Faculty, staff, and students: New parking system

As of July 1, we migrated our parking payment and permitting services from HonkMobile to ParkEngage. All HONK permits expired on June 30 and you must get a new permit. Get the details.

Permit costs & options
Purchase my permit
Log in to my account
Portland campus parking options
Gorham campus parking options
Lewiston campus parking options

Parking rates for alumni & retirees

Due to limited resources, you must purchase a parking permit or a paid/validated parking session to park on our Portland and Gorham campuses. You don’t need to display a physical permit on your vehicle.

Our parking permits allow you to park on our Portland, Gorham, and Lewiston campuses unless otherwise noted in your permit documentation.

Permit typeCost
USM alumni (Visitor permit)$10/month OR $120/year
USM retirees (Other staff/faculty permit)$25/year
All rates and additional fees are subject to change. You must follow any announced snow ban rules.

NOTE: Each transaction total includes an additional $4.25 convenience fee, which supports the maintenance and improvement of our ParkEngage system, ensuring reliable service and customer support.

Are you ready to purchase a new parking permit?

Get my permit

How to purchase your parking permit

The following is a step-by-step guide through the parking permit purchasing process. If you get stuck and need help, contact us.

Purchase your permit via our web-based ParkEngage parking portal.

Buy my permit

From the Permit Category drop-down menu:

  • Alumni: Select Visitor
  • Retirees: Select Staff/Faculty

From the Permit Type drop-down menu:

  • Alumni: Select the option that best meets your needs
  • Retirees: Select Other Staff/Faculty
    • Then enter faculty retiree or staff retiree into the Request Reason field

Our parking permits allow you to park on our Portland, Gorham, and Lewiston campuses unless otherwise noted in your permit documentation.

The permit validity and cost at the bottom of the screen will automatically adjust based on your selection.

NOTE: Each transaction total includes an additional $4.25 convenience fee, which supports the maintenance and improvement of our ParkEngage system, ensuring reliable service and customer support.

Additional permit services (or expanded parking permissions) aren’t available for University retirees (or alumni).

Add your primary vehicle first

  • Enter your valid license plate
    • Include dashes
    • Don’t include spaces, dots, hearts, stars, or other special characters
  • Select your vehicle’s make, model, and color from the drop-down menus
    • If your make isn’t listed, choose Others and the fields will change to allow you to manually enter your vehicle’s make and model
    • For motorcycles with the same Make as an automobile, select the option that ends with -MC (e.g., Suzuki-MC)
  • Select the state or province associated with your license plate

Add additional vehicles

  • Click or tap the +Add New Vehicle button to add any additional vehicles that you may need to park on campus
    • You can register up to 5 license plates per permit, including motorcycles, mopeds, and scooters
    • You can add or remove vehicles at any time once your permit purchase is complete
    • You don’t need to switch out your primary vehicle when you park another one that's registered under your permit on campus for a day (or several days)
    • You can park only 1 of your 5 vehicles on only 1 of our 3 campuses at a time

NOTE: It’s important to review your vehicle information for any typos or incorrect selections. If your information is wrong you could receive a fine.

Click or tap the Next button.

As of June 21, 2024, everyone will need to create a new account with ParkEngage.

Enter your information. We require an email address and mailing address to create your account.

Choose a password that is 8 – 15 characters long and includes at least ONE of the following:

  • uppercase letter
  • lowercase letter
  • digit/number (0–9)
  • special character (!, @, $, %, ^, &, *, ?, -)

Review your information for any typos.

Click or tap the Next button.

Review your personal and vehicle information for any typos or mistakes.

If you spot any mistakes, use the Previous button to go back one or two screens and make edits.

Make sure to double-check that your payment information is correct or you will encounter an error on the next screen.

The auto-renewal checkbox is automatically checked and appears below your credit card information.

Uncheck the box if you don’t want your credit card to be automatically charged for a new permit when this one runs out. (You can always change this setting later.)

NOTE: You’ll receive an email reminder to purchase a new permit 7–10 days before your current permit expires whether you’re enrolled in auto-renewal or not.

Your purchase details will display below a Thank You! message once your credit card is processed.

Look for an email confirmation from notifications@parkengage.com with your permit information.

NOTE: You’ll receive an email reminder to purchase a new permit 7–10 days before your current permit expires whether you’re enrolled in auto-renewal or not.

Log in to your parking permit account to add a vehicle and access or update your information. Use the email address and password you created when you purchased your first ParkEngage permit.

Log in to my account

General permit rules

  1. You must have a valid parking permit or an active hourly rate parking session to park in University of Southern Maine (USM) parking lots, driveways, and parking garages.
  2. You must pay all outstanding parking fines in full before you can purchase a new USM parking permit.
  3. All USM parking permits include documentation that details specific allowances, restrictions, and available parking areas.
  4. Your USM parking permit doesn’t guarantee that you’ll find a parking space during peak traffic periods.
    • When classes are in session, our peak parking hours are Monday – Thursday, 8:30 a.m. – 2:00 p.m.
  5. You cannot share a USM parking permit with anyone else.
  6. You may register up to 5 vehicles (with valid plates) on your USM parking permit. However, you can only park 1 vehicle on campus at a time, including motorcycles, mopeds, and scooters.
    • You don’t need to select or switch out your primary vehicle with ParkEngage.
  7. Permit rates may be subject to additional fees (e.g., admin, vendor, or processing fees).
    • These added fees support the maintenance and improvement of our ParkEngage system to ensure reliable service and customer support.
  8. You can only hold 1 permit at a time, except for:
    • Current faculty, staff, and students with a carpool driver permit.
    • Other faculty and staff designations (e.g., student employees, interns, etc.) are not eligible for an individual permit that allows residential parking.
  9. Faculty or staff who live in Portland Commons don’t need an additional residential permit if designated by the bargaining agreement.
  10. For students, some USM parking permits aren’t included in our standard tuition and fees and cost extra (e.g., Portland Commons residents).

Where to park on the Portland campus

Some permit types and parking areas have restrictions, which are listed on signs located at the entrance of each parking area.

NOTE: If your vehicle is parked in a loading zone without active loading or unloading, you will be fined, regardless of your permit status.

Zone: 50001

Location: Attached to the Abromson Community Education Center

Designated alumni & retiree permits:

USM alumni (visitor permit)

4:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.

USM retiree (other staff/faculty permit)

No time-related restrictions

Amenities:

Motorcycle/moped parking spaces

Oversized vehicle parking on the roof

Disability parking

Emergency phone

Grace period: 30 minutes

Notes:

  • If your vehicle weighs 10,000+ pounds or is taller than the clearance bars in the parking garage entrances, you need to find another parking area
  • You will be fined if your vehicle doesn't fit within a standard parking space, for example:
    • crossing over the painted lines of the space
    • sticking out into drive lanes

Zone: 50002

Location: By the Wishcamper Center & the Glickman Family Library

Designated alumni & retiree permits:

USM alumni (visitor permit)

7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

USM retiree (other staff/faculty permit)

7:00 a.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Amenities:

Motorcycle/moped parking spaces

Oversized vehicle parking on the roof

Disability parking

Bicycle storage

EV charging

Bicycle storage

Grace period: 30 minutes

Notes:

  • If your vehicle weighs 10,000+ pounds or is taller than the clearance bars in the parking garage entrances, you need to find another parking area
  • You will be fined if your vehicle doesn't fit within a standard parking space, for example:
    • crossing over the painted lines of the space
    • sticking out into drive lanes

Zone: 50003

Location: By Luther Bonney Hall, Masterton Hall, & the McGoldrick Center for Career & Student Success

Designated alumni & retiree permits:

USM alumni (visitor permit)

4:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.

USM retiree (other staff/faculty permit)

No time-related restrictions

Amenities:

Disability parking

Emergency phone

Grace period: 30 minutes

Zone: 50010

Location: By the former Maine Law building & the Exeter St. white houses

Designated alumni & retiree permits:

USM alumni (visitor permit)

4:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.

USM retiree (other staff/faculty permit)

No time-related restrictions

Amenities:

Oversized vehicle parking

Disability parking

Bicycle parking

Emergency phone

Grace period: 30 minutes

Zone: 50013

Location: By the Sullivan Recreation & Fitness Complex and the Science Building

Designated alumni & retiree permits:

USM alumni (visitor permit)

4:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.

USM retiree (other staff/faculty permit)

No time-related restrictions

Amenities:

Disability parking

Bicycle parking

Emergency phone

Grace period: 30 minutes

Zone: 50014

Location: By Payson Smith Hall

Designated alumni & retiree permits:

USM alumni (visitor permit)

4:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.

USM retiree (other staff/faculty permit)

No time-related restrictions

Amenities:

Disability parking

Grace period: 30 minutes

Zone: 50009

Location: The loop in front of the Planetarium

Designated alumni & retiree permits:

USM alumni (visitor permit)

4:00 a.m. – 11:00 p.m.

USM retiree (other staff/faculty permit)

No time-related restrictions

Amenities:

Disability parking