Students
Eligible students who would like on-campus parking must apply for parking each semester. Read more about eligibility.
Special note about parking communications: Emails will be sent to your CofC email address from Campus Services (campusservices@cofc.edu). Occasionally Gmail will send our emails to spam. Please always check your spam folders and also mark our email address as a safe sender.
Student Eligibility
General Dates and Deadlines
Spring 2023 Parking Application Details
Fall 2023 Parking Application Details
Alternatives to Parking on Campus
Accessible Parking
Available Parking and Fees
Available Parking and Fees – Summer 2022
Student Eligibility
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Students who live on campus and have fewer than 60 cumulative credit hours on file with the Office of the Registrar are not permitted to park on campus.
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Students living on campus must have 60 or more cumulative credit hours earned and on file with the Office of the Registrar at the time that assignments are made to be eligible to apply for College parking.
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Commuting students (students not living on campus), regardless of credit hours earned, are eligible to apply for College parking.
Students who are eligible to apply for parking will be assigned parking based on the number of cumulative credit hours earned and on file with the Office of the Registrar at the time that assignments are made. In the event of identical credit hours earned, applications received first will have priority.
Eligible resident students living at a qualifying campus residential address (an even-numbered, CofC-assigned Bull Street house) may request on-street residential parking (CR).
Eligibility to apply does not guarantee that you will be assigned a permit. Because of the fluctuating demand from semester to semester, no student is guaranteed the right to purchase a parking permit.
General Dates and Deadlines
Fall Semester Parking
Mid- to Late April: Current students receive email with application information for fall semester parking
Early June: Deadline to apply for student parking for the fall semester
Early to Mid-July : Fall semester parking assignments are emailed to students who applied by the deadline
Early to Mid-August: Deadline to pay for fall semester assignment; fall parking permits mailed to students who have paid for their assignment; First Come, First Served sale begins
First Day of Fall Classes: Fall parking permits become valid
Spring Semester Parking
Mid- to Late September: Current students receive email with application information for spring semester parking
Late October: Deadline to apply for student parking for the spring semester
Early to Mid-November: Spring semester parking assignments are emailed to students who applied by the deadline
Late November: Deadline to pay for spring semester assignment
December: Spring parking permits mailed to students who have paid for their assignment; First Come, First Served sale begins
First Day of Spring Classes: Spring parking permits become valid
Spring 2023 Parking Application Details
The applications for spring 2023 parking permits were available through MyPortal beginning 9/15/2022 for early registration. Early registration is for returning, currently enrolled students only. Students received instructions for the application process via their CofC email address on September 14 from campusservices@cofc.edu.
The parking permit application deadline was 10/24/2022 by 5:00 p.m.
NOTE FOR RESIDENTIAL STUDENTS: If you have fewer than 60 cumulative credit hours, you were not eligible to apply for a permit during this application period, even if you will have had 60+ credit hours by the end of the fall 2022 semester. Residential students who have earned 60+ hours by the end of the fall 2022 semester will be eligible to purchase a permit during the First Come, First Served Sale.
Spring 2023 parking assignments will be emailed by the end of the business day Tuesday, 11/8/2022, to returning students who applied prior to the 10/24/2022 application deadline. Your assignment letter will contain the word “waitlist,” but this is your actual assignment. If you are a returning student who applied for a permit and received a confirmation email and you haven’t received your assignment email by 5 p.m. on 11/8/2022, please contact Campus Services HQ Wednesday, 11/9/2022.
The permit payment deadline is 5 p.m. Monday, 11/28/2022. Permits will be mailed to your home address directly from the vendor, and will arrive between 12/10 and 12/24/2022. Please read your assignment email for additional important information.
Spring First Come, First Served Sale
Beginning Friday, 12/9/2022, transfer students, new graduate students, residential students who have 60 credit hours on file at that time, and incoming, first-year students who will not live on campus will be eligible to purchase permits during the First Come, First Served Sale.
All enrolled students were sent an email from Campus Services on December 8 with detailed information. Please review it carefully. Limited instructions are provided below.
Permit sales will be processed online in your parking account on a first come, first served basis. (Exceptions: motorcycle/moped permits, evening-only permits, and City Residential permits will be sold in Campus Services HQ beginning at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday, January 4, 2023. If you are interested in one of these permits, please read your email for details.)
Instructions for online permit purchases:
Online permit sales start at 10 a.m. on Friday, December 9, 2022, and will be available until 11:59 p.m. Thursday, January 5, 2023, or until all permits are sold out.
- Log into MyPortal (myportal.cofc.edu) using your standard login.
- Click on the “Parking” tile. (Look for a large P.)
- A new window will open, titled “Customer Authentication.” Reenter your MyPortal login info.
- Select Get Permits on the bottom right of the screen. You will see a list of available parking spaces. As spaces begin to sell out, you will only see the spaces that are still available. Select your preferred permit and follow the prompts to select your vehicle and form of payment.
- You will receive an email when your permit is available for pickup at Campus Services HQ. We expect the permits to be ready by January 6. If you haven’t received this email by January 6 at 5 p.m., please contact Campus Services HQ at campusservices@cofc.edu.
Fall 2023 Parking Application Details
Fall 2023: Early Registration
Details will be emailed to current students and posted online mid- to late April.Alternatives to Parking on Campus
If you are interested in securing parking through a source not affiliated with the College of Charleston, please refer to this listing of Alternative Parking spaces leased to students.
Commuting students without a parking permit should take advantage of the CARTA Express routes. CARTA Express is free to students; just show your Cougar Card to the driver upon boarding the bus. More information about CARTA Express routes and times can be found below:
Resident students are also encouraged to take advantage of CARTA bus services. All students can ride regular CARTA routes and the Airport Express route for free simply by showing their Cougar Card to the driver upon boarding the bus. For more information about CARTA routes, visit the CARTA Maps and Schedules website.
Accessible Parking
Students who require accessible parking should complete an accessible parking permit application each semester in Campus Services HQ at 162 Calhoun St. Please see the section regarding Accessible Parking for more information.
Available Parking and Fees (Subject to Change)
Surface Parking
($550 Per Semester)
- G - Rutledge-Rivers Residence Hall (12 spaces)
- H - 13 Coming Street (18 spaces)
- P - 97-107 Wentworth Street (29 spaces)
- SP Lot (new!) - behind 445 Meeting St., between Spring and Columbus streets, entrance on Columbus St. by The Alley (30 spaces)
- W - 298-300 Meeting Street (5 spaces)
- WP - Warren Place (116 spaces)
- YW Lot (new!) - 106 Coming Street, across from SSMB; paved area in front of lot (30 spaces)
Core Garage Parking
($600 Per Semester Plus $20 Refundable Card Deposit for WG)
- PG - 81 St. Philip Street, Next to BellSouth Building (245 spaces)
- WG: (not available fall 2022 or spring 2023) - Wentworth and St. Philip Street (115 spaces)
Premium Core Garage Parking
($750 Per Semester Plus $20 Refundable Card Deposit)
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GG: (not available fall 2022 or spring 2023) - On St. Philip Street between George and Liberty Streets (300 spaces)
Motorcycle/Moped Parking
($200 Per Semester)
- Designated spaces in: PP lot (MP), the north side of Berry Residence Hall next to McAlister (MM: not available 2022-2023), in the AD Lot near the Addlestone Library (MA), and next to the Treasurer's Office on Calhoun Street (MW).
- Motorcycle permits are valid only in designated motorcycle spaces.
Perimeter Garage Parking
($500 Per Semester Plus $20 Refundable Card Deposit With Shuttle)
- AG - Aquarium Garage at Washington and Calhoun Streets (300 spaces) FOURTH FLOOR AND ABOVE ONLY
City Residential Parking
($7.50 Per Semester)
- CR - On-Street City Residential Parking (ELIGIBLE RESIDENT STUDENTS ONLY)
Student Handicap Accessible Parking
($300 Per Semester)
Student Evening Permit
($200 Per Semester)
- Valid in any STUDENT surface lot after 3:00 p.m. weekdays and all day on weekends.
- Not valid on motorcycles.
- Resident students are not eligible to purchase an Evening permit.
Student Evening Permit: PG Garage
($250 Per Semester)
- Valid in PG Garage ONLY after 2:50 p.m. weekdays and all day on weekends.
- This permit is not valid in any other location.
- Resident students are not eligible to purchase a PG Evening permit.
- Not valid on motorcycles
Student Perimeter Surface Permit: LK Lot
($300 Per Semester)
• Valid in the LK Lot ONLY, which is located at 176 Lockwood Blvd. (between the Marriott and the Charleston Police Department
• This permit is not valid in any other location at any other time.
• LK Lot is located several blocks from campus. The CARTA DASH route #213 services this area, but students will need to allow 20-30 minutes to get to campus from Lockwood.
• Not valid on motorcycles/mopeds
Available Parking and Fees – Maymester and Summer I and II 2022
Taking summer classes? Here’s what you need to know about purchasing a summer parking permit.
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There is not an application period in advance of the summer terms. All permits will be sold at Campus Services HQ, 162 Calhoun St., beginning Monday, May 9, 2022, at 8:30 a.m. We do not sell out of summer permits, and we rarely sell out of any particular lot or garage over the summer. If you do not need your summer permit as early as May 16 (the effective date for Summer 2022 permits), you may purchase it any time after May 9 without concern that we will be sold out of spaces in the core of campus.
- Please bring your vehicle registration with you to Campus Services HQ to get a summer permit.
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Summer permits will be valid beginning on the first day of Maymester, which is Monday, May 16, 2022. Summer permits expire on the last day of Summer II exams, which is Wednesday, August 10, 2022.
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Unlike the spring and fall semesters, there is no minimum number of earned credit hours required to be eligible to purchase a summer permit.
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The cost for a summer permit covers all three summer terms: Maymester, Summer I and Summer II. If you do not need the permit for all three terms, you will be eligible for a pro-rated refund if you purchased the permit in advance of Maymester or Summer I and return it prior to the Summer II term OR you will be charged a pro-rated price if you purchase the permit for one or both of the summer terms after the conclusion of the Maymester term. If you will be returning your permit for a pro-rated refund, you must peel the permit off of your vehicle and bring it with you to Campus Services HQ. Refund checks are issued by the Controller’s Office and usually take 2-3 weeks to process.
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For the exact locations of the lots and garages listed below, please review the parking map.
Summer Core Surface Parking
$300 Total Includes All Three Summer Terms
- Available lots: G, H, P, W, WP
Summer Core Garage Parking
$300 Total Includes All Three Summer Terms
- PG
Summer Premium Core Garage Parking
$400 Total Includes All Three Summer Terms
- GG
- There is no pro-rated refund for GG permits, and the price of a GG permit does not pro-rate (decrease) as the Summer terms progress.
Summer Perimeter Garage Parking
$250 Total Includes All Three Summer Terms (Plus $20 Refundable Card Deposit)
- AG - Aquarium Garage at Washington and Calhoun Streets (200 spaces) FOURTH FLOOR AND ABOVE ONLY
Summer Motorcycle/Moped Parking
$100 Total Includes All Three Summer Terms
- Designated spaces in: PP lot (MP), the north side of Berry Residence Hall next to McAlister (MM: not available 2022-2023), in the AD Lot near the Addlestone Library (MA), and next to the Treasurer's Office on Calhoun Street (MW).
- Motorcycle permits are valid only in designated motorcycle spaces.
Summer Student Handicap Accessible Parking
$125 Total Includes All Three Summer Terms
Summer Student Evening Permit: PG Garage - $200 Total Includes All Three Summer Terms
- Valid in PG Garage ONLY after 2:50 p.m. weekdays and all day on weekends.
- This permit is not valid in any other location.
- Resident students are not eligible to purchase a PG Evening permit.
- Not valid on motorcycles/mopeds
Summer Student Evening Permit: Surface Lots
$150 Total Includes All Three Summer Terms
- Valid in any STUDENT surface lot after 3:00 p.m. weekdays and all day on weekends.
- Not valid on motorcycles.
- Resident students are not eligible to purchase an Evening permit.
Summer Student Perimeter Surface Permit: LK Lot
$100 Total Includes All Three Summer Terms
- Valid in the LK Lot ONLY, which is located at 176 Lockwood Blvd. (between the Marriott and the Charleston Police Department).
- This permit is not valid in any other location at any other time.
- LK Lot is located several blocks from campus. The CARTA DASH route #213 services this area, but students will need to allow 20-30 minutes to get to campus from Lockwood.
- Not valid on motorcycles/mopeds