Durham City Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) - virtual parking permits

Virtual Parking Permits are an electronic record confirming that you have a valid parking permit rather than having to display a paper parking permit. Details of your parking permit will be held electronically and will be shared with Civil Enforcement Officers patrolling permit areas.

Some of the benefits for residents will include:

• The facility to apply for, purchase and manage your parking permit online.
• You will not have to visit the Parking Shop to obtain a permit.
• You will not need to display a paper permit in your vehicle as we will hold an electronic record of your permits.
• As the majority of permits will be virtual there will be fewer permits lost.
• As the permits will be virtual there should be less Penalty Charge Notices (PCNs) issued because you have forgotten to display or incorrectly displayed your paper parking permit.
• It will be easier for Civil Enforcement Officers to identity vehicles parked without a valid permit or vehicles using a cancelled parking permit. 

Charges 

The cost for a permit and the number of permits a household or business address can purchase remains the same. 

Once you have moved to the virtual system, there will be a £5 administration fee for every change to a vehicle registration on the account.  

The previous fee of £10 to replace a lost or damaged permit will no longer apply.

Apply for a new permit

Applications for new parking permits can be made online from our Durham City Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) page. You will be able to upload the required documentation and pay for your permit online. You will also be able to make changes to your permit online, for example if you change your vehicle.

A user guide is available on our Durham City Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) page to help you to set up your account. If you have any issues please Contact The Parking Shop on 0191 3846633 or email permits.durham@nslservices.co.uk. 

You will need to submit proof of residency or business address and vehicle ownership each time you apply for a virtual parking permit. This prevents misuse and ensures that only legitimate residents are able to obtain permits.

We are unable to process any applications for parking permits without proof of residency, business address or vehicle ownership.

You are unable to apply for a parking permit on behalf of someone else as the applicant must be named on the proof of vehicle details and must reside at the property.

If you do not have internet access please Contact The Parking Shop on 0191 384 6633 to request a paper application form for a permit. A virtual permit will be issued upon successful application.

We aim to process applications within five working days.

Current valid permits

If your permit is still valid, you don't need to apply for a virtual permit until your current permit reaches it expiry date. It would only be then that you need to apply for a virtual permit. 

New applications can be made on our Durham City Controlled Parking Zone (CPZ) page. If you do not have internet access you can Contact The Parking Shop on 0191 384 6633 and they can issue you with a paper permit application form. 

We aim to process applications within five working days. 

Change car registration on parking permit or courtesy car

If you need to change the registration of your vehicle on your permit, you can do this online via your permit account. Please note that a £5 administration charge will apply.

If you have a courtesy car because your usual vehicle has been involved in an accident or breakdown, please Contact The Parking Shop on 0191 384 6633.

You will need to provide The Parking Shop with a copy of the hire document for the courtesy vehicle and a covering letter or email from the garage that has your vehicle in for repair.

Virtual visitor permits 

A Virtual Parking Permit removes the requirement for a permit to be displayed on your vehicle's dashboard. Your vehicles details are held on the Civil Enforcement Officers electronic device, and they can check that you have a valid virtual parking permit. 

You must apply for visitor vouchers in advance, with 36 x 3 hour vouchers every 28 days at a cost of £9. You will need to provide proof of residency every 12 weeks.

When you have applied for and been approved visitor vouchers, you will be provided access to the vouchers via your online permit account. 

When you have a visitor, you would need to access your online account either in advance or within five minutes of the visitor parking. Enter the visitor's vehicle registration, give details of the times of their visit, and once all details are correct, click proceed. Civil Enforcement Officers will then be able to identify that your visitor is entitled to park via their handheld electronic device.  

There is no set time required to enter a visitor vehicle registration in advance.  However, it is understandably beneficial for your visitors if you can enter their registration prior to parking the vehicle.

Please note that once the session has been booked, there is no option to amend or delete the session should the visitor arrive at a different time or cancel the visit.

For your convenience, you are able to save vehicle registrations for your regular visitors and give them an alias such as "Mum".

If you don't know your visitors vehicle registration in advance and are unable to book, then as soon as the visitor arrives you should obtain their vehicle registration and enter it into your permit account. This will need to be within five minutes of the visitor's arrival to prevent a PCN being issued to the vehicle.

If the total number of vouchers has not been used within 28 days, they will not expire and will carry over into the next period.

Please note that if you are a private tenant, you must have at least 28 days remaining on your tenancy agreement in order to obtain further visitor vouchers.

Parking scratch cards 

Parking scratch cards are still valid for use. 

Construction permits 

If you are eligible for a construction permit then this will also be moving to the virtual permit system. Up to three registered vehicles may be assigned to one permit, but only with one vehicle active at a time. Therefore, you can log into the account and assign the correct vehicle registration for the contractor at the property that day. A maximum of two permits will be available in line with the current allowances.

Residents may apply for a construction permit via their online account. Alternatively the builder may apply directly by creating a 'non-resident' account online.

Carer permits

If you are eligible for a carer permit, these will remain as paper parking permits due to the nature of the permit. Please Contact The Parking Shop on 0191 384 6633 for a paper application form.

Login details 

If you forget your login details for the parking permit system, you can select the "forgotten login/password" link which will allow you access your account and reset your password.