Parking in the heart of downtown Davis for the most part is time-restricted and enforced by the Davis Police Department. If your stay at HEC is lengthy you will need to be careful where you park. You should check the web site for a detailed parking map of the downtown area. Be sure to read all posted signage as to what the parking requirements are in the area you have chosen to park your car.

Free parking on the streets in the vicinity of HEC last for two hours, but becomes difficult to find in the afternoon. The free surface lot one block north of HEC usually has a space open, and also lasts for two hours. Parking structures at both 4th and G and 1st and F almost always have spaces available, and are free for up to three hours.

The most popular place to park at HEC is the E Street Plaza directly behind the building. Payment is required between 8:00 a.m. - 6:00 p.m. Monday through Saturday, except Holidays. There are pay stations located at either end of the lot. Simply find a spot to park and then go to either pay station. Enter the number of the space you parked in, indicate the amount of time to purchase, insert the payment (credit cards, bills, and coins), and retrieve the receipt indicating the expiration time. There is no need to return to your car with the receipt, it is for your verification of payment only. Payment is $0.25 per fifteen minutes. You can payfor up to 8 hours at one time, or you can return to a meter and add more time to your parking spot using the transaction code printed on your receipt. The meters do not provide change, nor do they provide refunds for unused time.

Vehicles displaying a valid disabled persons parking placard or license plate are allowed to park in any one of the three designated disabled parking spaces in the lot free of charge. Electric vehicles (ZEV and NEV only) and motorcycles are also allowed to park in the designated "EV" and "motorcycle" parking spaces free of charge. Any vehicle parking in one of the remaining 58 numbered parking spaces must pay to park in the lot.