Apply for a resident's or visitor's permit

St Helens Borough Council Resident Scheme Guidance Notes

Below are guidance notes on setting up your account through which you are able to:

apply for a resident permit
apply for a visitor permit
apply for visitor vouchers (formerly scratch-cards)
apply for a matchday permit
apply for a Victoria Terrace permit
change your vehicle details
renew your permit.

Please note that APCOA are the council's parking enforcement contractor and although their details are shown on the documents relating to your account, the permit scheme is managed by St Helens Borough Council. If you have any queries or need any assistance, please contact us at St Helens Borough Council by emailing us at parkingservices@sthelens.gov.uk

All resident permit and visitor vouchers will now be virtual so there will be nothing issued to you to display in your vehicle. All information relevant to your permit will be stored on the Parking Enforcement Officers handheld computer. However, visitor permits will still be issued and will physically need to be displayed in the vehicle.

Creating an account

Please access St Helens Borough Council website and under Parking Services select the Resident Parking page where you will be able to create a new account as follows.

Click on Create an Account
Choose Account Type - Choose St Helens Resident Account
Enter your Email
Create a password
Complete your personal details
Name
Postcode - at this point you will be notified if your property is not entitled to a Resident Permit
If your property is entitled to a Resident Permit, choose your address from the list
Click Finish

You will receive an email from the Car Parking Team at APCOA confirming your account registration and asking you to confirm your registration by clicking a link. This must be completed before you can apply for a residents parking permit, visitor vouchers or visitor permit.

From your account, you will then be able to apply for a resident/matchday/Victoria Terrace permit, visitor vouchers or visitor permit as applicable to your resident parking zone. As part of the application process, you will need to upload proof documents into the system so please have the required documents ready before starting your application

For resident/matchday/Victoria Terrace permits you will need:

proof of residency
proof of vehicle ownership i.e. your V5 document

For visitor vouchers you will need to provide proof of residency.

If you are a homeowner, supporting documents need to be one of the following showing your name and address:

utility bill from the last 3 months
current bank statement
current Council Tax bill
solicitor completion letter

If you are a tenant, supporting documents need to be one of the following:

tenancy agreement

Each document must not be greater than 5MB in size and must be one of the following types:

scanned document
photo in JPEG format (jpg, jpeg)
Microsoft Word document (doc, docx)

Applying for a Resident Parking Permit

Once an account has been set up, please select 'Permit application - Apply for a permit' and ensure that the correct permit category is shown by selecting 'St Helens Residents Permits' from the drop-down list and clicking 'Next'. You will now be given the option of applying for a St Helens resident permit' or visitor vouchers.

You will be required to complete your vehicle registration, and make and fuel type, along with a small number of application questions. Once entered, please select 'Next' and review your application details. If correct, agree to the terms and conditions and then click 'Proceed'.

At this stage you will need to upload your proof of residency and vehicle ownership documentation. Please select 'Add document' and specify which document type you will use and add the relevant document in one of the formats detailed above.

You will receive an email confirming your application has been received.

If we require further information, we will request this via email.

Once we have checked your details and they have been approved you will receive an email confirming your application has been successful and that your virtual permit has been issued.

Please note that your permit is virtual. The officer's handheld computer will detect whether the vehicle has a valid permit.

Change of Vehicle Ownership

Should you wish to change the vehicle registration number your permit relates to for any reason e.g. you have purchased a new vehicle or you have a courtesy car, you will need to log into your permit account, click on My Permits, click on the green vehicles button and request a change of vehicle.

You will need to upload documentation to support your request, such as the V5 log book, we will then contact you as soon as the request has been checked and actioned.

Until you receive confirmation that the changes have been processed, you will need make alternative parking arrangement or risk incurring a Penalty Charge Notice.

Renewal of Resident Parking Permit

As your resident parking permit expiry date approaches, you will receive a 'reminder to renew' email at 30 days and again at 7 days before your permit is due to expire, if you have not already renewed.

Failure to renew your permit in time may result in a Penalty Charge Notice being issued.

Visitor Vouchers and Buying Visitor Vouchers

Once you have an account set up you will be able to apply for a free set of visitor vouchers and buy additional visitor vouchers as and when required. You do not need to have a residents parking permit in place to apply for visitor vouchers, but you must be able to provide proof you are a resident within the resident parking zone.

The first set of 12 visitor vouchers are free of charge. Visitor vouchers are valid for 12 months from date of issue. At expiry date, any unused vouchers either free or additional purchased vouchers will become invalid.

To apply follow the instructions below:

select the option 'St Helens resident permits' then 'St Helens visitor vouchers' (formerly scratch cards)
select the date you want the vouchers to start
provide proof of residency
upload your supporting documents - you can use the documents you saved previously if you have a residents parking permit
once submitted, you will receive an email to confirm the application has been received and is awaiting review
once approved you will receive a further email confirming that the visitors' vouchers are now active.

Each voucher is valid for one calendar day in the resident parking zone, you are not able to book half days.

You can book a session 30 days in advance and cancel a session as long as it is prior to the session starting.

Allocating Visitors Vouchers to Visitors Vehicles

Once you have successfully ordered the vouchers a visitor voucher icon will appear on your account.

Click on this icon to book in a visitor's vehicle. This will open the voucher system, select the book icon to book a visitor session.

You will be asked to provide the number plate of your visitor's vehicle and select on what date you require the visitor voucher.

Amendments/cancellation of a booked session is allowed prior to the commencement of the booked session, these can be done via the booked sessions tab.

Select change to change the VRM
Select cancel to cancel the session

Visitor vouchers cover the applicable restriction time for your resident parking zone.

When you have booked a visitor voucher you do not get an email confirming the voucher details, but details of the voucher can be viewed in your account under the booked sessions tab.

Visitor vouchers can be booked in advance but if you have an unexpected guest arrive, please complete a visitor voucher booking as soon after they arrive as possible. The Civil Enforcement Officers' hand-held computers are updated on a regular basis so the visitor voucher will be visible to them within three minutes of it being submitted.

Topping Up Visitor Vouchers

Once you have used your free batch of 12 visitor vouchers you will be able to purchase additional vouchers at a cost of £19.92 (£1.66 per voucher) these are available in sets of 12 only. Please note that no matter when you purchase the top up vouchers the original expiry date will stay the same and any vouchers not used before this expiry date will become invalid.

Visitors Permits

An online application will need to be completed in order to obtain a visitor permit.

To support your application, you will need to provide proof of residency.