Student Parking
Student parking is available in the lower parking lot of the Northern Virginia Center. Vehicle parking is available in two different options: daily parking with ParkMobile or by purchasing a parking permit:
Option 1 - Parking Permit
Option 1 is to buy a semester or year C/G permit from Virginia Tech Parking and Transportation. (the C/G stands for Commuter/Graduate student). With this permit, you may park anywhere in the lower lot. Be sure to properly display the permit at all times. The price of this permit is based on the parking lots in Blacksburg, click here to check the current rate.
- VT Parking permits will also work on the Blacksburg campus, but are not accepted at the VT Research Center in Arlington.
- Only semester or annual/yearly parking passes are accepted at the Northern Virginia Center.
Option 2 - Daily Parking using ParkMobile
Option 2 is to pay as you go using ParkMobile. The zone number for the lower lot is 85602. ParkMobile is a simple and convenient method to pay for parking using a smartphone app. Phone, text, and web payments are also available if you don't have a smartphone or prefer not to use the app.
The daily rate for the NVC parking lot is set by the price of parking at the Metro station, and is currently $3.30 for a 24 hour period. The semester including exams is 16 weeks long, so if you attend class once per week, the cost is $52.80, etc.
Cost Breakdown of Options 1 and 2:
| How many times you come to class each week |
Cost of daily parking for the semester | Cost of a semester-long permit: Fall 2023 |
| One night per week | $52.80 | $225 |
| Two nights per week | $105.60 | $225 |
| Three nights per week | $158.40 | $225 |
| Four nights per week | $211.20 | $225 |
| Five nights per week | $264 | $225 |
The VT permit hangtag (Option 1) offers greater convenience, in that you can pay once and be done. Furthermore, if you purchase the year permit, it is valid through next August and covers parking through summer classes.
Bottom line: If you are planning to come to class four or more nights per week, the permit is the cheaper option. If you are planning to come to class three nights per week or less, ParkMobile is the cheaper option.