Pay by plate parking Pay by plate parking

“Pay by plate” parking is a paperless parking payment system that uses your vehicle’s licence plate number.

You do not need to return to your vehicle to display a ticket. Your vehicle licence plate number is used to confirm that your parking has been paid.

Report a problem with a pay by plate machine


Ways to pay

Pay by plate machine

  • You can use the pay by plate machines located in paid parking areas to pay for parking

AT Park

  • You can register with AT Park (online account) to pay. Once set up you can use the AT Park app, AT website or text (SMS) to start and stop a parking session.
  • Find out how to register and use AT Park

How pay by plate works

Pay by plate parking is a paperless system that works by using a vehicle licence plate number rather than a paper ticket.

Pay by plate only records the plate number entered, this is not associated with, or cross-referenced to any other authorities’ data base for vehicle registrations. No vehicle owner information is captured when paying with pay by plate machines.

Our parking officers use licence plate recognition to confirm that your vehicle has a valid parking session in the area it is parked.


How to use pay by plate machines

To pay for parking, you enter the vehicle licence plate number and pay for the amount of time you want to park.

You do not receive a paper ticket, so there is no ticket to display in your vehicle.

If the machine is faulty, you must pay for parking at another machine, or use AT Park to pay.

Receipts

Pay by plate machines do not issue a paper ticket or receipt.

You do not need to display a paper ticket in your vehicle.

If you require a receipt, eReceipts (electronic receipts) are available. Instructions to receive an eReceipt are shown on the machine screen, and provided below.


Refunds

Auckland Transport will assess refund requests when all the required information has been provided,

Credit card duplicates

It is not possible for the pay by plate machine to double charge a credit or debit card on payment for one parking session. However, some customers see a duplicate transaction appear on their bank statement, often this will appear as ‘pending’ or ‘on hold’ on your bank statement.

Please wait 7 days from the transaction date and check your account to see if the duplicate transaction has been removed before submitting a refund request.

Refund request

Auckland Transport will review each refund request submitted and respond within 10 working days. Please note: Though we will contact you within this timeframe, the matter may take longer to resolve. Refund requests are assessed on a case-by-case basis.

Required information:

  • Machine number or street address where the machine is located
  • Date and time of transaction
  • Amount of transaction
  • Method of payment (debit or credit card or AT Park app)
  • If you paid with a card, provide the last 4 digits of that card (Do not provide your full card number. Auckland Transport will never ask for this information.)
  • Indicate if this was a machine fault or human error
  • Fault description
  • If the wrong licence plate number was entered, provide both the incorrect plate number and correct plate number.

Please complete our feedback form and include the above information for your refund request to be considered.


Parking times, tariffs and locations

Parking times and tariffs vary from one area to another. Always check the nearest pay by plate machine or AT Park for parking rates and times of operation.

In all paid parking areas there is a 10 minute grace period. If you are parking for less than 10 minutes, you do not need to pay.


Conditions of use

If you are parked in an Auckland Transport paid parking zone or car park:

  • By law, any vehicle parked in a paid parking area must have a valid parking session during the hours of operation.
  • A valid parking session is one where the vehicle licence plate number of the parked vehicle has been entered into a parking machine or AT Park, relevant to the vehicle’s location, and payment has been processed.
  • Failure to have a valid parking session may result in an infringement notice being issued.
  • Customer is required to correctly enter the vehicle licence plate number. If wrong plate number is entered an infringement notice may be issued.
  • After the maximum authorised time (if time limit applies) vehicle must be moved, or an infringement notice may be issued.
  • If the maximum time allowed, or the time of a valid parking session is exceeded, an infringement notice may be issued.
  • Motorcyclists must have a valid parking session to be considered legally parked.
  • It is the customer’s responsibility to be aware and obey any restrictions for time limits, Clearways and Bus Lanes that relate to the location of their parked vehicle.
  • Payments made at parking machines are final, and Auckland Transport does not provide refunds for unused portions of parking sessions.

Contact us

For more information or assistance, contact Auckland Transport.