Students, both commuters and residents, are urged not to bring an automobile into the Emerson College area. Traffic is highly congested and the very limited metered parking has a strictly enforced two-hour limit. A public parking garage is located underneath the Boston Common with an entrance and exit on Charles Street.

Students are not permitted to park in College parking spaces. Violators will be towed at their own expense.

Non-Resident Student Drivers

Massachusetts state law requires that all full-time Massachusetts college students who operate a motor vehicle that is registered in another state, but which remains in the Commonwealth of MA for a period exceeding 30 days between September 1 of any year and August 31 of the following year, must file a RMV “Non-Resident Driver Statement” application with the Boston Police Department. This application, which must be signed under penalties of perjury,  calls for the following information: the registration number and make of the motor vehicle and state or county of registration, the name and local and out-of-state address of the owner, the names and addresses of all insurers providing liability insurance covering the vehicle, the legal residence of the non-resident student and their residence while attending college, and the name and address of the college that they are attending.  

Emerson students can obtain the “Non-Resident Driver Statement” application at the ECPD Office located at 80 Boylston Street, or it can be printed from mass.gov. Emerson students who are required to complete this application should submit their completed applications to the Boston Police Department at the following address:

District A-1 Auto Room
40 New Sudbury Street
Boston, MA 02114

After receiving a completed “Non-Resident Driver Statement” application from an Emerson student, the Boston Police Department will send a copy of the completed form to Emerson College’s Police Department. Emerson’s Police Department will then issue that student a special Commonwealth of Massachusetts non-resident student driver decal, which the student should promptly affix to the upper-center portion of the front windshield of their vehicle.

“It is unlawful for a non-resident student to fail to file a non-resident driver statement with the police department located in the same city or town as the school or college attended, in accordance with section 3 of chapter 90 of the massachusetts general laws. Failure to file such a statement is punishable by a fine not to exceed $200.00.”  

California Vehicle Code section 12502: In general, a nonresident over the age of 18 years having in their immediate possession a valid driver’s license issued by a foreign jurisdiction of which they are a resident may operate a motor vehicle in California without obtaining a California driver’s license.