How to pay for street parking in Vancouver

Four ways to pay

There are four ways to pay for City on-street parking. Each one records your payment against the space or your plate, so there's nothing to display on the dashboard.

Both apps work at every on-street pay parking location in the city and use the same zone numbers. Sources: City of Vancouver, PayByPhone.

Find your 5-digit zone number

The apps and the phone line ask for a location code: the 5-digit number of your zone, such as 55196. It changes from block to block, and on many streets each side of the block has its own.

• On the block. It's on the parking sign and on the meter or pay station. Look for the PayByPhone or HotSpot logo: PayByPhone notes that more than one company can operate at a location.
• In the app. PayByPhone's Nearby list suggests locations within 200 m of you. Check the number against the sign.
• On our map. Tap a block for its zone number, rate and time limit, or search by zone number or address. If the map and the sign disagree, the sign wins.

Paying by app or phone, step by step

1. Enter the zone number from the sign on your block.
2. Choose the plate of the car you're parked in. If you've saved more than one vehicle, check you picked the right one.
3. Choose how long, or use PayByPhone's Park Until to pick an end time. It won't accept an end time that breaks a time restriction, and it only charges for paid hours.
4. Wait for the confirmation. It's your proof of payment, so don't walk away until you see it.

An account needs a mobile phone number, a Visa, Mastercard or American Express card, and your plate. Sign up for PayByPhone at m2.paybyphone.com or on 604-909-7275, or for HotSpot at htsp.ca or on 1-855-712-5888. Or skip the account: both have a guest checkout (PayByPhone, HotSpot).

The meter on the block may not change after you pay by app. That's normal: officers check your plate and zone against the payment records with a handheld device or a licence-plate-recognition camera.

Paying at a meter or pay station

Pay stations work by licence plate: you enter your plate and the time you want, then pay by card (Parking Meter By-law 2952, s.5(1)(e)). Meter heads that take cards show your paid time in the meter window. Not every block has a machine that takes cards:

One row per PayByPhone zone, 2,967 in all. Card acceptance is a flag in the City's records and can lag behind what's on the street, so check the machine. Some zones with no meter or pay station listed are still flagged as taking cards. Source: City of Vancouver open data, updated Sep 28, 2026.

So on about 6 in 10 zones, plan to pay by app or phone. Many meter heads without a card reader are old coin meters or are marked mobile-payment-only. Near Rogers Arena and BC Place, solar-powered pay stations replace meters, and stopping restrictions are often in effect during events.

Extending your time, and the limit you can't pay past

Both apps let you add time from your phone, and PayByPhone also works on its website or the phone line. Your time isn't extended until you get a confirmation.

You can't pay your way past the posted limit, though. You must not leave a vehicle in a metered space continuously for longer than the limit, even if you've paid (By-law 2952, s.5(3)(a)), and PayByPhone can block extensions once you reach the maximum. In the City's data, 2,283 zones (77%) have a 2-hour daytime limit and 422 allow 3 hours. On 79 zones the weekend daytime limit is different, so check the sign.

Paid time doesn't follow you to another space (s.5(5)), so start a new session if you move the car.

Fees and receipts

• No added fees. The City says there are no added fees for paying with HotSpot or PayByPhone. Check the total in the app before you confirm.
• Text messages. PayByPhone charges $0.15 for each optional text in Vancouver, such as expiry reminders and text receipts. HotSpot's text reminders are free, though your carrier's rates may apply. App push notifications are another option.
• Receipts. PayByPhone account holders get them in the app, in the online receipts portal (31 days at a time, with PDF or CSV export) or by email. HotSpot offers receipts online or by email.
• Guest payments. A PayByPhone guest receipt is issued once, at purchase, and can't be retrieved later. Save it if you need it for expenses.

HotSpot's pricing page lists refunds of unused parking as a feature; check in the app whether that applies to City zones. We couldn't find a PayByPhone refund policy for Vancouver, so buy the time you need and extend if you're running late.

If the meter or pay station is broken

If a pay station isn't working, the City's payment page says you still have to pay, using PayByPhone or HotSpot instead. Either way, report the fault on the City's broken parking meter form. For a meter, give the 6-digit number from its side.

Visitors, rental cars and car-share

You don't need an account to pay: use guest checkout on the PayByPhone or HotSpot website, or a card at a machine that takes one. The apps also come in several languages, including French, Spanish, Chinese and Punjabi.

Enter the plate of the car you're actually driving. In a rental, that's the rental's plate, not your own. In PayByPhone you can't change the plate once a session has started, so if it's wrong, start a new session with the right one.

Rental cars pay like any other car. The by-law's exemptions cover specific vehicles, not visitors. For example, members of a City-approved car-share organisation can use a metered space free for up to 2 hours during their rental (s.6(6)), one-way car-share cars can be left in a metered space at the end of a trip under the operator's agreement with the City (s.6(1)(d)), and vehicles with a Veteran's or Memorial Cross plate pay no meter fees up to the time limit (s.6(7)). Check your car-share's own parking rules.

Stanley Park, EasyPark lots, UBC and private lots aren't City meters. They have their own operators and apps, so pay the operator named on the sign. See the Stanley Park parking guide.

Common mistakes that lead to tickets

1. The wrong zone number: a neighbouring block, the other side of the street, or the 6-digit meter number. Paid time can't be moved, so start a new session as soon as you notice.
2. The wrong plate: usually a second car saved in your account, or your own plate when you're in a rental.
3. Paying into a no-parking window. In the City's data, 487 zones (16%) have a rush-hour window, most often 7:00–9:30 or 7:00–10:00 AM and 3:00–6:00 or 3:00–7:00 PM, usually on weekdays. Paying doesn't override the sign, and vehicles can be towed. Look out for event and construction signs too.
4. Staying past the time limit. Adding time in the app doesn't reset it.
5. Assuming Sundays or holidays are free. Paid hours apply every day, including statutory holidays, unless signs say otherwise.
6. Falling for scam texts. The City never notifies people of parking fines by text. Real tickets are left on the vehicle or mailed to the registered owner.