The new parking system explained

Be aware: new rules have come into effect since the publication of this article. Find the latest changes in our post New Parking Rules 2019, or read our guide with the whole parking system explained in details, as well as your other obligations for having a car in Brno.

For weeks now, Brno has been abuzz with the changes in the city parking policy that are quickly approaching. Let’s have a look at how they affect Brno expats – car owners or no car owners.

From the 1st of September 2018, the residential parking system came into effect, applying new rules only to the city centre. From the 1st of November, the system spreaded to three additional districts north of the city centre as shown on the map below.

In other areas of the city, the parking system will remain the same for the time being.
The blue area is where only residents (in Czech: “rezidenti”) and commercial users with their place of business in that area (in Czech: “abonenti”) can drive in and park. The red area is where also visitors can park, although there will be changes as to when and for how much.

1 September 2018: the rules apply to the city centre circumscribed by Husova, Moravské náměstí, Koliště, Úzká streets.
1 November: three additional districts will be added: bound by Údolní, Úvoz, Kotlářská, Pionýrská, Drobného, Milady Horákové

Can I park as a resident?

If you are an EU foreigner with a temporary residence permit or a nonEU foreigner with permanent residence permit with an indicated address in the area that will be affected by the new system, you can now obtain a residential parking permit. With that, you can park in the district of your residence, as well as the neighbouring districts.

For example, if you live in the Veveří area and obtain a parking permit for Veveří, you can also park in Údolní area.

However, the centre is an exception to this rule: if you have a parking permit for Veveří, you can not park nor drive into the city centre. Only people who live in the city centre can obtain a permit for the centre and park there. With the same permit, they can also park in any neighbouring areas).

The permit costs 600 CZK for your first car, 15 000 CZK for your second and 30 000 CZK for any additional cars. You can find the information on how to register here: parkovanivbrne.cz
If you have a permanent residence card with an indicated address in the area that will be affected by the new system, all of the above applies. Addition to your residential parking permit, you can also obtain one hundred “visiting hours” that you can grand to any other car (for example your family visiting, or a moving truck).

If your address is not printed on your residence permit, you can only drive and park as a visitor. It is not enough to have a lease agreement for an apartment in the centre: you need to have it specified on your permanent/temporary/long-term residence card issued by the Immigration office.

Can I drive into the city centre?

If you cannot obtain a residential parking permit for the city centre, you cannot drive into the centre. The Municipality is installing cameras to every entranceway, and all unregistered cars will be heavily fined.

You can still park as a visitor in the adjacent streets – they are marked red on the map above, as well as painted red along the parking spots. Parking for under 30 minutes is free; if you stay longer you can pay at the machines or through a mobile application (once the application is ready to download, we will provide a link here).

There are many car parks around the city centre: you can find a complete list here. The Velký Špalíček parking, which is right in the centre, is still available for visitors: the Police camera will register your car entering the centre but it will also register you entering the Špalíček car park and erase your record.

Can I order pizza if I live in the city centre?

Not only residents and commercial users will get their parking permits for the centre. If you call for an emergency, they will still be able to come. The same goes for taxi drivers. Czech post office, as well as some other delivery services, will have a special permit, too.

Some services, such as food or grocery deliveries, will hopefully negotiate their permits, as well. Check with your favourite service when ordering if they can deliver to your address in the city centre.

If not, you can still  “grant them a one-time entry” for 60 minutes through an online system. However, you have to be a registered resident of the city centre (you need to have permanent residence in the city centre).

You can also ask for an exceptional entry, for example when you are moving flats.

The cars registered as carsharing vehicles will have a special permit for the centre, too. It can be a solution if you are very much in need of a car but you are not a resident.

You can find more information on this webpage: parkovanivbrne.cz/. So far, it is available only in Czech and you will need to google translate.

Understand the new signs

In the areas with the new parking system, parking spots are marked blue. Every car park also has a vertical sign with all the information you need: if there are blue and green stripes only cars with residential/commercial permits can park. If there is also an orange stripe (as shown in the picture) visitors can park, too. The sign also marks the days these rules apply (“Po-Ne” means from Monday to Sunday, i.e. 24/7; or “Po-Pá” means Monday to Friday), as well as hours (for example “8-18 hod”, which means 8 am to 6 pm. On the picture, the “8-6 hod” means from 8 am throughout the whole day to 6 am, i.e. 6-8 am the parking is available for anyone).

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If you are confused, you are not the only one: it is a lot to take in. In any case, don’t hesitate to ask questions in the comments below.

The municipality has also published this leaflet in English. Some information is a bit simplified, though. You can download the PDF from here.