Parking goes paperless at WSUV

Parking permits were made available to purchase on July 14th, 2025, for the fall semester at Washington State University’s Vancouver campus. Students will no longer need to wait in line to pick up physical permits. The moment the permit is purchased online, license plate information is entered, and the permit is valid and effective immediately. 

Robin Lockhart, manager of the Department of Public Safety and Parking Services at WSUV, noted that “[WSU] Pullman has been doing license plate recognition (LPR) for a long time. We were trying to be in alignment.” Lockhart stated that the license plate reader’s virtual permit easily allows students to add a maximum of two cars per account. Having car troubles the morning of class and needing to borrow a friend’s car? Simply log in to their account and make updates that are effective immediately.

Beau Watts, Campus Security Officer at the Department of Public Safety at WSUV, stated, “I spearheaded the change from the system’s standpoint and [the] development of [the] installation of cameras in patrol cars to scan license plates.”

According to Watts and Lockhart, the Pullman and Spokane campuses have utilized LPR for over five years, and the WSUV campus matches up with other Washington state locations. The process took about a year and a half to execute, beginning in March 2024.

“A big part was changing the payment processor. It was not compliant. Once that was completed, there were contracts, which delayed the process. In public service we must adhere to regulations and carefully spend tax dollars wisely. Pullman has used LPR for over five plus years. We are late to the party,” said Watts.

For more information about parking at WSUV, please visit the Parking Services webpage here: https://www.vancouver.wsu.edu/parking-services.