About visitor parking permits

Residential parking schemes were introduced for local residents to protect them from commuter parking and to give them priority over the limited number of street spaces available.

As there is little off-street parking in many of the Controlled Parking Zones, residents and their visitors have to compete for on-street parking with only approximately one space available per house frontage, or even less when private entrances need to be kept clear. Some restraint is needed to ration the parking space available fairly. There is a limit of 50 visitor's permits per person, per year.

Introducing year dates to the life expectancy of a visitor permit prevents non-eligible persons from obtaining permits and the misuse and selling of permits when a resident leaves an address.

An allocation of 50 visitor's permits lasts one year because we enter a new cycle each following year.  A visitor permit is valid for 24 hours from the time it is activated by scratching. It is not possible to purchase additional visitor permits.

Who can apply

Any resident of an eligible property may apply for visitors' parking permits providing they are aged 17 years or over. They are issued in sets of 25 single use (one day) passes.

Check your property's eligibility

Before committing to a contract with a letting agency and/or landlord, contact us to confirm that the property is eligible for a visitor and/or residential parking permits. 

Costs and payment

You can apply for one free set of permits every 12 months. If you require more, you need to wait six months after your first application. The cost of a second set of visitor parking permits will be £31.50 with the exception of Woodstock where residents will pay £25.

You will not be asked to make a payment until we have processed your application.

If you are over 70, you will not have to pay for your second set. If you hold a valid Oxfordshire County Council concessionary bus pass, we can check your age with your permission, but you will otherwise need to provide proof of age. 

Start your application

What you need to provide

You need to provide proof of address with your application.

The quickest way of providing this information to us is to upload it when making this application. You can upload a copy of the document using a smartphone, tablet or scanner. Photos or scans of documents are acceptable, providing the relevant information is clear.

Please note, we are unable to accept documents that are uploaded in the HEIC format, however PDF or JPEG formats are acceptable.

Documents we accept

A photograph or scan of one of the following.

• Utility bill or financial statement dated within the last three months.
• Council tax document for the current tax year that is addressed to you at the property that you reside in Oxford.
• Fully signed, termed Tenancy Agreement (We only require the pages showing the tenant names, property address, tenancy term dates, and the signatures).
• Letter from Solicitors confirming your name, property address and date you will be moving into the property.
• An official letter from organisations such as HMRC, NHS, Benefits agency, local Council etc. dated within the last three months.
• Payslip dated within the last three months.

Surrender of visitor permits

Unused visitor permits should be surrendered to the Council in the event of the following:

• ceasing to be a resident of the address at which you applied for the permits
• in date permits that have become defaced or illegible.

Where to send the permits

Residential Parking Permits, PO Box 905, Oxford. OX1 9QQ

As the scheme allows for a free allocation of 25 permits per year, any unused out of date visitor permits will not be replaced because each eligible resident can apply for an updated version by submitting an online application form.