UC Berkeley, UCI, and SJSU Parking Tickets: How to Appeal a University Citation in California

Parking tickets from UC Berkeley, UC Irvine (UCI), or San Jose State University (SJSU) look a lot like regular city parking tickets. They come on similar paper. They reference California Vehicle Code sections. But the appeal process is entirely different — and understanding that difference is what determines whether your appeal goes anywhere.

University Parking Citations Are Not City Citations

When you get a parking ticket on a UC or CSU campus in California, the issuing agency is the university's parking and transportation department — not LADOT, SFMTA, or any city enforcement agency. This matters because:

• The appeal goes to the university, not a city or county office
• The city's citation portal (like ladotparking.org or sfmta.com) cannot look up or process your ticket
• California Vehicle Code still applies on campus, but the administrative process is university-specific

On public streets adjacent to campus — where city signage and enforcement apply — a city ticket goes through the city's normal appeal process. The distinction is whether the officer was a university parking officer (issued by the campus) or a city officer (issued by the city).

Check your citation: the issuing agency name at the top tells you which system applies.

UC Berkeley Parking Citations

UC Berkeley's parking and transportation department issues citations on campus and handles appeals directly. Berkeley is notoriously strict — the campus has dense permit zones, time-limited areas near academic buildings, and enforcement hours that catch visitors and students alike.

Appeal process at UC Berkeley:

1. Administrative Hearing Request: Submit a written appeal through the UC Berkeley Parking & Transportation office (pt.berkeley.edu). Appeals must typically be filed within 21 calendar days of the citation date.
2. Grounds for appeal: Signage deficiencies, broken payment equipment, permit display issues, or factual errors on the citation itself.
3. Hearing by mail or in-person: Like the California three-stage process, UC Berkeley allows written submissions and may offer in-person hearings at the second stage.
4. Further appeal: If the internal hearing goes against you, UC campuses generally allow escalation to an independent appeals board or the UC systemwide process.

Note on permits: UC Berkeley has a complex permit system with colored zones (R, G, B, etc.). Parking in the wrong permit zone — even while displaying a different valid permit — is a violation. If your permit covers the zone you parked in and the officer missed it, photograph your permit and the zone signage and submit immediately.

UCI Parking Citation Appeal

UC Irvine parking enforcement is handled through the UCI Transportation & Distribution Services department. UCI issues both on-campus citations and citations in adjacent university-controlled lots.

UCI appeal process:

1. Initial Review: File within 21 days of the citation using the UCI Transportation portal. UCI allows online appeals, which is the fastest route. Go to parking.uci.edu for current portal links.
2. Written appeal: Your appeal should cite the specific reason — permit validity, equipment malfunction, signage issue, or factual error. Generic "I didn't know" statements are denied at the first stage.
3. Administrative Hearing: If your Initial Review is denied, you can request a formal hearing with a hearing officer who is independent of the parking department.
4. California Vehicle Code applies: Even on campus, CVC sections (§ 22507.6 for sweeping, § 22508.5 for broken meters, § 21458 for curb color) govern the underlying violation standards.

UCI is known for issuing parking tickets quickly at metered areas near high-traffic buildings. If you parked at a broken meter, document it the same way you would for a city meter — video of the meter's malfunction, a report to the transportation office.

SJSU Parking Tickets

San Jose State University operates its own parking permit system and enforcement. SJSU's campus is in downtown San Jose, adjacent to city streets — the distinction between an SJSU citation and a City of San Jose citation can be easy to miss if you're not paying attention to which officer issued the ticket.

SJSU appeal process:

1. File with SJSU Transportation Solutions: Locate the appeal form at sjsu.edu/transportation. SJSU operates on the California three-stage framework for parking appeals.
2. Deadline: 21 days from citation date to initiate an appeal.
3. Written statement and evidence: Same documentation standards as city appeals — photos of signage, meter conditions, permit display.
4. Hearings: SJSU offers formal hearings with a neutral hearing officer for second-stage appeals.

Students are often surprised to learn that a valid SJSU parking permit doesn't authorize parking in city-controlled spaces around campus, and vice versa. If your ticket was issued on a city street rather than on university-controlled property, it goes through San Jose's city portal (pticket.com/sanjose), not through the university.

What All California University Parking Appeals Have in Common

Whether you're appealing at Berkeley, UCI, SJSU, UCLA, UCSB, or any other California public university, the following principles apply:

Signage matters. California Vehicle Code standards for adequate signage apply on university property. If the restriction sign was missing, obscured, or non-compliant, document it the same way you would for a city appeal.

Equipment malfunction is a defense. CVC § 22508.5 protects drivers at broken meters whether the meter is city-owned or university-owned. Document the malfunction the same way: video, report to the department, reference number.

Permits require proper display. Having a valid permit is only half the battle — the permit must be properly displayed according to your campus's rules. If the hangtag fell off the mirror, photograph the permit and the mirror before touching anything else.

21-day deadline is universal. Every California parking appeal, city or university, operates on a 21-day window from the citation date. Don't let the ticket sit.

Factual errors on the citation are contestable. Wrong plate, wrong vehicle description, wrong location code — these are the same arguments as city appeals and they carry similar weight.

City Parking Near Campus

If you got a city parking ticket on a street adjacent to UC Berkeley, UCI, or SJSU — not on university property — your appeal goes through the city's standard process:

• Near UC Berkeley: City of Berkeley parking citations → cityofberkeley.info
• Near UCI: City of Irvine or Orange County citations → contact information on back of ticket
• Near SJSU: City of San Jose citations → pticket.com/sanjose (phone: 800-294-8258)

City citations follow the three-stage California appeal process under CVC § 40215, with Initial Review → Administrative Hearing → Superior Court.

The California Parking Ticket Dispute Guide covers both city and county parking enforcement across California's major cities. For campus-specific processes at UC and CSU schools, the same defense principles and CVC sections apply — the guide's violation-specific strategies and appeal letter frameworks work for university appeals as well.

Get the California Parking Ticket Dispute Guide