Main Content
Avoid late fees!
- Respond to UW Tacoma citations in the Parking Portal
- Pay or appeal within 20 days of issuance
- Citations are LATE after 20 days and receive a $10 late fee
- Late citations cannot be appealed
Know who issued your citation
Your parking citation should state the entity that issued it (likely either UW Tacoma Transportation Services, City of Tacoma, or Republic Parking System) and include instructions on how to respond to it (either paying the fine or submitting an appeal). Here is some additional information that may help you address your citation:
- Citations say "University of Washington Tacoma" at the top
- Violation number starts with "UWT"
- Respond to your citation (pay or appeal) in the Parking Portal within 20 days to avoid the $10 late fee
- Citations cannot be appealed after 20 days
- Complete instructions are on the back side of your citation
- Contact the Tacoma Municipal Court at 253-591-5357 if you have lost your citation or need assistance
- Pay your fine or request a court hearing to appeal using the Tacoma Municipal Court online portal within 30 days
- Learn more about the City of Tacoma's parking policies and citation payment on their website
- Check your citation for the company's name and contact information (Republic Northwest, Diamond Parking, etc)
- Make sure to respond to the citation within the time frame provided - often it is 10 to 15 days
- Follow the instructions on your citation or contact the issuer directly
Responding to a UWT citation
There are two ways to respond to a UWT parking citation. You may either pay the fine or submit an appeal request. For either option, you will need to find your citation in the UW Tacoma online Parking Portal.
If the Parking Portal is not recognizing your citation number, make sure you are using the UW Tacoma portal. UW Seattle has a similar but completely separate portal.
While the Transportation Services team is happy to help answer your questions and assist you in navigating this process, contacting our office by phone or email does not count as responding to your citation.
Pay citation fines
Pay online by credit or debit card using UW Tacoma's Parking Portal. This is the fastest and easiest way to pay your UW Tacoma parking citation.
To pay by mail, simply send us a check. For safety reasons, please do not send cash through the mail. Cash payments can be made on campus (see below).
Payable to: UW Tacoma
Memo line: Your citation number (if it does not start with "UWT", do not send us payment, as we did not issue the citation!) and license plate number
Mail checks to:
University of Washington Tacoma
Campus Box 358433
1900 Commerce Street
Tacoma, WA 98402-3100
Check Example:
(this example shows a student ID number on the memo line, instead, put your citation number)
Payments can be placed in the drop box outside DOU 176. The drop box is stocked with pre-labeled envelopes. Place your check, made payable to UWT, into the envelope and be sure to provide the information requested on the label. Then drop it down the secure hopper, making sure it drops to the bottom. All envelopes are stored securely in the drop box until they are picked up on a regular basis.
- See "Pay by Mail" for help with check-writing.
- Be sure to include your citation number and license plate number with your payment (either written on the envelope or on the memo line of the check).
- If your citation number does not start with "UWT", do not submit your payment in the drop box as we did not issue the citation!
- If you do not have the exact amount for a cash payment, visit the West Coast Grocery convenience store to make change.
Request to appeal the citation
All citations must be appealed in the Parking Portal. Just enter your citation or license plate number and click the "Search" button to bring up your citation. If your citation is eligible to be appealed, there will be an "Appeal" button.
- Requests for appeals must be submitted in the Parking Portal within 20 days of issuance
- A letter with the appeal reviewer's decision will be sent to your UW email within approximately 2 weeks
- No late fees will be assessed while a citation is in the appeals process
- Any remaining fines or fees are due within 21 days from notice of the appeal decision
You can request an appeal for any citation. The appeals reviewer will use the information provided in your request, as well as your past citations and appeals, to make their judgement. Depending on their findings, they may choose to reduce or waive the fines and/or fees, or they may leave them unchanged.
We understand that most people are trying their best to follow the rules and parking on the UW Tacoma campus can sometimes be challenging to navigate. We take this into account when issuing citations, and the appeals reviewer will take this into consideration when reviewing appeals requests.
When submitting a request to appeal a citation, make sure to include enough information so that the person reviewing your case can make an informed judgement.
Your appeal request should include the following:
- Description of the situation and reason(s) you are requesting the appeal
- Proof of payment (attach receipt showing date/time, your license plate number, etc.) if you did pay for parking
- Screenshot of error message received and date/time if the PayByPhone system was not working
For example, do not just write "PayByPhone app error". Instead...
- Provide the date and time of the issue so that we can check the PayByPhone system outage log.
- Provide a screenshot showing the error that you received so we can help determine the cause.
- Describe the steps you took to try to submit your payment (i.e. closing and restarting the app, restarting your phone, trying a different payment method, trying to pay online vs through the app, etc)
Fines and penalties for citations in late status
Respond to your citation within 20 days to avoid late fees. More serious penalties may be applied in situations with multiple citations in late status. Citations enter late status when they have not been paid or appealed after 20 days.
| Penalty | Applied when... |
|---|---|
| Blocked from purchasing parking permits | A customer has more than $31 in unpaid fines (not counting appealed citations) |
| $10 Late fee | A citation is not paid or appealed within 20 days of issuance |
| $9.30 Collections fee | A citation is sent to collections when not paid after 90 days |
| Vehicle immobilized & $50 immobilization fee | A vehicle has 4+ citations in late status |
| Vehicle impounded at owner's expense | Owner does not contact Campus Safety or Transportation Services to make payment arrangements within 5 days after immobilization |
Additional penalties
While we rarely exercise these options, Transportation Services withholds the right to do the following in response to unpaid fees and multiple citations in late status:
- Deny future parking privileges to the violator
- Refuse to issue keys to a violator who is an employee or student
Additionally, we reserve the right to immobilize or tow vehicles at the owner's expense for the following reasons:
- Blocking a roadway or walkway and impeding the flow of traffic (vehicle and/or pedestrian)
- Blocking a fire hydrant or fire lane
- Creating a safety hazard
- Blocking another legally parked vehicle
- Parking in a marked "tow-away" zone
- Leaving a vehicle unattended on campus for more than two days
- Four or more citations in late-status (more then 20 days old)
- Parking a non-university vehicle in a spot reserved for university use
The regulations governing parking management on the UW Tacoma campus are listed in Chapter 478-118 WAC.
Financial Assistance
Transportation Services highly encourages you to respond to parking citations as soon as possible to avoid building up a large balance. If you do not understand why you are receiving citations, or you think you are being mistakenly cited, DO NOT IGNORE THE CITATIONS! We understand this can be very frustrating - please send us an email at transit@uw.edu so that we can help address the problem.
We do not reduce anyone's fines due to having accrued a large balance.
It is your responsibility to respond to citations in a timely manner and to resolve issues that may be causing you to receive citations (such as adding a new vehicle license plate to your permit). The only way to reduce your balance without paying is to appeal citations for a valid reason within the 20-day window. If you provide a good reason and supporting evidence, your appeal may be granted and the fine reduced or waived.
The ONLY way to have a vehicle boot removed on the same day that it was installed is to pay your parking fines in full. Please see this page for more information.
Payment Assistance for Students - Short Term Loan
Most undergraduate and graduate students are eligible for a short-term loan from Student Financial Aid, which can be used to pay off your parking fines. To use these funds, you would need to elect to receive the funds in cash OR if you elect to have the funds go toward your Tuition & Fees, have enough funds left over afterward, as parking fines are not paid through your student account and are not included in "Tuition & Fees".
This is not a same-day process. While you will know if you are approved for the loan immediately, the funds take time to be deposited into your account. The vehicle boot will not be removed until your fines are paid in full.
Payment Assistance for Employees - Short-Term Payroll Deduction Agreement
Depending on the amount owed, we may be able to set up a payment plan where your fines will be paid via payroll deduction over a set number of pay periods.
This is not a same-day process. The vehicle boot will not be removed until the $50 immobilization fee is paid AND Transportation Services has proposed a specific payment schedule for you, which you must authorize to pay through payroll deduction. The soonest that the boot will be removed is the following work day.
If you are interested in this option, please request it through the webform on this page.
