Departmental Permits

Requesting a Departmental Permit

Departments must purchase new DPs for each fiscal year. The annual cost of a DP is $300 per pass.

All purchases of DPs require approval from the appropriate Vice President or Provost.

Steps to Request a DP

Check with Transportation & Parking Services to see how many DPs are available to you based on your allotment and previous purchases.
Verify with the person in your major HCM unit who manages the purchase of DPs that you have permission to submit an order and that you have permission from your Vice President or Provost.
Submit your order in UGAmart. If you’re requesting an exception to the allotment, attach a letter of justification from your Vice President or Provost.
Watch the DP video in the UGA Professional Education Portal if you haven’t done so already.
Your Vice President or Provost will receive a DocuSign via email to confirm their approval of the purchase.
Transportation & Parking Services will process the order.

FTE Allocation

Departments are allowed to request DPs of up to 6% of the number of full-time-equivalent faculty and staff members (FTE) within the official HCM/HR department.
A request for additional DPs must be accompanied by a formal justification letter signed by the Vice President or Provost and attached via Internal Notes in UGAmart for review by the TPS Customer Relations Office.
Exceptions to the FTE allocation are not guaranteed.

Using a Departmental Permit

Everyone who uses a DP is encouraged to watch the video in the Professional Education Portal on the proper use of departmental permits.
It is the responsibility of the department to manage the appropriate use of DPs just as it would protect any other item purchased using departmental funds.
DPs should not be issued to and kept by individual employees. Instead, the department should maintain all DPs in a central location and sign them out on an as-needed basis.
The DP is only valid when used in conjunction with a regular UGA permit. Alternative Transportation Passes are not permits and cannot be used in conjunction with a DP permit.
The DP is only valid in regular spaces that are available to regular permit holders for that lot.

Restricted Lots

DPs are not permitted in high-demand surface lots on North Campus and South Campus. DPs are permitted in all parking decks, however.

Please refer to the Departmental Pass Restrictions map to see where DPs can and cannot be used. If a parking area is not shown on the map, DPs are permitted there.

Departmental Pass Restrictions Map

The below map shows the campus lots where departmental permits are and are not permitted. If a parking area is not shown on the map, DPs are permitted there.

Click on the map to view a full-size PDF.

Departmental Pass Restrictions map showing campus lots where
departmental permits are not permitted. Click to download full-size PDF.

Physical Signage

: Example signage for a lot that does not allow the use of DP permits.

: Example signage for a lot that does allow the use of DP permits.

Construction Impact

Temporary “No DP” restrictions may be posted in lots during construction or special events.

Prohibited Uses

Use of a DP to enhance an individual’s parking assignment is considered personal use and is strictly prohibited. If this type of use occurs, the individual permit holder will be subject to penalty, and the DP will be revoked.
The DP is not valid in the following areas:
- Fire lanes
- Reserved spaces
- State vehicle spaces
- Designated patient/client spaces
- Customer parking spaces
- Visitor spaces
- ADA accessible/disability spaces (unless accompanied by valid state-issued placard)

Enforcement

If a vehicle using a DP is cited for violating a departmental parking pass policy, that DP will be revoked without a refund and must be returned to Transportation & Parking Services immediately.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

What can departmental permits (DPs) be used for?

DPs allow short-term parking for authorized personnel on official university business when they need to use a lot outside of their permitted zone.

Why are DP policies being updated now?

Abuse of DPs (e.g., faculty and staff using a DP to upgrade their parking) was depleting parking supply on campus and representing a misuse of university funds. The policies have been updated to prevent this type of abuse, promote fair use of DPs, and protect parking availability for regular permit holders.

How is the number of DPs for each department determined?

DPs are allocated to major HCM unit at the Vice President and college/school level. The number of DPs allocated to each unit is 6% of the number of permanent, full-time, primary faculty and staff members (FTE) within the major HCM unit (e.g., College of Pharmacy, Grady College, Public Service and Outreach).

The numbers come from the UGA Office of Institutional Research’s Data Warehouse, which captures data from multiple source systems (e.g., PeopleSoft, Banner) on a daily basis. You’re welcome to contact Transportation & Parking Services to learn more about the calculations for your specific unit.

Do you count positions that are currently unoccupied in the FTE allocation?

Yes, the 6% FTE is based on the number of permanent, full-time, primary positions budgeted for the unit, provided the positions have been filled at some point within the past two fiscal years. For example, in colleges and schools that employe nine-month faculty, those faculty are included in the 6% FTE regardless of the time of year the DPs are purchased.

If a faculty or staff member is jointly appointed to two or more departments, who gets credit for them when determining DP allotment?

Joint appointments are counted where the primary position is homed.

How was the 6% FTE arrived at as the appropriate number of DPs for campus?

This number is ideal for protecting availability of parking for permit holders on campus. It was arrived at based on monitoring, parking space usage, permit distribution, visitor needs, and abuse patterns. The effect of the new allocation amount can be minimized by departments managing DPs centrally and checking them in and out as needed.

What is the best way for me to know how many DPs my department is allotted?

DP requests should be managed at the major HCM unit level when possible. Requesters should contact Transportation & Parking Services to find out the number they are allotted.

Can we request more DPs than the 6% FTE allocation if needed?

Departmental permits should be allocated strategically by the major HCM unit (e.g., Vice President, college/school). Exceptions require a letter of justification from the appropriate Vice President or Provost and are not guaranteed. Remember that departments should manage DPs centrally and check them in and out as needed. DPs should not be assigned to individuals.

What happens if I submit a request for a number of DPs that exceeds my department’s allotment?

Someone from Transportation & Parking Services will contact you. You will need to submit a new request for the appropriate number of DPs. To avoid delays in processing other types of parking permits (e.g., SVGs, parking deck codes), please submit requests for DPs separately from other types of permits.

Can DP requests be made by individual departments, or should the major HCM unit request for all?

We can accept requests from individual departments, but we recommend this be managed more centrally at the major HCM unit level (e.g., Vice President, college/school) when feasible. If a major unit doesn’t manage this, then we will have to offer the permits on a first come, first served basis until the allotted amount are purchased. All DP requests require approval of the Vice President or Provost, even if an individual department submits the order.

Faculty in my department are assigned to multiple buildings across campus. How should we manage parking for them?

Please contact Transportation & Parking Services directly so we can work with you on the most appropriate solution other than a DP.

For staff who work in facilities management or IT and need to travel to several buildings, can we give them a service pass?

Whenever available, prioritizing a state vehicle for this type of work will allow access to all areas of the campus. If this is not feasible, these individual instances should be sent to Transportation & Parking Services for review and determination of the most effective way to manage those specific parking needs.

My department previously used a DP pass to provide parking to visitors (e.g., donors, government officials). Is there a parking permit that can be used for visitors instead of a DP?

A DP pass should never be used for visitors since it must be used in combination with a standard UGA permit. The department should purchase codes to be used in a parking deck. Please contact Transportation & Parking Services if you have questions specific to your visitors and guests.

When purchasing codes for parking decks, is there a way for the department to know how many of their codes have been used?

Currently, departments can call Transportation & Parking Services and find out by phone how many uses they have left, if any. We are working with our data team to develop something that would be available online sometime in the future.

How will I know where I can use a DP on campus?

DPs cannot be used in most high-demand lots in North Campus and South Campus. They can be used in all parking decks on campus, however.

A map showing where DPs can and cannot be used on campus is available on the TPS website. A QR code on each DP will also link to the map.

Additionally, parking lot signs will say “No DPs Permitted” where DPs are not allowed.

Temporary “No DP” restrictions may be posted in lots during construction or special events.

South Deck wasn’t included among the lots that allow DPs when the new policy was announced, but it’s green on the map now. Can DPs be used in South Deck?

We listened to feedback from the campus community and added South Deck to the allowed areas for FY27. Therefore, DPs can be used in all parking decks on campus. If too many DPs are used in South Deck, interfering with the Georgia Center’s parking needs, however, South Deck may become off limits in the future.

Can DPs be used in handicapped spots?

Yes, if they are used in conjunction with a handicapped permit in lots that allow DPs. DPs cannot be used in handicapped spots in lots where DPs are not permitted. If the handicapped spots in the parking decks or in lots that allow DPs do not meet your needs, TPS’s Paratransit Services can transport you anywhere on campus. Please contact Paratransit at [email protected] or 706-369-5991 to make a reservation.

Can I keep a DP in my car instead of returning it to my department?

No, DPs are not assigned to individuals. They are departmental property that should be centrally managed and checked in and out as needed.

What are best practices for managing the borrowing of DPs centrally?

DPs should be kept in a central location (e.g., reception area) alongside a sheet on which DP users can record their name, the DP number, the date and time of check-out, the reason for using the DP (e.g., meeting at Coverdell Center), and the date and time of check-in. A color map of where DPs can and cannot be used on campus should also be provided in this location to help users plan ahead.

What will happen if I use a DP in the wrong lot, take it off campus, or otherwise misuse it?

An individual who misuses a DP will receive a citation, and the department will have to return that DP immediately to Transportation & Parking Services without receiving a refund.

Who should watch the DP video in PEP?

Anyone who might use a DP or purchase a DP should watch the “Proper Use of Departmental Permits” video in PEP. If you are the person placing the order for DPs for your department, you should instruct those who will be using the DPs to watch the video as well.

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