Main Menu Close Menu

mail Contact

Search Close

Translate

Department

Community Development

Department

Community Response

Department

Convention and Cultural Services

Department

Finance

Department

Fire Department

Department

Human Resources

Department

Information Technology

Department

Mayor and Council

Department

Office of Public Safety Accountability

Department

Office of the City Attorney

Department

Office of the City Auditor

Department

Office of the City Clerk

Department

Office of the City Manager

Department

Office of the City Treasurer

Department

Police Department

Department

Public Works

Department

Utilities

Department

Youth, Parks, & Community Enrichment

Category

hiking Activities

Arts & Culture

Camps

Classes & Group Activities

Community Centers

Events & Entertainment

Sports

Swimming

Category

pets Animals & Pets

Animals & Pets

Category

domain_add Building & Planning

Construction

Inspections

Planning

Property Lines & Surveying

Zoning

Category

store Business

Business

Cannabis

Economic Development

Innovation

Suppliers & Vendors

Category

account_tree City Administration

Accountability & Oversight

Boards & Commissions

City Attorney

City Manager

City Structure & Policies

Customer Service

Elections

Mayor & City Council

Transparency

Category

category City Assets & Data

City Buildings & Property

City Vehicles

Records

Transparency

Category

explore City Regions

Council Districts

Neighborhoods

Property Lines & Surveying

Zoning

Category

diversity_4 Community Support

Accessibility

Community Centers

Community Engagement

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Homelessness

Housing

Older Adults

Volunteering

Youth

Category

theater_comedy Culture & History

Arts & Culture

Events & Entertainment

Sacramento History

Category

business_center Employment

Diversity, Equity & Inclusion

Employees & Retirees

Employment

Volunteering

Workforce Development

Category

directions Infrastructure

Bridges

Drinking Water

Information Technology

Infrastructure Finance

Stormwater & Flooding

Streets & Roads

Trails

Wastewater & Sewer

Category

gavel Law, Code & Compliance

Code Enforcement

Inspections

Law & Code

Permits

Category

payments Money

Accounting

City Budget

Claims, Rebates & Discounts

Debt Management

Economic Development

Grants

Infrastructure Finance

Investment & Cash Management

Payments & Fees

Taxes

Category

park Outdoors & Sustainability

Bicycles

Boating

Camps

Climate & Sustainability

Parks

Scooters

Sports

Swimming

Trails

Trees

Weather

Category

local_police Safety

Alternative Response

Crime

Emergency Management

Emergency Response

Fire

Inspections

Police Department

Prevention & Personal Safety

Stormwater & Flooding

Weather

Category

directions_car Transportation

Bicycles

Boating

Driving

Electric Vehicles

Parking

Public Transportation

Scooters

Traffic

Walking

Category

delete_sweep Utility Services

Drinking Water

Recycling

Trash

Wastewater & Sewer

Back to categories Back to Departments

Search for content

SITE NAVIGATION

Discounts & Parking Rates

Parking Meters

Parking Operating Hours

Discounts & Parking Rates

Parking Meters

Effective July 1, 2024: Meters and time limits will be enforced on Sundays. All free meter programs for the holidays will also be discontinued. Operational hours of enforcement will be the same as the other days of the week.

Parking meters on the street offer drivers multiple payment options. Meters and payment kiosks accept coins, mobile app payments, and credit cards (Visa, MasterCard, American Express, and Discover).

Meter revenues contribute to the City General Fund and may only be used as prescribed by Sacramento City Code section 10.40.130

When is meter payment required?

The physical meter screen or mobile payment app will reflect if payment is required with the appearance of a fee structure. When no payment is required, then a message indicating so will appear.

Meter payments are required during parking operating hours. These hours vary by location.

Paying at the meter: Initial payment made at the meter by cash or card will require physically returning to the meter if any additional time to park is desired. Payment to extend time can only be accepted at the meter and not through the mobile app.

Paying with mobile app: Initial payment using the mobile app will not require returning to the meter, as time extensions may only be performed using the app. There is a $0.35 per transaction convenience fee charged by the mobile app provider. Any subsequent transactions to add time via the app may result in an additional $0.35 convenience fee. Time extensions may only be performed through the mobile app because the initial payment made through the app.

Image of woman using a parking meter on the street with a video play button overlay

How to use smart meter

Video instructions on how to pay at single-space smart meters

Infographic of all tiered meter rates by hour and zone

Tiered meter rate brochure

Printable version with payment and tiered rate information

Image depicting zones for parking operational hours

Parking operating hours

Hours when time zones and meters are enforced

Dowload ParkMobile app

Easy way to pay at meters and parking facilities across North America

Image of barricade along 10th Street for reserved parking

Meter & space reservations

For construction projects or special events with permits

Parking meter receipts

Receipts for single-space smart meter payments

Meter locations

Parking meters are only authorized to be in Parking Meter Zones in specific traffic districts, as defined by Sacramento City Code section 10.40.010:

Central Traffic District
Fort Sutter Traffic District

With over 25,000 parking spaces in the Central City, only less than 6,400 are actually metered parking spaces.

Metered parking spaces may have single-space smart meters; multi-space meters in the form of green kiosks; or just signage posted with the meter zone (location) number indicating the code to enter on the ParkMobile payment app.

To view all meter locations, view the parking map and filter the legend to, "Space by time limit," and choose the meter type or choose all meter types. The legend is the icon in the upper left side of the screen that appears as three stacked squares.

Tiered meter rates

Meter payments are accepted at the meter, using cash or card (credit or debit), or via mobile app.

Smart meters in downtown and midtown operate on a tiered rate system:

There are no time limits at these meters.
Tiered rates allow drivers to stay longer at meters by paying into a dynamic rate structure rates based on the length of stay.
For long-term parking, it is recommended that drivers use off-street parking garages or lots, as those rates may be less expensive than paying the on-street meter rate.
Parking on the street is better suited for short-term parking to promote turnover, which supports residents, visitors, and businesses.

Rates are reflected on each meter screen.

Some spaces may be enforced by multi-space meters (green kiosks). These are spaces that do not have meters at each parking space, but payment is still required at kiosks located nearby on that side of the block.

At parking spaces without physical meters, also look for any posted ParkMobile signage on that side of the block to view the location number if mobile payment is preferred. Mobile payments are enforced by license plate readers.

The signs with a digit in a circle followed by the "+" sign reflects how many hours a vehicle may park at the base meter rate (Tier 1 rate) before the next tiered rate is required to continue parking at that space. When a vehicle leaves a space, the meter will reset to allow the next driver to park at the Tier 1 rate.

Image of a 2+ meter sign for tiered-rate parking

open_in_full

Example of meter sign indicating first two hours is charged at Tier 1 rate.

Meter pricing

Tier 1: $2.00 each hour

Tier 2: $3.50 for one hour after Tier 1 ends

Tier 3: $4.50 each additional hour beyond Tier 2

Image of infographic showing tiered meter rate pricing

open_in_full

Example of pricing at 1+ and 2+ meter zones

Image of a meter screen displaying tiered rates

open_in_full

Check meter screen for rates and important messages

Always check the meter screen to view meter rates and to make sure the meter actually requires payment.

If paying by mobile app, ensure the correct zone (location) number is entered for the parking space.

When paying a meter, ensure that payment is applied to the correct meter for that parking space or the correct license plate number is entered when using a Pay-By-Plate kiosk.

If the parking session will include a combination of paid time and free time, the physical meter or the mobile payment app will only reflect charges for the hours that require payment.

There are no time limits at meters as long as the meter is paid. During "free" hours, there are no time limits until operating hours go into effect again the next day and meter payment requirement resumes.

Long-term meters

The majority of meters are considered "short-term" meters because they accomodate parking for only a few hours. These meters have tiered meter rates which are charged at an hourly rate.

To support employees who must rely on street parking to attend to their jobs due to limited or no off-street parking options nearby, the City of Sacramento also offers "long-term" metered parking. These special meters accept a max rate of payment and allow up to 10 hours of parking.

Drivers may park for less than 10 hours at a long-term meter. However, if the planned parking session will be four hours or less, please utilize a short-term meter to allow those who need long-term parking a space on the street.

How long-term meters work

Long-term meters charge the base rate of $2.00 per hour, then will "jump" to a flat rate to allow up to 10 hours of parking if the parking session extends beyond a specific number of hours.

For example, at 10-hour meter with an $8 flat jump rate, a driver may park short-term at the $2.00 per hour rate. However, if parking time entered into the meter will cost $8 or more, the meter will only collect $8 and the parking session time will "jump" to reflect coverage for 10 hours of parking time, even if the car doesn't plan to stay parked for 10 hours.

Drivers may choose to pay by the hour for short-term parking or choose the "max" rate button to pay the posted flat rate for 10 hours of parking.

To view all long-term meter locations, view the parking map and filter the legend to, "Space by time limit" and choose "10 Hour" for long-term meters. The legend is the icon in the upper left side of the screen that appears as three stacked squares.

Special Event Meter Rates

When an event at Golden 1 Center expects to exceed 15,000 attendees, then SacPark Meters will activate a special event meter flat rate within a three-block radius of Golden 1 Center. Meters will be activated with this rate two hours prior to the event start time.

Activation of special event rates in garages or lots (off-street) are independent of special event rates at street meters (on-street). Off-street parking rates and on-street parking rates operate independent of each other, including when special event rates at either are activated.

How special event meter rates work

Special event meter mode still allows short-term parking at the Tier 1 base meter rate. This accommodates those who need short-term parking.

Payment of the Special Event Rate will be required for any time parked beyond Tier 1. There is an exception for meters posted with 1+ signage. At those meters, the Tier 2 rate will still be in effect and Tier 3 will be the Special Event Rate.

Once a parking session reaches the tier that triggers the Special Event Meter Rate, then the meter will require payment equal to the difference between $20.00 and what was already paid to meter.
Payment of this difference will allow continued parking at the meter and no other charges will be required to remain parked for the rest of the day or evening (depending on the event time).
If the vehicle stays in the same parking space, then meter will require payment again at the start of the next day's parking operating hours.

Motorists who made their initial meter payments by ParkMobile will receive a reminder text that their time is expiring and an option to extend time from the app will be offered.

If initial payment was made at the meter, then extensions of time must also be paid at the physical meter.

Image of infographic showing tiered special event meter rate pricing

open_in_full

After Tier 2, meters will charge a flat rate for a total of $20

Parking Operating Hours

ON THIS PAGE

Parking Meters

When is meter payment required?

Meter locations

Tiered meter rates

Meter pricing

Long-term meters

How long-term meters work

Special Event Meter Rates

How special event meter rates work

More