A very popular way to control parking privileges is with a parking permit system. A parking permit is a badge or cert given to motorists who are allowed to park in certain areas. Parking permits are popular in offices, residential complexes and on-street parking bays.
In this blog, we’ll have a quick look at the key uses of parking permits. Let’s start off with the why.
What is the purpose of parking permit systems?
Parking permits are designed to make life easier for security and parking enforcement. Parking permits mean car park staff can walk about lots to ensure all parkers are entitled to be there. In cases of violations, parking staff can take the necessary steps.
Depending on the car park this might be a warning, fine, ticket, towing or in some countries clamping.
1. Offices
Many companies resort to a parking permit system to manage employee parking.
In smaller companies, this means that select staff receive parking permits. The permits mean that these staff can come and go from the office car park as they please.
“In larger companies, different staff members may be given alternative types of permits. Certain badges allow people to park in certain areas or on particular days.”
For example senior management may be given a green badge to park right in front of the office. Middle management might be given a blue badge which means they can park in an off-site car park. While junior staff might be given a yellow badge which means they can only park on Fridays.
2. Commercial
Most cities operate a kerbside parking permit system for commercial vehicles. This basically means that delivery vehicles need permission to use loading bays.
“A permit system for commercial vehicles allows local governments to regulate use of loading bays and kerbsides.”
For example larger vans may be permitted to use loading bays very early in the morning or very late at night. While smaller vans may be permitted access during the workdays.
Commercial systems are designed to help manage traffic in CBDs.
3. Residential
A very common system for large apartment blocks and large residential complexes. Parking can become a bit rogue in these developments with all the coming and going of guests.
This system will operate very similarly to offices. Residents will be given permits to use parking areas. In larger developments different colours will mean motorists are allowed to park in different areas.
4. Local Government
Permits are a popular solution where paid on-street parking bays are outside of residential houses. Obviously, it would be unfair to ask residents to pay hourly rates just to park outside their home.
“For this reason many local governments roll out permit systems for residents. Residents are often required to apply for a permit on an annual basis. They may need to pay a nominal admin fee. Their permit will allow them to park on specific streets close to their homes.”
There may be additional options to apply for guest permits. Many local governments will limit the number of guest permits they make available. Guest permits are often once-off permits which are used by guests when visiting. Once a household runs out of permits, guests pay normal on-street rates.
Are there any disadvantages to parking permit systems?
Permits have a lot of advantages. They give employees a clear understanding of their entitlements. While also providing a clear framework to parking staff to ensure good behaviour. However, there are a large number of drawbacks, which is seeing the use of parking permits decline.
“The two largest drawbacks to parking permits are a lack of flexibility and the need for intense manual management.”
Certs & badges are physical and hard to change. Changing the colour system for a whole company takes a large amount of effort. This might seem like a small thing but think about this in the context of the global COVID pandemic. If a company wanted to prioritise parking for a certain demographic on return to office it is a challenge.
They would need to get a new style permit printed and physically get that permit to all staff. If they then need to change in a few weeks they are back to square one.
Obviously this demonstrates the lack of flexibility but there is also intensive manual management at each step. That is before you get to the weekly tasks of replacing lost permits, clawing back permits from leaving staff and providing ones for new hires. This is why many organizations are replacing physical permit systems entirely with automated parking management platforms that handle allocation, waitlists, and policy changes digitally.
Of course then there is the biggest resource drain, the monitoring. For a parking permit system to work, most companies depend on having full-time staff patrolling car parks. They are checking on cars to make sure they have badges. This can be very onerous as cars park in different ways and display their badges in different places.
If you don’t have a parking permit system in operation and are looking to introduce one, make sure to go digital from day one.
“In the office space, parking management software like Wayleadr can roll out a whole digital parking permit system in a few clicks. There are massive additional advantages such as ability to digitize monitoring and enforcement. While changes can be made to permits and privileges at the click of a button.”
Some quick research will help find companies who offer similar solutions for other verticals.
Even if you have an existing permit system, you should probably think about changing. Not only will a digital solution make your life a lot easier. It also futureproofs your organization. Giving you the data and insights you need to make strategic decisions about your parking portfolio moving forward.
Discover more about the world of parking technology with our guides to parking technology, parking software companies and smart parking.
Join industry leaders from companies like Sanofi, Indeed.com & CBRE, schedule a demo with Wayleadr.com today and solve your parking problems at the click of a button.
Permits are just one component of a broader parking policy. See our breakdown of 6 popular types of employee parking policy for how permits fit into the bigger picture.
The type of permit you issue depends on your allocation model. Our guide to allocated parking covers fixed vs. flexible approaches.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is a parking permit?
A credential — physical or digital — that authorizes a vehicle to park in a specific area. Permits define who can park, where, and when. Modern digital permits replace stickers and hangtags with app-based credentials that can be issued, revoked, and tracked in real time.
What are the different types of parking permits?
Reserved (assigned space), zone-based (any space within an area), time-limited (specific hours/days), temporary (visitors/contractors), and dynamic (book-per-day). Digital systems can combine multiple types and enforce rules automatically.
Are digital parking permits better than physical ones?
Yes, for most organizations. Digital permits eliminate lost/stolen card issues, enable instant issuance and revocation, provide usage analytics, and integrate with LPR cameras for automatic enforcement. The only downside is requiring smartphone access.
What are the pros and cons of using parking permits?
Pros: clear authorization, easy enforcement, predictable for full-time users. The big con since 2020: a permit reserves a space full-time even though the typical permit-holder now comes in 3 days a week. Workplace permit-lot peak utilization sits at 41-53% in recent industry studies, meaning roughly half the supply is empty even when demand is highest. In a stable full-time workforce, permits work; in a hybrid one, they reserve space by identity rather than by need.
When does a parking permit system stop working?
Permits start to fail when hybrid attendance makes demand volatile, when the site grows beyond its parking footprint, when different shifts need the same space at different times, or when reissuing permits and fielding fairness complaints becomes a full-time job. 74% of hybrid employers now report that monthly parking subscriptions no longer match how people actually show up. The clearest signal is operator overhead — if your team is constantly reissuing or relitigating permits, the model has outgrown the demand.
What’s an alternative to permit-based parking?
Dynamic allocation — also called flex parking or shared parking — replaces fixed permits with daily booking. Anyone authorized books a space the day before; no booking, no space. If your people come in 3 days a week, a flex system can serve roughly 1.7x more people from the same bays without anyone losing a guaranteed spot on a day they want one. Published case studies cluster around 25% parking-budget savings. (Wayleadr is one of the platforms used to run it.)
Do parking permits include the vehicle’s license plate?
On modern digital permit systems, yes — the permit is bound to the vehicle’s license plate, not to a sticker or hangtag. LPR (license-plate recognition) cameras at the entry verify permits automatically: the driver displays nothing; the camera reads the plate and the gate opens. Older sticker-based systems sometimes print the plate on the permit as fraud control but don’t actively verify it at the gate. The trend is toward retiring physical permits entirely.
