Parking Rules and Regulations

Parking regulations help ensure the safety of the NIU community and those visiting, and the ease of traffic flow through campus. With that in mind, the basic rules and regulations regarding parking on campus are addressed below.

The parking regulations below have been established to ensure optimal use of Northern Illinois University's parking facilities and efficient movement of traffic. These Motor Vehicle and Parking Regulations are effective July 1, 2023.

University facilities used for vehicular traffic or parking are used by permission of the Board of Trustees and not as a matter of right. By virtue of the authority vested in the Board of Trustees by the Illinois Statutes and under the Governing Policy for Northern Illinois University, regulations pertaining to employee, student, and visitor-operated vehicles at Northern Illinois University (hereafter referred to as university) are hereby established. 

Campus Parking Services: A unit of Operations under the Division of Administration and Finance.

Retiree: An individual receiving a pension from the State Universities Retirement System whose last employer was NIU.

Employee: An individual who is employed by the university via the employment office known as Human Resource Services.

Student: An individual who has applied for admission to the university, received permission to register, or has matriculated into a degree program. Summer school sessions and semester break periods are not considered to be a break in a student's academic pursuits. A student employee who is employed via the Student Employment Office or the Graduate School is defined as a student with regard to the Parking Regulations.

Visitor: An individual neither attending nor employed by the university who operates/parks a vehicle on campus.

Persons with disabilities parking: Available for use only by vehicles displaying valid persons with disabilities license plates, state or municipality-issued persons with disabilities parking placard and registered to a valid NIU virtual parking permit. Persons with disabilities spaces are enforced at all times.

Pay-parking: Includes facilities regulated by payment via AMP Park and facilities regulated by pay stations.

University facilities: Includes all real property under the control of the Board of Trustees and encompasses the terms "lot," "spaces," "parking areas," "streets" and the like. References to "streets" include only university-owned streets.

AMP: acronym for AIMS MobilePay, a pay parking application used via a smartphone, accessible via a QR code located on AMP Park signs and accessible online.

1. Vehicles must be registered with a virtual parking permit when using university parking facilities except when utilizing AMP Parking locations, pay stations and 15-minute spaces.

  • Parking lots and regular virtual parking permits are color-coded. The colors are blue, brown, green, orange, purple and yellow.
  • It is the responsibility of the permit holder to contact Parking Services if their employment status, student status or residence changes.
  • When parking on campus, you must park so your license plate faces the drive aisle of the parking lot.
  • Parking permits do not guarantee a parking space.
  • Parking permits are not meant to be shared. Students and faculty/staff are prohibited from registering license plates that belong to other currently enrolled or employed individuals.
  • Ordering a virtual permit, the color for which one does not qualify, may result in parking tickets and/or having parking privileges revoked.
  • Motorcycles, motor-driven cycles, and motorized scooters must be registered under the same conditions as other vehicles and are subject to the same regulations as other vehicles.
  • Although two vehicles may be registered to one student, faculty or staff parking permit, only one vehicle may be parked on campus.
  • Falsifying payment documentation may lead to additional fines or loss of parking privileges.

2. Pay-parking is available for students, faculty, staff and visitors in designated AMP Parking areas and at parking pay stations located throughout campus. Regular permit holders and university-owned vehicles that use pay-parking facilities must pay the daily/hourly fee. Pay-parking is enforced at all times unless otherwise posted.

3. Theft of, or damage to, vehicles occurring on university property (including damage to vehicle paint by cooling tower spray or gravel/stone in unpaved lots) shall not be the responsibility of the university.

4. University parking lots may be closed for special events, maintenance, and whenever it is deemed necessary without prior notice. When there are large events on campus there may be a need to have vehicles removed from certain areas of campus and relocated to other parking lots. The vehicle affected may either be relocated or towed off campus, depending on the event. The vehicle owner is responsible for the cost of tow or relocation.

5. University-owned vehicles are not exempt from parking regulations and restrictions. Drivers of such vehicles are responsible for tickets incurred.

6. The posting or distribution of flyers and other such media on vehicles or in the parking garage is prohibited unless authorized by Parking Services and the Organization and Student Involvement Suite (OASIS).

1. Abandoned vehicles: Vehicles that appear to be abandoned may be disposed of in accordance with State of Illinois statutes or as follows. Vehicles that are found abandoned and/or inoperable in a parking area continuously for more than 15 days, after an appropriate warning, may be towed at the owner's expense without any additional notice given.

2. Changes in parking regulations and lot designations: Parking Regulations may be changed as necessary. To maximize the efficiency of parking spaces, changes in lot designations can occur. Drivers that utilize campus lots are responsible for reviewing and following parking regulations at all times.

Changes in lot designations are effective immediately once signs are posted or changes are announced.

Parking Services reserves the right to make changes as necessary in any campus lot areas without notice to meet operational needs and/or address safety issues.

Changes in parking regulations and lot designations will be posted online.

3. Disabled vehicles: Report disabled vehicle immediately. Call Parking Services at 815-753-1045 between 7:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Monday-Friday. On nights and weekends call the Department of Police and Public Safety at 815-753-1212. The vehicle must be removed within 24 hours of reporting the vehicle disabled. Vehicles parked in reserved spaces, persons with disabilities spaces, 15-minute spaces, service spaces, or that are otherwise in violation are not exempt from immediate towing. Please note: Placing your vehicle on the disabled log does not prevent you from receiving tickets or prevent your vehicle from being towed. Tickets may be appealed, if done within seven calendar days from date of issuance.

4. Illinois Rules of the Road, etc. are to be obeyed: Operators of vehicles on the university facilities are expected to comply with the "Rules of the Road" and all other appropriate provisions of the Illinois Vehicle Code. (Illinois Compiled Statutes, 625 ILCS 5).

5. Legal parking: The responsibility for finding legal parking rests with the vehicle operator. Convenience will not be an acceptable reason for violation of regulations. Vehicles must be parked within designated striped lines or within the width of the concrete bumper. Vehicles may not occupy more than one space. Parking is always prohibited on grass or tree plots, or any other place where parking would mar the landscaping of the campus, create a safety hazard, interfere with the use of the university facilities, or obstruct traffic within a parking lot. No double parking allowed. Only one motor vehicle per space. There will be no parking in posted zones, yellow striped zones, red curbed zones, fire hydrant zones, fire lanes, crosswalks or sidewalks. Vehicles found in violation may be towed at the owner's expense.

6. 15-minute spaces: Vehicles parking in designated 15-minute spaces must use the vehicle's emergency flashers. The time limits posted on the signs are strictly enforced. Tickets may be issued every additional 15 minutes that a vehicle is parked there.

7. Motor homes, mobile trailers, campers, vans, and other such vehicles are not permitted for use in university parking facilities for the purpose of living in the vehicle. If you are planning on bringing a trailer or camper to campus for an event, etc. please contact Parking Services at 815-753-1045 to determine what parking can meet your needs.

8. Individuals visiting, attending or employed by NIU are responsible for parking violations incurred by vehicles they are operating or registered to them.

9. Reserved spaces: Designated by number or department name. These spaces are posted as a tow risk. Illegal parking in these spaces may result in fines and/or towing of the vehicle at the driver’s expense.

10. Service spaces: Monitored as reserved spaces. These spaces are posted as a tow risk. Illegal parking in these spaces may result in fines and/or towing of the vehicle at the driver’s expense.

11. Speed Limits: Posted speed limits must always be observed. The speed limit within all lots is 10 mph.

12. Trailers/Buses: Vehicles pulling a trailer or buses must contact Campus Parking Services 815-753-1045 to inquire about required parking permits and directions to the designated lots for trailer/bus use.

13. Oversized Personal Vehicles: Vehicles that may potentially take up more than one parking space must contact Parking Services at 815-753-1045 to inquire about the type of permit needed, as well as the location to park the vehicle.

1. As appropriate, Campus Parking Services and the Department of Police and Public Safety enforce university motor vehicle and parking regulations; NIU Public Safety officers additionally enforce applicable laws under the Illinois Vehicle Code (Illinois Compiled Statutes. 625 ILCS 5) as well as other relevant statutes.

2. Vehicles may be towed at the owner's expense for the following reasons:

a. Abandoned/disabled vehicles
b. Campus parking privileges denied
c. Illegal parking including unauthorized use of persons with disabilities space, reserved space, or service space
d. Five or more paid/unpaid tickets in an academic year (August 1-July 31)

3. Outstanding student tickets and fees may be reported to the Bursar's Office for collection. By registering a motor vehicle under these regulations or by using the university facilities governed by these regulations, an individual authorizes the university to collect all tickets and fees due by charging the tickets and fees to the individual's Bursar account and settling the amount due in accordance with the terms of that plan.

The university may place financial holds on the records of the students with unpaid parking tickets and fees.

Tickets that have been transferred to a student's Bursar's account cannot be appealed.

4. University employees, by parking on campus, authorize the Payroll Office to withhold from their salary or wages the specific amount due of tickets issued by Parking Services and/or Public Safety upon exhaustion of all appeal procedures and in accordance with the State Salary and Annuity Withholding Act (Illinois Complied Statutes, 5 ILCS 365/1). Additional related service charges will be assessed until paid in full. Tickets that have been transferred to an employee's payroll account cannot be appealed.

5. When a vehicle (or multiple vehicles) associated with an individual accumulates five or more citations within an academic year, regardless of if the tickets are paid or not, vehicles will be subject to towing when found parked in violation of the parking rules and regulations. Vehicles associated with such individuals will be placed on the Tow List for the remainder of the academic year (August 1 – July 31). Thereafter, whenever parking in violation, the vehicle is subject to being towed at the owner’s expense in addition to the parking violations incurred.

6. Virtual Parking permits are required as posted, even during semester and holiday break periods and when classes are not scheduled. For more parking information, please contact Campus Parking Services at 815-753-1045.

A. Campus Parking Committee and the Parking Appeals Committee

The Campus Parking Committee is an advisory body administratively responsible to the associate vice president of Facilities Management and Campus Services who reports to the vice president for Administration and Finance. The committee advises on parking and traffic concerns, as well as long-range plans. This committee consists of four faculty, four operating staff, four students, four supportive professional staff, representatives from other support areas and the coordinator of parking services. Correspondence to the committee may be addressed to Parking Services.

The Parking Appeals Committee reviews appeals for violations. The committee consists of up to five students, three faculty, three operating staff, three supportive professional staff, one voting member of the Campus Parking Committee, and one non-voting member from Parking Services who serves as coordinator. Correspondence may be addressed to Parking Services.

University Motor Vehicle Parking Regulations are available on this website. It is the expectation that anyone using NIU parking facilities agrees to review and comply with the Parking Rules and Regulations.

Contact Us

Parking Services
121 Normal Road
815-753-1045
parking@niu.edu

Office Hours

Monday-Friday
7:30 a.m.-4 p.m.

The lobby is currently closed to in-person transactions.

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