Permit Types Overview

What Are Permit Types?

Permit Types are the simplest way to create and manage Permits in Offstreet.

They allow you to define how a permit should work, including things like when a permit is valid, where it can be used, and how many permits can be active.

Instead of relying on complex, hard-to-follow Registration Settings, everything is defined in one place—clear, predictable, and easy to manage.

Why We Created Permit Types

Managing permits should be simple.

But as our parking rules became more powerful, they also became more complex to use. Registration Settings made it possible to handle almost any scenario—but setting them up required expertise, and even small mistakes could lead to confusing errors or failed registrations.

Permit Types were created to bring that power into a simpler, more intuitive experience.

They’re built on the same rules engine, but restructured into clear, guided configurations—so you can set up permits without specialized knowledge, avoid invalid options, and trust that everything will work as expected.

This is the next step forward: the same flexibility, made easier to use, easier to understand, and easier to scale.

How Permit Types Work (High-Level)

At a high level, a Permit Type is made up of a set of rules that define how a permit behaves.

These rules work together to control the full lifecycle of a permit, from when it becomes valid to where it can be used.

For example, you can define:

• When a permit starts and ends
• How long it lasts
• Where it is valid
• How many permits can be issued

All of this is configured within a single, guided setup, rather than spread across multiple registration settings.

How This Fits with Existing Features

Permit Types are part of a more structured way to configure parking permits in Offstreet.

Today, parking rules can be configured using:

• Registration Settings (flexible but complex)
• Events (structured, time-based)
• Permits (simple, but limited control)

Permit Types bring the best of these together into one unified approach:

• The flexibility of Registration Settings
• The structure of Events
• The simplicity of Permits

The result is a clearer, more guided setup experience that still supports complex parking rules.

If you’re familiar with existing tools:

• Use Permit Types for most day-to-day parking scenarios
• Use Events for specific, date-based parking needs
• Use Registration Settings only for advanced or edge-case configurations (for now)

We’ll break this down further in the next articles:

• Permit Types vs Registration Settings
• Permit Types vs Events

What’s Next?

Ready to go deeper?

• Permit Types vs Registration Settings
• Permit Types vs Events
• Understanding the Permit Type Builder

Or jump straight in:

• Create your first Permit Type