To validate parking on surface lots for guests of a sponsored event or program, departments must submit a Special Visitor Request. With a Special Visitor Request, Transportation Services will reserve a space by bagging the adjacent signage in the desired lot, and you will receive a website link, code, and instructions for your guest to validate their vehicle’s plate.
Due to limited surface lot parking, reservations through Special Visitor Requests are typically required to guarantee parking. Approval is subject to availability and partially dependent on other campus events and programs. Special Visitor Requests can be done for:
- EMS Garage
- Sandburg Garage
- the lower level of Kenilworth Garage
- Any main campus surface lot
Special Visitor Request Workflow
Only the following individuals may submit a special visitor request:
- Dean, Director, or Division Head
- A representative designated by a division, department or unit
Please note that special visitor/guest permits cannot be provided to anyone who is employed by the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and conducting regular business as part of their defined job duties.
Organizations that are recognized by the Student Association can make arrangements through Student Involvement. Students are not authorized to submit this form.
The department must have a Transportation Services validation account set up prior to the submission of the form. The creation of this account depends on the approval of the dean, director, division head, or their designated representative as denoted by the submission of the Validations Account Set up Form.
There are two permits available:
- Morning Only Permit: 7:00 AM to 1:30 PM at $8
- All Day Permit: 7:00 AM to 11:59 PM at $12
Departments must meet all the qualifications listed under the Prerequisites tab to submit a Special Visitor Request.
To submit a Special Visitor Request:
- Open the Transportation Services Purchase Request form.
- Log into your UWM account if needed. The rest of these steps just go over what is listed on the form.
- Set the Request Type field to Special Visitor.
- Enter the rationale behind the request into the Reason for the Request field.
- Select the Transportation Services Validation Account in the drop down menu. We recommend that you start with the six digit organization number in PeopleSoft or the driver worktag in Workday.
- Confirm that your name is listed on the Submitter field.
- Select what lot you want parking for in the Location field.
- Determine whether parking is needed for All Day or Mornings Only in the Duration of Stay Field. Morning Only passes only allow parking until 1:30 PM.
- Enter the Date and Number of Spaces needed for the request.
- If you want to reserve parking for multiple days, you can press the Add Special Visitor Request button. If you need parking for additional Locations or for different Duration of Stays, you will need to submit different forms.
- Agree to the Terms and Conditions.
- Click Submit.
The submitter will receive an email once approved with parking instructions that may be forwarded to the guest. Guests will enter a code in a unique link to the Offstreet website (which are both provided in the email) along with their license plate to validate parking on their requested date. If the lot is unavailable, an alternate may be assigned. On the day of the event, Transportation Services will reserve a parking space in the designated lot.
Guests should arrive on campus and park in a space where the adjacent signage is covered by a red bag.
Each guest must validate their license plate. This helps Transportation Services ensure that the correct person is parked in the space.
To validate a license plate:
- Access the portal at offstreet.io or through your direct link/QR code
- Enter your license plate number
- Click “Next”
- Enter your parking code as provided to the department by Transportation Services.
- Click “Park”
- A “Parking Registration Successful” page will display when you’ve completed the registration process. You are all set. You can request a receipt by entering your email. The email doesn’t need to be displayed or kept.
Frequently Asked Questions
Special visitor request can be cancelled or changed up to two days prior to the event. Email uwmpark@uwm.edu to make any changes or cancellations.
We cannot typically cancel a request on the day reserved. This is because we have already reserved the space. An exception is made if campus is closed unexpectedly (such as due to inclement weather).
We need to reserve spaces as otherwise we cannot guarantee parking will be available for guest(s). Guests with validations are typically not allowed to park in permit only spaces (with black signs). There is a limited number of non-permit spaces for surface lots, and they are high in demand for most days in the school year.
We reserve the space by placing out bags. However, we need license plate(s) to verify that the person parked there is the correct individual. Otherwise, unauthorized individuals may park in the space, meaning your guest may have issues finding parking.
There are generally two ways for you to collect the license plate:
- You can forward the approval email to your guest. They can go to the website and follow the steps to validate their plate.
- You can get the license plate from the guest and enter it on the website following the instructions yourself.
If you have recurrent guests, Transportation Services may be able to place the license plate on file. This would eliminate the need to enter the license plate each time. Transportation Services may still require the submission of a Special Visitor Request to reserve the space.
Garages such as Lubar, NWQ, Pavilion, and Union are gated, and thus the customer needs to pay or validate their parking ticket before leaving. Thus
