The City of Santa Rosa has transitioned to new meters in all parking lots. The new meters will be "Pay by Plate" and do not require a receipt to be placed inside your vehicle. Instead, confirmation of payment is based on your license plate, which you enter when you pay for parking at the meter. Using the Pay by Plate meters mean that you will no longer need to return to your car to display a receipt in your vehicle. With the new meters if you need to extend your stay, you can return to the meter, enter your license plate and pay for additional time

Tips For Using the Pay By Plate Meter:

• The Pay by Plate meters will continue to accept both coin (exact change) and credit cards (MC and Visa) to pay for parking.
• Before you leave your parking space make sure you have your license plate memorized, or snap a photo of it with your phone for reference when you get to the meter.
• Wake the meter by pressing any button. You can start your transaction by adding coin or a credit card, or entering your license plate number. The touch screen will prompt you through the remainder of the transaction.
• Use the [+] or [-] buttons to select the amount you are paying.
• Press the [OK] button to confirm payment, or press [CANCEL] to stop the transaction. The meter will attempt to authorize the payment if neither button is pressed after 5 seconds.
• The display will show the amount of time approved or will request another card if needed.
• Print and remove receipt if requested, no need to go back to your car, you can keep the receipt with you. You can also go to MyParkingReceipt.com to get an email copy of your receipt.

Video: How to use Pay By Plate meter

Tips for entering your license plate number:

• Take a photo of your license plate for reference at the meter.
• Some characters look similar. Make sure you know your exact plate characters.
  • The letter "O" looks like the number "0".
  • The letter "B" looks like the number "8"
• Do not enter spaces. "MY CAR" should be entered "MYCAR"
• Ignore special characters and symbols.