Frequently Asked Questions

General FAQ's

  1. Access your Parking Portal
  2. Select “Get Permits”
  3. Click “Affiliated Login”
  4. Enter your myLSU username and password to complete the login process
  5. The “Purchase a Permit” screen should appear. Click “Next”
  6. Review the permits available based on your LSU classification. Make a permit selection, and select all checkboxes. Click “Next” to proceed.
  7. Enter your vehicle information by clicking “Add New Vehicle” or select all vehicles that apply.
  8. Select a delivery address. If your delivery address is not correct, please click “Add New Address” and be sure to select the mailing type as “Home” (otherwise this address will not update). USPS non-university addresses only (NO PO Box). Please allow for 10-14 days for delivery.
  9. Enter or select a valid email address
  10. Review your order and “Pay Now”. (All charges are added to your LSU Billing Address).
  11. Print temporary permit and visibly display permit on the drivers/passenger side in the windshield/dashboard of your vehicle.

  1. Your myLSU login ID and password
  2. A valid USPS address (non-University address)
  3. Your vehicle information (make, model, color, state, license plate number, and state)

If you possess a valid permit but are not sure where to park on campus or which lots you have access to, please use this helpful Permit Reference Guide. You can also visit the Interactive Campus Map which will provide you with the exact location of all parking lots and zones across campus.

The Union Square Garage, opened in Spring 2013, is located on E. Campus Drive and is open to visitors, students, and faculty/staff.  

Parking spaces on floors 2-4 are reserved for visitor parking using the meter or the Parkmobile payment application at the rate of $1.50 per hour.  

Parking spaces on floors 5-6 are reserved for students with a valid Union Square Garage parking permit.  

The cost of a simple garage can run $15,000-$18,000 per space, compared to an asphalt lot that costs about $1,500 per space.

Yes. Night students are required to register for a permit just as day students.

All students that park their vehicle on campus are required to purchase a permit and register their vehicle with Parking & Transportation Services. Students also have the option to park in metered spots (see next question).

Yes, but if the meter is not paid, students are subject to a violation of overtime parking. At that time, if a permit isn’t displayed, an unregistered violation may be issued as well.

Contact Parking & Transportation Services.  There are several things we can do. One option is to leave your permit with our dispatcher (towing window) for pickup after hours. Another is to register online early and the permit will be mailed to you.

The guidelines for parking are in effect at all times, except zone restrictions. Violating regulations regarding fire lanes, handicapped spaces, no parking areas (marked by yellow stripes or curbs), and reserved spaces will inconvenience or impact the safety of others and cannot be allowed. Ticketing and towing are methods of discouraging illegal parking.

Using or displaying a lost or stolen permit in your vehicle is a direct violation of the rules & regulations and will result in major consequences.  Any lost or found permits should be mailed or immediately brought to the Parking & Transportation Services office located in the Audubon Safety Building (located on S. Stadium Dr. between the LSU PD and Military Science buildings).

There are two types of holidays:

  • Student Holidays: Employees work and there are no classes (Fall Holiday, Spring Break, etc.).  On these days a student with a valid permit can park in any student zone but may not park in staff/faculty zones. 
  • Campus-Wide Holidays: The University is closed.  A valid permit can park in any legal spot on campus during these days.

Permission can be given for short periods of time to allow students into faculty/staff areas to drop off or pick up large items. But you need to get a loading permit in advance from one of the Parking Booths or the Parking & Transportation Services office in room 109 of the Student Union. Don’t take the chance thinking you’ll only be a few minutes. The couple of minutes spent getting the permit are better than the ticket or tow that you may receive.

There are enough spaces on campus for the number of students, staff, faculty, and visitors we have daily at LSU. The problem is that we are so large that we cannot get them as close as everyone wants them to be.

We have over 23,500 parking spaces located across campus. If you are coming for a late morning class, do not waste time looking for a space in one of the closest lots. You can drive 10–15 minutes around the close lots without success. Go to an outlying lot and use the bus system or walk. The 2–3 extra minutes it takes to walk from there instead of a closer lot will save you time, gas, and frustration.

Most commuter lots on campus are located within a half mile of the center of campus and are a quick 12-15 minute walk to the center of campus and the quad.  There are a few perimeter lots including the Tiger Park East Lot, North Fraternity Lot, East Tiger Blvd Lot, and the West Parker X175 Lot that are an estimated 17-20 minute walk to the center of campus and the quad. 

Tiger Trails, LSU’s mass transit system, provides a safe, convenient, and free bus service for students, faculty, staff, and visitors, both on- and off-campus.  Tiger Trails operates on Fixed-Rider Routes to better serve daily-use passengers with quick and efficient schedules.  The routes run consistently on a schedule and stop only at established, pre-determined stops.  These routes will follow regular schedules Monday-Friday on weekends, with abbreviated or suspended service between semesters, on holidays, and during the summer.  Visit the Tiger Trails Transit Service page for more information. Park & Geaux is another service that allows students, faculty, and staff access to park in the Tiger Park East Lot on Skip Bertman Dr. and ride the Park & Geaux shuttle to the core of campus. The shuttle runs to and from the Student Union every 5-7 minutes.

There are several lots on campus that are considered open to all zones. This means that they are available to any valid permit at all times. There are three of these lots at the Student Recreation Center and several others around campus as well. Check the parking map for their location.

If you receive a ticket, you should never ignore it. A violation should be paid or appealed within 7 days of receipt.  While it is fresh in your memory, present all of the facts in your appeal. Simply saying you did not do anything wrong or that the officer made a mistake is not sufficient. You should give the Hearing’s Officer as much information as possible on which to base a decision.

If your start date is your orientation date, you should choose to receive your permit at orientation.


If your start date is prior to your orientation date, you should visit the Public Safety Building for your permit.

No, student permits can only be paid through an external payment plan to the student’s Bursar account.  It’s important for the student to acknowledge all of the terms in the permit purchase process, so this is the reason any affiliate should use FlexPort only for the permit purchase.  

No, citations must be paid through the student’s Bursar’s account, FlexPort (credit card), or in the office (cash, check, money order, or credit card). Students or customers are welcome to work with the LSU Foundation or the department wishing to pay for the charges, but LSU Parking will only accept payment and provide documentation to our customers on their account. 

Call the LSU Parking & Transportation Office at 225-578-5000 or email parking@lsu.edu.

Inclement Weather FAQs

The Tiger Trails Transit Service will continue to operate as originally scheduled until it is deemed unsafe for travel.  If service is halted due to severe weather in the area, services will resume once it is deemed safe for travel.  Please check the Transloc Application or contact the Dispatch Office at (225) 578-8586 for service updates and information.  

The On Demand Shuttle Service will operate as originally scheduled from 5:00 pm - midnight, unless it is deemed unsafe for travel.  Please check the Transloc Application or contact the Dispatch Office at (225) 578-8586 for service updates an information.

Please be advised that the following parking lots are prone to flooding and should be avoided if we receive a high amount of rainfall.  Aster street, Alaska Street, South Stadium Lot, behind Coates Hall, PMAC lot, Beach Volleyball, the Greek Amphitheater, AG Livestock Lot, EB Duran Hall Lot, and some of the residential areas on the East side of campus have flash flood potential.  Students who remain on campus can move their vehicle to the Nicholson Gateway Garage, Union Square Garage, or any of the other lots on campus without receiving a citation.  All vehicles must be returned to their assigned parking zone as soon as campus reopens.

For service updates, please follow Parking & Transportation Services’ social media accounts and use the Transloc App.

Media Related FAQ's

Breakdown of Student Parking Spaces 

  • Commuter Students – 12,877
  • Residential Students – 5,347
  • Greek Housing Areas– 1164

LSU is currently implementing the first phases of the Mobility Plan, created as part of the Comprehensive and Strategic Campus Master Plan, and this is intended to help with the issues with parking areas around the campus’s denser areas. The Mobility Plan focuses on leveraging the university’s transportation system, such as Park & Geaux and Tiger Trails. The Park & Geaux program allows commuters to park and hop on a shuttle to the core of campus. The overall Mobility Plan focuses on improving walkways, utilizing micro-mobility programs, and making use of Tiger Trails in order to provide transportation options and make the overall mobility experience enjoyable. 


PTS will continue to source available technology to improve the parking experience and is actively working to get lot occupancy information out to our community in a meaningful way. As we continue to make these improvements, we will communicate this information in the Geaux to Know emails. 

Parking & Transportation Services takes a customer-centered mindset. We have established Geaux to Know, a communication platform to improve our communications with students, faculty, and staff.  The department actively works with Student Government, meeting weekly to discuss important student issues and focus on bringing resolution, when possible, to those issues. PTS also introduced the ParkZen crowdsourcing application, developed by an LSU professor and student, to help students find available parking on campus.  

We are in a unique situation compared to many universities because we have ample parking as a whole to accommodate all of our students, faculty, and staff. In denser areas, just like other universities, we are limited in the amount of parking in close proximity to buildings. The core of the campus is gated for the safety of pedestrians and bicyclists.

Since we know that our denser areas become fuller than other areas, I would suggest planning your trip each day and that you allow for extra time to commute to campus. Last year, Parking & Transportation Services partnered with an LSU professor and student who developed a crowdsourcing app, ParkZen, that provides real-time information on available parking spaces. Having this app on your phone increases your opportunities of locating nearby open parking spaces, and this will greatly reduce parking frustrations. Additionally, our staff counts cars quarterly in parking areas and posts those occupancy percentages for 7am, 11am, 2pm, and 4pm Monday through Friday. Those counts are conducted on normal school weeks, so they are consistent for each week of that quarter. 

Continuing the forward progress of the Mobility Plan by completing all phases of the Park & Geaux program. Upon completion, the program will result in 2,000 parking spaces for people to park and ride a shuttle to the core of campus in under 10-15 minutes, which will reduce the congestion in other commuter lots.

The Park & Geaux program is an affordable, sustainable, and express shuttle to class.  By purchasing the $50 permit, you will have access to park in the Tiger Park East Lot on Skip Bertman Dr. and access the Park & Geaux shuttle with a bus running to and from the Student Union every 5-7 minutes.  For only $50, you can park on campus and catch an express shuttle to the core of campus at a fraction of the cost of a traditional permit.   By participating in the Park & Geaux program, users will save time, money, support sustainable initiatives, and avoid the hassle of finding a parking space on campus, avoid the heat and/or inclement weather, and catch the Express Shuttle to class/work and ride in the comfort of the A/C.