Student Parking Details

First year students are restricted from having a car on campus unless their permanent home address is outside of a 200 mile, straight line radius from the university, or if they have filled out an exceptional transportation need (ETN) request form and it has been approved. These requests typically relate to a medical need, an off-campus job, or a class on another Miami campus. 

All students are eligible for four one-week parking permits per semester in the West Millett parking lot. This is helpful for a number of scenarios such as: job interviews, a two-week field placement (similar to an internship) or students bringing a car back to campus to cover the few weeks between Thanksgiving or Easter and the end of the semester.

Parking and Transportation Services recognizes that in some instances, there exist exceptional transportation needs for students who do not otherwise qualify to have a motor vehicle on campus or for an elevated level of parking privilege. Please review the Exceptional Transportation Needs section of the Miami University Motor Vehicle Permits Policy for more details.

After reviewing the parking details, if you believe that you may have this need, you may submit an exceptional transportation request form. The request will be reviewed and the student will receive an approval or denial email within 7 days.

Upperclass students residing on campus are eligible to purchase a yellow residential parking permit for the remote lot of their choice for one or two semesters. Upperclass residential students may choose the Chestnut Fields permit, Millett lot permit, or the Ditmer Lot permit based on their preference and permit availability. If permits for the lots sell out, they will no longer be available for sale. These yellow permits allow parking in the designated lot at any time, as well as throughout the campus after 6 pm on weekdays and all day on weekends. Student vehicles with yellow permits parked in the campus core in the evenings and weekends must be moved to the remote lots by 7 am on weekdays.

Heritage Commons Residents are eligible to purchase "Heritage Commons - Yellow" permits when student permits go on sale. This allows Heritage Commons residents to park in the adjacent lot to the apartment complex, as well as other yellow spaces on campus as signs allow.  Heritage Commons residents will have this option on their online housing portal when student permits go on sale.

Please review the Miami Parking Map to see the locations of the student parking lots in yellow.

Parking and Transportation Services recognizes that in some instances, there exist exceptional transportation needs for students who do not otherwise qualify to have a motor vehicle on campus or for an elevated level of parking privilege. Please review the Exceptional Transportation Needs section of the Miami University Motor Vehicle Permits Policy for more details.

After reviewing the details, if you believe that you may have this need, you may submit an exceptional transportation request form. The request will be reviewed and the student will receive an approval or denial email within 7 days.

Commuting students are defined by the university as students who reside in the home of a parent or legal guardian. Registered commuters are eligible for daily or one- or two-semester commuter permits that allow parking in the commuter section of Chestnut Fields and Millett remote lots at any time (no overnight parking) as well as throughout the campus after 6 pm on weekdays and all day on weekends.

Please review the Miami Parking Map to see the locations of the Commuter spaces designated in green.

Miami University is a very walkable campus and also offers a robust university shuttle bus service throughout campus and the surrounding community. Upperclass students residing off-campus in the Oxford area are eligible to use the BCRTA bus service, ride a bike, buy one-day commuter permits or park hourly in the Miami parking garages. Some exceptions can be granted for upperclass students to purchase a one- or two-semester yellow residential parking permit, however a 2022 survey of off-campus students with permits indicated that almost half of ended up not needing it due to the other options available.

Miami's Regional campuses do not require parking permits. They only require that students and staff register their vehicles in the Miami parking portal so that Campus Security can reach out to the driver in the event of an emergency or if the vehicle needs to be moved.

However, if a Regional Campus student takes a class on Miami's Oxford campus they have the following parking options:

• Semester commuter permit: Email Parking@MiamiOH.edu to request permission to purchase a semester commuter parking permit for $100 which would allow parking in commuter lots at any time.
• Daily commuter permit: Purchase a daily commuter parking permit for $2 per day which would allow parking in commuter lots for the day.
• Daily garage parking: Drive to one of the Oxford Campus parking garages and press the button to take a ticket at the entry. Then insert the ticket at the exit and pay with a credit card.
• BCRTA inter-campus shuttle: There is a free BCRTA shuttle bus that runs between the Hamilton and Oxford campuses.
• Parking Meters: The parking meters on the Oxford campus are intended for visitors to the university and are limited to one hour. They cannot be refilled and drivers must move their vehicles after time expires. They are not a good option for students attending classes.

Every car on campus needs to have a parking permit any time they are parked on campus – unless they are parked at a meter or in a garage. A friend or family member visiting Miami University should first go to the online self-service parking portal, create a visitor account by clicking on “Are you a visitor?” and purchase a visitor permit for $3 per day. Students may not purchase visitor permits and risk a $300 fine for doing so. Each driver is responsible for purchasing their own visitor permit for their own vehicle and agreeing to follow Miami’s parking policies.

The parking meters at Miami University are intended for visitors to the university and are limited to one hour. They cannot be refilled and drivers must move their vehicles after time expires. They are not a good option for students attending classes. The meters do not accept cash. Drivers may pay with a credit card at the kiosk, or download the Passport Parking app and pay through the app.

Students, staff and visitors are eligible to park in either of the university garages at any time by taking a ticket at the entrance and paying for the length of their stay with a credit card at the exit. Students may also tap their Miami ID card at the entrance to use MUlaa funds to pay for their stay. The garages do not accept cash.

License plate identifies your vehicle as having a permit or not. Please park with your license plate facing the drive aisle. If you do not have a front license plate, please do not back in or pull through a double row of spaces since that would obscure your rear plate.

Miami has a “log in policy” for those times when individuals with a Miami parking permit need to park where their permit does not allow in order to load their car or run inside a building briefly. Park in a legitimate parking space by your building and immediately email Parking@MiamiOH.edu providing your name and location. We will log the information into our system to allow you 20 minutes to load/unload your car. If you get a ticket during that 20 minute window, reply to the email letting us know the ticket number and we will waive it. This log in policy may be used 4 times per semester.

Once the Miami shuttle buses stop running in the evenings, BCRTA SafeRide services are available from 10pm to 3am Monday thru Saturday and 10pm to 1am on Sundays throughout the Miami school year. Simply call 513-785-5237 after 10 pm to request to be picked up from a parking lot or building on campus or in uptown for a ride to your dorm or apartment.

Parking and Transportation Services recognizes that in some instances, there exist exceptional transportation needs for students who do not otherwise qualify to have a motor vehicle on campus or for an elevated level of parking privilege. Please review the Exceptional Transportation Needs section of the Miami University Motor Vehicle Permits Policy for more details.

After reviewing the parking details, if you believe that you may have this need, you may submit an exceptional transportation request form. The request will be reviewed and the student will receive an approval or denial email within 7 days.

Miami University is committed to providing an accessible parking and transportation experience for students with disabilities. Accessible parking spaces are located throughout campus in each parking lot and parking facility. The BCRTA ADA Transit Service is available for door-to-door transit needs. Students with permanent or temporary disabilities who require parking in accessible parking spaces must obtain a state-issued disability placard in addition to a valid Miami parking permit. State-issued disability placards are available from each state's Bureau of Motor Vehicles and students should work with their medical provider to obtain a disability placard. Learn more about obtaining a permanent or temporary disability placard on the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles Disability Placards website.

Students with a state-issued disability placard may purchase a Miami student parking permit and submit a photo of the disability placard within the Miami Parking Portal. Students who have already been issued a Miami parking permit may email a photo of their disability placard to parking@MiamiOH.edu. Upon successful submission, students in possession of a disability placard and Miami parking permit may park in disability/accessible spaces throughout campus or adjacent unreserved spaces should the accessible spaces be full.

Drivers with disability placards must still pay parking meters and garage fees in pay-to-park areas.