All University of Southern Maine (USM) parking rules and regulations are in effect at all times (including weekends, holidays, and outside regular business hours), and are enforced via license plate recognition (LPR) technology.

You don’t need to display a physical permit or receipt on your vehicle (with the exception of carpool driver and rider permits). Our license plate recognition (LPR) technology takes a picture of your license plate to validate your paid or validated parking session or permit.

Violations may result in any number of consequences in accordance with university policies and procedures including:

  • Parking fines
  • Your vehicle getting booted
  • Your vehicle getting towed
  • Student conduct proceedings
  • Suspension of campus parking privileges

If your vehicle is parked in an unlawful manner or parking space, you, as the permit holder, are responsible for any consequences — even if someone else parked it.

If you receive a fine, we’ll typically mail a notice to the address listed on your registration (i.e., your home address) within 3 business days.

If your vehicle’s license plate doesn’t match the address we have on file or if the address is no longer current, there will be delays.

Additional delays could occur via the Postal Service, which is out of our control.

NOTE: We hope to start sending electronic notices to permit holders at some point during our Fall 2024 term.

We contract with Parking Revenue Recovery Services (PRRS) to manage violations and fines, including the payment and appeal processes.

PRRS adds additional fees to your fine when you submit your payment.

Your unpaid fines will be sent to a debt collection company after the number of days stated on the notice you received, and additional fees will be added to your fine.

You may appeal your fine by completing the information attached to the notice you received within the timeframe listed.

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We contract with Parking Revenue Recovery Services (PRRS) to manage violations and fines, including the payment and appeal processes.

You may appeal (or dispute) your fine online or by completing the information attached to the notice you received within the timeframe listed (usually 30 days).

Make sure to provide any documentation (or evidence) that supports your appeal including:

  • E-ticket or permit purchase receipt
  • License plate of the vehicle on the e-ticket or permit
  • Parked location
  • Date & time of your parking session

We don’t grant dismissals for:

  • User errors (e.g., license plate typos)
    • Our system has a 1 – 2-character margin of error; if 3 or more characters are incorrect, your license plate won’t be recognized
  • Unauthorized parking for your specific permit or paid parking session
  • Incorrect parking-related information provided by anyone outside of the Parking Services office
  • Fines accrued for parking longer than a validation code allows

After reviewing the facts, either PRRS or Parking Services will email or call you with a decision on your appeal. This decision is final and you cannot make additional appeals.

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NOTES:

  • Don’t submit more than one appeal for the same notice number.
  • If PRRS cannot identify you based on the information you provide, you may not receive a response to your appeal.
  • All appeals must be resolved before any parking-related restrictions will be lifted.

  • Your unpaid fines will be sent to a debt collection company after the number of days stated on the notice you received, and additional fees will be added to your fine.

As a student, parking violations could get you reported to University Community Standards.

The resulting student conduct proceedings could lead to a 30-day suspension of your parking permit, which means any permitted vehicle(s) aren’t allowed on campus. Your vehicle will be towed on sight if found on campus during your 30-day suspension.

If you accumulate 3 or more unpaid parking fines, a hold may be placed on your student record. To remove this hold, you must email proof of payment (for the full balance) to usmparkingservices@maine.edu with the following information:

  • Full name
  • maine.edu email address
  • Student ID number
  • License plate

Make sure to pay your fines ASAP to get the hold on your account resolved quickly.

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If you park in an unauthorized lot during a snow ban or in a manner that obstructs snow removal efforts, you’ll receive a fine and your vehicle could be towed at your expense.

To get your vehicle back, you must contact the towing company, not Parking Services or Public Safety; the University is not responsible for any risks from towing.

If your vehicle is towed, you are responsible for all towing and storage fees. You don’t need to pay your USM parking fines to get your vehicle released.

Portland tow companies
Gorham tow companies

Situations that may get your vehicle towed on sight

  • Your vehicle has 3 or more unpaid fines that are 30+ days overdue
  • Parking on campus during your permit suspension period
  • You have a total of $165 or more in accumulated parking fines
  • Parking within 20 feet of a fire hydrant or in a manner that could impede fire-fighting efforts
  • Obstructing a roadway, fire lane, or doorway
  • Parking in designated emergency or hashmark vehicle parking 
  • Invalid or missing license plates
  • Parking on the grass or a curb
  • Hindering snow removal operations
  • Unauthorized parking during designated University vacation periods, snowstorms, and parking bans (check your permit rules)
  • Parking in a reserved or marked space without the proper permit or paid parking session
  • Parking in a restricted lot or garage without the proper permit or paid parking session
  • Parking/abandoning a vehicle on campus for 30+ days straight that may or may not be in a state of disrepair.
    • The only vehicle repairs allowed on campus are:
      • Changing a flat tire
      • Jump-starting a dead battery 
    • If your vehicle requires any other mechanical repairs (including an oil change), you must drive or tow it to an off-campus service facility.

During specific times of year, we pause our parking enforcement efforts to allow our University community time to settle into a new term.

These dates will be communicated to the USM community ahead of time and include:

  • Residential student move-in dates
  • Residential student move-out dates
  • Student-athlete move-in dates
  • Agreed upon dates at the start of our fall term
  • Agreed upon dates at the start of our spring term
  • Additional pause dates by request

When the enforcement pause ends:

Any fines accrued by vendors and contractors won’t be waived or dismissed.

The person on the registration of a vehicle that violates USM parking rules and regulations will be fined unless the vendor or contractor business entity pays instead.

If a vehicle must be towed due to an emergency situation, the owner will be responsible for the towing and storage fees. We’ll try to contact the owner and ask for the vehicle to be moved before resorting to towing.

We won’t fine or tow your vehicles from areas that were coordinated in advance to be closed for related work.

Violations

Fines range from $55 to $250, depending on the nature and severity of the parking violation, and are set at levels meant to deter repeat violations. The more serious the infractions (e.g., parking in fire lanes), the higher the cost.

The following list of the most common (not all) violations are $55 for the first offense:

  • Blocking a fire hydrant, fire lane, or emergency parking space
  • Blocking driveway/aisle
  • Driving or parking on sidewalks
  • Expired paid parking session e-ticket/receipt
  • Expired permit
  • Failure of payment within the grace period
  • Invalid license plate
  • No parking zone
  • Obstructing snow removal
  • Obstructing traffic
  • Occupying more than one space (including parking on the line)
  • Parking in a loading zone
  • Parking in a service vehicle zone
  • Parking in the wrong coded lot or parking spot
  • Parking on a roadway
  • Parking without payment or permit
  • No vehicle plate
  • Parking in a reserved space without authorization
  • Unauthorized disability parking
  • Unauthorized overnight parking
  • Unauthorized parking

NOTE: Additional fees may apply. All outstanding fines must be paid before obtaining a new permit.

Do you have questions or need assistance? We're happy to help!

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