Permit Puller

They call city parking departments and request permits on your behalf (a service you can do yourself for a fraction of the cost) and then get a tow-away sign posted somewhere near your address. This tow-away sign is meant to ward off other parkers in order to keep that spot open for you.

When I arrived at my final moving location (which was quite at night late due to unexpected road delays), there were no signs visible. In fact, there were numerous (temporary) red-and-white signs telling me not to park anywhere near my address. I ended up having to find vacant street parking myself. In the city I moved to, parking on the street is free--you just have to be aware of street sweeping schedules, which didn't affect me since it was the weekend. Therefore, I didn't even need the permits I paid for, nor was there an obvious sign posted that reserved a spot.

When I reported to the company that there was no reserved spot for me when I arrived, they sent me a photo of the tow-away sign they posted. The sign wasn't visible when I arrived, and it was virtually indistinguishable from the plethora of other no parking signs on the same street. It had no indication that it was "my" spot (no permit number, or any other identifier distinguishing it from the other posted signs in the area). The documentation they sent me via email was equally unhelpful: no explanation as to where the sign was posted or what recourse I had if anyone was parked in that spot. It's also frustrating that they could send me a picture of the sign after the fact, but not before, when it would have been most useful to me.

I escalated the issue to the company director. They showed no empathy for what happened. They showed no concern over the fact that I didn't get the service I'd paid for. They only kept reiterating that, as far as they were concerned, they had performed the actions I paid for. They claimed the sign must have been ripped down, and that they don't police the spots they reserve. In other words, they have no quality assurance once they've done their part.

So ask yourself if obtaining what they obtain for you is really worth the $180+ when they cannot guarantee that you'll actually have a spot when you arrive. You're paying for them to apply for a parking permit and post a sign. That's it. In some cities, like SF or Boston, that's probably a service worth paying for. Where I moved, not so much. It was a waste of $249.

Permit Puller is fantastic. I moved to SF and they were incredibly helpful in helping me get the parking permit for the moving truck. When I had to change the date, Nick even stayed late to work on getting me the permit and let me know as soon as he had it. They also were really great about answering my questions. Cannot recommend them highly enough!

MovingPermits have a great website and they have great customer service. I requested a moving permit for SF, and decided to cancel it the next day when I realized that the total cost would be $180 ($135 city fees, $49 permit puller fee) which was my own fault for not reading thru all their FAQ. When i called the next day, they have already requested my permit, and said they would try to cancel it for me but they can't guarantee it since it depends on the local police station response, which I was fine with... but then 5min later I got an email and they said they cancelled for me, no charge.

So, if you DO want a moving permit (given the high cost of SF curb permits) and don't want to hassle with calling the local police station yourself, these guys seem to really be on the ball.

Great customer service, and very user-friendly site.

Super easy, quick, and convenient. Much better than waiting on the phone with 311 for so long, only to be dropped multiple times.

Permit Puller's application process through to communication back was easy and transparent. The sign was posted as they stated, and made moving so much less stress free!

Awesome Service. I honestly had no idea SF even required permits for moving vans until I stumbled upon this requirement while looking up movers for my latest move.

The Permit Puller Service is as easy as it gets. You apply online, pay them a fee to apply for the permit, and then voila! the SFPD places the permits outside your apartment prior to moving day. (They actually placed mine outside 7 days in advance).

Definitely worth it. Made my life so easy by not having to stand in line in the SFPD and wait forever to get this done. Permit Pullers also sent copies of my permits super quickly and were very responsive via email.

Nice job guys :)

Great $50 investment for moving day.

- Great customer service (Easily canceled a permit)
- Easy process (One online form and 10 min of your life only)
- Perfect enforcement (One number to get cars in your space towed on moving day)

**Tip = they need 72 hours notice **

My Situation =
3200 sq ft warehouse full of live/work business & personal stuff to move + 26 foot Uhaul truck reserved on a weekday + typical San Francisco nightmare parking parking area.

My choices =
1) double park all day (free) and try to avoid pissing off the locals (stress is money)
2) Get a cashier's check or money order for $166.66 (really) made out to SFPD; wait in line at the station and apply for a moving van permit. (time is money)
3) Spend 3 minutes online with Permit Puller and $222 on the business credit card to get the same permit.

I am so grateful for Permit Puller!! There when I needed them, no hassle. Worth the cost.

Uhaul though..... they made moving day a pain in the @$$!

The site is super easy to use, and permits were up on time, I have absolutely no complaints about the service. It would be nice if the signs looked more professional, like the wooden red and white stands that the police use to block the streets for parades. People don't always understand that these permits are legitimate, and so they park there anyway and were shocked to be towed. Since that's more their problem than mine, I'm still giving Permit Puller a 5 star rating.

Thanks for a great experience!

I know what you're thinking: didn't you JUST move? Well, I just ALMOST moved. After securing my moving company, paying $225 for a moving truck permit, and packing everything I own into boxes, I showed up at my brand new apartment on moving day to find it flooded :-( Since the signs were already posted and it was the day of, I figured it was too late to cancel. So, there was my first permit down the drain (pun intended).

Fast forward to several weeks later and I finally found a new apartment! I tried to submit a request yesterday, but I noticed the FAQs stated there must be trees or poles. Since my new building doesn't have any, I emailed Permit Puller to ask how people usually get around that. No one emailed me back and I also called but no one picked up. Hence the deduction of 1 star. (This was about 2pm Pacific so I guess their office really shuts down at 5. If only I was so lucky!!) They should really consider having a representative on the West Coast or working West Coast hours.

However, I did get a response first thing in the morning and submitted my request at about 7:30am. I received my permit before noon. It was super easy and a big time saver for me. Hopefully I won't need these guys again for a long time now!

My boyfriend and I used Permit Puller to secure a parking permit in San Francisco for our move. On the day of move, we found out SFMTA did not post the "do not park" signs for us as they should have. Throughout the whole process, Permit Puller was responsive and helpful. We had no trouble getting our full refund back.

Although our move did not go as planned, we are completely satisfied with Permit Puller's customer service.