Parking FAQs

• Parking permits can be purchased on the Tufts Parking Portal. See our Parking Permits page for more details. There is also a quick start reference guide you can review.

• Visitors can buy hourly parking at any of the kiosks found in Dowling Garage, Cousens Lot or Lower Campus Garage. Hourly parking can also be purchased online through AIMS Mobile Pay.

• Employee parking permits can be purchased using pretax dollars. Purchase a monthly permit on our permit website and select “payroll deduction” or register for a transportation benefits debit card to pay for parking with pretax dollars.  

Our parking permit system uses LPR (license plate recognition) for reviewing which vehicles have permits. When you register your vehicle on the parking permit portal, you provide your vehicle information which allows our enforcement team to verify you have purchased a parking permit.

When you purchase a permit it will display the start and end date during check out, your confirmation email will list the dates, you can review the dates in your account at anytime and the system will email you a reminder when a permit is about to expire.

Daily permits are only valid for one day. They will not automatically renew, please purchase daily permits as needed.

Monthly permits are valid for 30 days. They will not automatically renew, please purchase monthly permits as needed.

Auto-Renew Permits will renew continuously until users request expiration. If paying for an auto-renew permit using a credit card, the first months payment will be prorated and all subsequent monthly payments will be charged on the 1st of the month.

All vehicles parking on campus are expected to have a parking permit. Vehicles that are clearly marked as emergency vehicles will not be ticketed. 

Contractors and Vendors are required to have a parking permit for all vehicles parking on campus. Hourly visitor parking is available as well as monthly renewing permits. Contractors and Vendors should reach out to their Tufts University point of contact or directly to Tufts Transportation and Parking Services for more information regarding vendor or contractor permit options.

All vehicles parking on campus are required to have a valid parking permit. Tickets will be issued for vehicles without parking permits. Tickets will also be issued for any safety related or illegal parking activities.

The parking enforcement system uses LPR (License Plate Recognition) software to match parked cars with their parking permits. All tickets are physical printed tickets that will be left on the vehicle windshield.

Tickets can be paid online through the Tufts Parking Portal. Failure to pay tickets may result in towing and/or revocation of parking privileges.

Please review parking enforcement policies.

Permits can be purchased in advance or upon arrival through the Tufts Parking Portal.

Any valid permit holders from the Boston Health Sciences campus will not be required to purchase a permit while on the Medford/Somerville campus. Please fill out the Shared Campus Parking Permit form on our website that will grant temporary access to our Medford/Somerville campus. We require 72 hours notice prior to arriving on campus. 

• Can we add more than one vehicle to an account?

Yes, when you purchase a monthly or auto-renewing permit you can add up to two vehicles to your permit. Remember, you can only have one of those vehicle on campus at a time.

• What happens if I have a rental car or borrowing a car for a short period of time?

You can manage the vehicles associated with your parking permit in the parking portal. For limited time changes, use the "temporary change" button to add a vehicle and select the dates that you will be using that vehicle. When that period of time ends the system will default the original vehicle listed. You can do this multiple times if you need to extend the date range.

• What happens if I have a new car?

You can manage the vehicles associated with your parking permit in the parking portal. For a permanent change to a vehicle associated with your parking permit click on "permanent change" to add the new vehicle information to the system. This new vehicle will replace the one you selected.

The parking portal is used for Medford/Somerville, Grafton and SMFA.

The Boston health sciences campus uses a different parking system managed by Tufts Shared Services.

Medford/Somerville Campus

Visitors looking for hourly parking should park at Dowling Garage, Cousens Lot or Lower Campus Garage. Hourly parking is paid for at an on-site kiosk or online. Campus parking maps are found on the parking website.

Visitors coming to campus for events should check with their event host for an event parking voucher code and details about where to park. To use an event parking voucher code, visit the parking portal and click event parking to register your vehicle and use the voucher code.

• Where do contractors and vendors pay for visitor parking permits?

Contractors and vendors can purchase hourly parking at any of the visitor lots or purchase a monthly recuring contractor/vendor permit in the parking portal. Please create a visitor account to purchase a contractor/vendor permit.

Grafton Campus

Clients, people bringing animals for treatment or services, should park in designated client parking lots.

Non-sponsored or other visitors, on campus for a brief visit, may purchase a parking permit through the parking portal. Go.tufts.edu/permit

Pre-registered department guests, visitors and event parking are not allowed in client parking areas.

See our Parking Maps for details. 

SMFA Campus

Museum Road Garage: The Museum of Fine Arts operates parking facilities on Museum Road between SMFA and the MFA. Rates range from $10 to $29 depending on the length of your stay. Museum members receive a discount.

Street Parking: Limited street parking can be found on Museum Road, The Fenway, and Evans Way. We recommend that you download the ParkBoston app to pay for metered parking with a credit card. This app allows you to track the time left on your meter and reminds you when your meter is about to expire.

• Visit the event parking page to review departmental parking request information.

Request a refund by emailing assistance@mpspark.com.

The parking advisories page will have the latest information about any parking bans, snow emergencies, or restrictions.

access.tufts.edu/parking-shuttle-advisories