Staff Area.

Temporary staff desiring to park on campus must purchase a permit for $5.00 per day or $31.50 per month and may choose the lesser rate. An authorization letter is required.

Scratch-off Permits

Parking Services supports alternative forms of transportation but sometimes you have to bring a car.  Our answer for the environmentally conscious Faculty and Staff member is a parking permit you can purchase at any time in our office and scratch off the date when you need it.  Each permit is $5 and allows one day of parking in the G10 garage.

Emeritus Parking Permits

Any University of Tennessee Knoxville retiree is eligible for an Emeritus parking permit as long as the following criteria are met:

1. Regular employees must have a minimum of fifteen (15) years of service with the University of Tennessee Knoxville to qualify.

2. Employee must be officially retired from the University, not just retirement age, when terminating employment.

3. Should the retiree return to work in a part-time, term or contract position for which they are compensated, the retiree will be required to purchase the appropriate permit.

4. Retirees that regularly volunteer on campus will be required to display a regular staff parking permit. Individuals or departments may secure the permit at the rate established by the Traffic & Parking Authority (TPA).

 

Emeritus permits:

1. Are issued every 3 years to qualified retirees and are valid in unreserved staff parking areas only.

2. Are NOT valid in public pay garage, Circle Park, or other reserved spaces.

3. Are valid for occasional parking only and should not be used to park daily on campus.

4. Are not valid during special events or sporting events including football and basketball games.

5. Are for the use of the retiree only and may not be loaned, sold or used by anyone other than the retiree. It is not transferable.

6. Are not valid for overnight parking.

7. Must be properly displayed to be valid.

8. Will be issued at the rate established by the TPA during the annual budgeting cycle.

Emeritus Permit Renewal Info Sheet updated 2018

Updated Emeritus Policy 2017

Visitors

Visitors must obtain a visitor permit from either of the Parking and Transit Services offices or the information booth in Circle Park for specified areas on campus. An all-day visitor permit is $5. When you receive the permit, it will indicate where you are to park.

Some visitor permits are sold directly to departments for their guests or for resale to their visitors (for camps and events).

Visitor parking is provided in Circle Park with a permit issued from the information booth at the entrance. Parking is limited to 45 minutes and is strictly enforced.

Volunteer Hall Garage (G15) visitor parking is available for $1.00 every half-hour, located at 1545 White Ave. Do NOT enter from Clinch Ave as that is Non-commuter parking.

The garage is open from 7:00 a.m. until 11:00 p.m., Monday through Friday. Overnight parking is not allowed. This schedule may change without notice due to special events or conferences and is NOT available for home football games.

Arrangements for conference parking may be made in advance through Parking and Transit Services by calling 865-974-6031. The conference parking rate is $5.00 per vehicle.

Sales & Service

Parking permits for sales and service representatives (“vendors”) are available directly from the Parking and Transit Services offices at a cost of $180.00 (annually) or $5.00 per day. Vendors must provide a letter from their company requesting access to park in campus lots in order to receive a permit. Vendors with this parking permit may park in all unreserved staff areas only while on university business. Sales and service permits are valid for occasional parking only and should not be used to park daily on campus.

Contractor Parking

Parking permits for contractors working on University of Tennessee construction or repair projects can be purchased upon approval after completing the Contractor Parking Request Form.  Each request will be evaluated by the Parking and Transit Services office.  Contractor permits are used to park daily in assigned campus lots at a cost of $31.50 per month.

Contractor Parking Request Form

There are over 500 Accessible parking spaces on the UT campus

Disabled person parking plates/tags must be issued to the individual driving or being transported.

Time restrictions apply in certain locations, such as Circle Park 45 minutes, Hodges Library 2 hours, etc.

Accessible parking plates/tags must be from the same state as the registration of the vehicle.

 

Providing a means to get you to your destination:

The T: Access and T:Link point-to-point service can pick up from all parking areas, although this may require loading at the sidewalk or at lot/garage perimeter.
Note: The T: Access and T:Link vehicles cannot go into covered parking facilities.

During the day – The T: Access

The T: Access is a demand response service available to transport students, staff and faculty around campus (inc. UT main campus, Ag Campus, & facilities in the Fort Sanders neighborhood). The service is provided for those with permanent disabilities and limited duration passes for those with temporary disabilities can be issued. Medical verification of the disability needs to be provided to the applicable office.

To get your Access ID card (which is needed to board the vehicle) please visit:

• Student cards are issued by Student Disability Services (SDS)
• Faculty or staff cards are issued by the Office of Equity and Diversity (OED)

Daytime Hours: Weekdays from 7:00 a.m. until 6:00 p.m.

At night – The T: Link

The same point-to-point demand responsive service and No Access ID is required at night.

• Request pickup through the UT mobile app’s transit icon or the TransLoc app. The blue circle will pop up to request On-Demand after 6:00 p.m.
• Call from any campus Blue Phone
• Call the Link directly at 865-974-4080

Nighttime Hours: 6:00 p.m. until 7:00 a.m.

Bus Transportation Options

The T, operated by Transdev, has a number of on-campus services available to students, faculty, staff, and visitors.

All T buses are lift-equipped and fully accessible.

The five main bus routes (Hill, Ag Express, Neyland Express, Fort, and Late Nite) all have low-floor kneeling buses to ease the boarding of buses.

Visit Ride the T for details

For other on- and off-campus public transportation options, visit the KAT website.

Parking Lots Recommended for Using the T: Access or T: Link
These parking lots have been identified for the ease of T Access pick-up, visibility, and proximity to curb cuts, crosswalks, and accessible parking spaces:

• C-3 Curb on Lake Loudon
• S-23 Curb on Phillip Fulmer near Thompson-Boling Arena Ticket Office
• S-30 Curb at Gate 13 outside of Neyland Stadium
• Perkins Hall at lot entrance on Middle Drive
• S-9 (south end) Curb on south side corner of Phillip Fulmer and Peyton Manning Pass
• S-9 (north end) Campus Transfer Point outside of Neyland Stadium near Gate 21
• C-5 Curb on Lake Loudon
• C-6 Curb outside of Financial Aid Office entrance
• S-23 Corner of lot near accessible spaces next to former Student Health Clinic
• N-7 at Blue Phone outside of garage entrance
• S-7 Curb on 13th St.
• G-10 Curb at Tee Martin & Phillip Fulmer
• G-11 Curb on Terrace Ave (far side) outside garage entrance
• G-12 Curb at entrance on White Ave.
• G-13 Curb at entrance between garage and Jesse Harris

 

Accessible Parking on the Hill
There are a limited number of accessible spaces available on the Hill located near Austin Peay, Ayres, and Dabney/Buehler. Additional accessible parking is available in the parking area west of Perkins.

The 11th Street Garage has twenty-six accessible parking spaces available for students, faculty, and staff. A pedestrian bridge provides direct access from the garage to the hill.

Loading/Unloading on the Hill
Vehicles displaying a current Staff Area 7 permit may use the fifteen-minute loading/unloading spaces without other credentials, but are subject to strict enforcement of the designated spaces.

Parking Area Closure Requests

Departments, vendors, and other customers can request closure of parking areas by submitting a Parking Area Closure Request Form.

Street Closure Requests

Closure of campus roads and streets may be requested by filling out a Street Closure Request Form and submitting it via email to utoperations@utk.edu or fax to 865-974-3536.

Motorcycles

Student commuter and non-commuter motorcycle permits are sold online and in person year-round.
Faculty/staff motorcycle permits are sold in person at either Parking and Transit Services office or online once a year via e-mail.

Motorcycles are permitted only in designated M&R spaces.

Annual Motorcycle Non-Commuter (R): $82.50
Annual Motorcycle Commuter (M): $66.00

Departments

Transferrable “Orange Dot” permits
Formerly known as Red Dots, Orange Dots are for departmental use only. They are designed to help departments conduct departmental business and should only be used for short periods to access alternate locations. Orange Dots may not be used on a regular basis to alter allocated parking assignments.

Orange Dots may only be used for parking in unreserved staff areas and must be accompanied by a current parking permit. Circle Park is not an unreserved staff area.

To obtain an Orange Dot permit, departments must submit a letter of request and justification from the appropriate chief administrative officer of each major division.

Orange Dots expire annually on July 31.

Special Permit
Allows parking in another unreserved area on campus (distance of 1/2 mile or greater) for those persons whose duties require movement. To obtain a special permit, departments must submit a letter of request and justification from the appropriate chief administrative officer of each major division.

EV Special Permit may be obtained for those with Electric Vehicles to park in the charging stations which may not be in their assigned area.

Reserved Spaces
Departments must submit reserved space requests for approval in writing to the director of Parking and Transit Services. Reserved spaces purchased by individuals also require a written request for review and approval by the director of Parking and Transit Services. Individual reserved spaces are awarded based on space availability.

Department Visitors
University departments that invite visitors to campus should contact Parking and Transit Services to arrange for visitor parking. Requests for special guest parking should be submitted to Parking and Transit Services as far in advance as possible. Special event parking requests should be submitted at least seven (7) days in advance in order to coordinate the numerous parking requests received. Please fill out the Special Parking Request Form.

Loading/Unloading
Departmental Unloading Permits will be issued to units located on Circle Drive. Departments will check out permits to individuals in advance that need access to unloading areas. These permits provide access. Restricted times will be strictly enforced.

Alternative Vehicle

The Traffic and Parking Authority has directed Parking and Transit Services to administer a permit registration program for university-owned or leased alternative vehicles that are used on campus. These vehicles must be registered through a university department. Registration is free.

Alternate vehicles (like golf/utility carts) are not allowed to operate in an unsafe manner, park on sidewalks and block entrances to buildings, and must be registered.

Alternative Vehicles are defined as those which are purchased, leased, traded for, loaned, donated, and similar activities where an alternative vehicle is under the control of a student, staff, or faculty member and driven on campus owned streets.

Link to announcement regarding these changes

 

 

Departments must complete the Alternative Vehicle Registration Form.

An Alternative Vehicle Permit does not expire. The permit should be visible from the front of the vehicle, affixed to the upper part of the hood or frame on the driver’s side visually below the steering wheel.

Operators of alternative vehicles must meet the general requirements listed in the GS130 Alternative Vehicle Policy, and successfully complete the Alternative Vehicle Safety Training Program given by the UT Department of Environmental Health & Safety.

The process:

• Purchase or acquire vehicle (must be done through Facilities Services)
• Register the vehicle with Parking & Transit Office
• Obtain Alternative Vehicle Parking Permit (no cost)
• Operators of these vehicles must fulfill requirements, successfully complete an Alternative Vehicle Safety Training Program, which includes a signed statement of understanding and compliance.

Link to Alternative Vehicle Policy

Link to Training Materials

Link to Training Calendar administered by Environmental Health & Safety