Parking Regulations and Citations

UNC ASHEVILLE’S PARKING AND TRANSPORTATION SERVICES POLICY

• Pay or Appeal a Citation
• Permit Exchanges and Transfers
• Permit Refunds

Parking Enforcement & Fines

Parking enforcement officers utilize network-connected devices to enforce parking. In addition to receiving a printed citation placed on the vehicle, drivers also receive an emailed citation notice if the vehicle is on file within UNC Asheville’s Parking System.

2025-2025 Fines

According to North Carolina law (§ 116-44.4.), the University is only allowed to retain 20% of the money collected from parking citations. The remaining 80 percent must be remitted to the state to support local public schools (elementary, middle and high schools). The 20 percent that UNC Asheville is allowed to keep is earmarked to cover operating costs for citation collections.

Vehicle Boots 

University officials and parking enforcement officers will utilize a tire immobilization device (boot) to immobilize habitual parking offenders’ vehicles. A boot may be applied to any vehicle operated by an offender who has received four or more paid or unpaid parking citations within the current academic year. Vehicles will remain immobilized until payment of citations and the boot removal fee ($25) is received.

If payment is not received within 48-hours of immobilization, the vehicle will be towed from university property, and parking privileges may be revoked. The Parking and Transportation Services office operates Monday- Friday, 7 a.m. – 4 p.m. If payment is received outside of business hours, the immobilized vehicle will be released on the next business day. 

Collection of Unpaid Fines
After all efforts have been taken to collect, failure to pay parking citation fines will result in the following:

• Students: Fines will be transferred to the student’s account, resulting in denial of registration and/ or issuance of transcripts. 
• Faculty and Staff: Deduction from University paycheck pursuant to NCGS § 143-553. Conditional Continuing Employment. 
• Non-affiliated Visitors: Fines may be submitted for collection through an independent collections agency. 

How to Avoid Citations 

When in doubt, contact us! If you’re ever unsure about parking regulations or issues on campus, contact Parking and Transportation Services by phone or email: 828.251.6691 or parking@unca.edu. 

You are responsible for any parking violations pertaining to your vehicle, regardless of who you allow to operate the vehicle.

• Obtain a permit if required.
• Make sure you’re parking in the designated lots for your permit type.
• Display your parking permit correctly. Vehicles with only a single rear plate may not back into parking spaces, nor be parked against the flow of traffic in parallel spaces. This is to ensure that your license plate (permit) is visible from the travel lane.
• Note signage and curb markings. Parking is designated by signage. There may be more than one type of parking space in a lot, so it’s necessary to look and avoid parking in certain areas (i.e., handicapped spaces, fire zones, or 30-minute spaces).
• Park in marked spaces. It’s against campus parking regulations to park along the roadway restricting passing traffic. When parking in spaces that run parallel to the roadway, no portion of the parked vehicle may exceed 12 inches from the curb or pavement in the absence of a curb. The absence of NO PARKING signs/pavement markings does not mean that parking is allowed. Any area not specifically designated by pavement markings as a parking space shall be considered a no-parking area.
• Hazard lights and/or notes left on vehicles do not permit parking in unauthorized areas, no matter how short the time period.
• Unauthorized parking in disability spaces, fire lanes, and/or reserved spaces is strictly prohibited.

Appealing a Parking Citation

If you receive a parking citation, you have the right to appeal it. Citations are only eligible to be appealed within 10 days from the date of entry. After that, you will no longer have the option within the citation portal, and you will be held responsible for the citation as written. Appellants will be notified within fourteen calendar days, by email, of the decision.

While subjective or opinion-based arguments can be submitted, they may not be considered, as the purpose of this appeal is to determine whether or not a citation was written in error or for an invalid reason.

Examples of subjective arguments include:

• Convenience/inconvenience of assigned or available parking locations.
• Personal opinions and/or disagreement with existing policies.
• Driver’s citation history (e.g. It’s my first ticket/I’ve never had a ticket before).

Examples of objective arguments warranting a citation being waived and/or reduced by appeal include: 

• Citation was written in error or for an invalid reason.
• Citation may be reduced to a more appropriate violation (e.g. No Valid Permit reduced to Improper Display of Permit).
• ​If your appeal is granted, no further action is needed. The citation will be waived and only the record of citation will remain on your account.

Points to consider before filing an appeal:

• Hazard lights and/or notes left on vehicles do not permit parking in unauthorized areas, no matter how short the time period.
• The absence of NO PARKING signs or pavement markings does not mean that parking is allowed. Any area not specifically designated by pavement markings as a parking space shall be considered a no-parking area.
• You are responsible for any parking violations pertaining to your vehicle, regardless of who you allow to operate the vehicle.

Transportation Committee
The Transportation committee will review and make recommendations concerning all parking and transportation issues (including parking, mass transit, bicycle facilities, pedestrian resources, carpooling, etc.) In addition, it will be the final arbitrator for parking citation appeals.

If a citation appeal is denied, you may petition the Transportation Committee to review the appeal. To do so, you should reply to your appeal disposition email and must explicitly state that you are appealing to the committee. This must be done within 10 days. Otherwise, it will not be presented to the committee.

Permit Exchanges & Transfers

If you need to change your permit type (First-Year, Resident, Non-Resident, etc.), please email Parking and Transportation Services (parking@unca.edu). Permit types do not automatically change based on earned credit hours or residency status.

If you purchase a new vehicle or otherwise need to change your primary car, you can transfer an existing permit to a different vehicle from within your parking portal. To make either a Temporary or Permanent change, log into your parking portal and click on “Permits.” From there, you can make changes to the vehicle your permit is associated with. 

Permit Refunds

Students, faculty, and staff who transfer, withdraw, graduate, or otherwise separate from UNC Asheville may apply for a partial prorated refund for academic year parking permits. Student permits are devalued by $27.50 on the first of each month beginning September 1. No refunds are granted after March 31 as the value of a student permit depreciates to $0 on April 1.

Faculty and Staff who are enrolled in payroll deductions are not eligible for any form of refund. Upon separation or retirement, deductions automatically discontinue.

Requesting a Refund
To request a refund, you must complete the Permit Return Form and return it to Parking and Transportation Services. Faculty and staff may be asked to provide information on their initial form of payment.

Refund Payments
When possible, refunds will be sent back to the debit or credit card that was used for the initial permit purchase. If that is not available (i.e., the original card is no longer active), the refund amount will be applied to the individual’s Banner account. Faculty and staff members will be issued a check for the remaining balance via mail. All unpaid parking citations will be deducted from the refund.