Sign Scanner: Can I Park Here?
Built and maintained by
Daniel Battaglia, Founder & CEO, Parksy
Point your camera at any parking sign and Parksy translates it to English and decodes the time limits against the current time, so you know whether you can park right now, for how long, and when the rule next changes.
Point at the sign, or upload a photo. Works in any language.
Each scan uses 3 AI credits.
What the Sign Scanner Does
Parking signs stack days, hours and time limits that often contradict each other. A plate might read “2P 8:30AM–6PM Mon–Fri” over a “Permit Holders Excepted” strip with an arrow pointing one way. The Sign Scanner reads the whole cluster, works out which rule applies to you right now, and answers in one line: yes, no, yes-with-a-limit, pay required, or permit only.
It reads stacked signs in a single photo, uses the arrow direction to ignore the signs that don’t apply to your side of the street, and translates signs written in any language into plain English.
What You Get as a Visitor, Free Member or VIP
Everyone can scan a sign. A free account lets you save and re-check signs, and VIP adds more help on top.
| Feature | Visitor (no account) | Free account | VIP member |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scan a parking sign | Yes, 3 AI credits a scan from 10 free credits a week | Yes, 3 AI credits a scan from 100 credits a month | Yes, 3 AI credits a scan from 1,000 credits a month |
| Saved signs | Sign up to save | Up to 10 signs, re-check any time | Up to 100 signs, re-check any time |
| Location saved with each scan | No | Typed label now, map location* | Typed label now, map location* |
| Timer from the sign's time limit | Link to Timer & Alarm | Link to Timer & Alarm, one-tap timer* | Link to Timer & Alarm, AI Agent Concierge sets an SMS alarm before expiry* |
| Clearway and street-cleaning flags | No | No | Flagged on your scans* |
| Scans as appeal evidence | Link to the Appeal Calculator | Link to the Appeal Calculator | Link to the Appeal Calculator, scans kept with your case* |
| Real person help if you get a ticket | Limited | When available | A real person via WhatsApp, Messenger, SMS or email. We reply within 24 hours, usually much sooner |
* In a progressive rollout, so it reaches more accounts over time.
How AI Credits Work
One AI credit balance covers every AI feature on Parksy: chat answers, the Parksy voice, the Sign Scanner and appeal letters.
| AI Feature | Visitor | Free Account | VIP Member |
|---|---|---|---|
| AI credits you get | 10 a week per device | 100 a month | 1,000 a month |
| When your credits run out | Sign up free for more | 3 text answers a day | 10 text answers a day |
| Chat answer | 1 credit each | 1 credit each | 1 credit each |
| Parksy voice | About 25 credits a minute | About 25 credits a minute | About 25 credits a minute |
| Sign Scanner | 3 credits a scan | 3 credits a scan | 3 credits a scan |
| Appeal letter | 5 credits a letter, no sign-up needed | 5 credits a letter | 5 credits a letter |
Visitor credits refresh every Monday and member credits on the first day of each month. Reading a sign on your phone in the Parksy app uses no credits.
Sign up free for 100 AI credits a month and your own saved history on every tool.
VIP members get 1,000 AI credits a month, 10 bonus answers a day and help from a real person. We reply within 24 hours, usually much sooner.
Thank you for being a VIP member. You get 1,000 AI credits a month plus 10 bonus answers a day. Your AI & privacy page shows how many credits you have left and when they refresh.
Top 5 Alternatives to the Parksy Sign Scanner
A researched comparison, last checked 25 October 2026. Every point below is verifiable on each tool’s own site.
Park Here
AI sign scanner with iOS Lock Screen integration
Photograph a sign and it tells you whether you can park and for how long, with reminders before your time expires.
- Pro: Lock Screen and Dynamic Island integration keeps your remaining time visible without opening the app.
- Con: States support for 8 languages, narrower than tools that translate any language.
Parky.AI
Sign scanner that publishes its accuracy figures
Upload a photo of a parking sign and get a plain-English reading of the restrictions.
- Pro: One of the few to publish accuracy benchmarks and an explicit photo-privacy statement.
- Con: Requires uploading your photo to their service before you see any answer.
ParkUsher
Real-time colour-coded street map, 7 cities
Combines AI sign scanning with a live map showing where you may park right now.
- Pro: Adds a real-time regulation map and route planning on top of sign scanning.
- Con: Requires creating an account before you can use the map or the scanner.
Can I Park Here
Minimal, no-frills sign checker
A stripped-back tool that reads a parking sign photo and answers the question.
- Pro: Loads fast, with no account and no clutter.
- Con: Very little supporting information, with no FAQ or help content if the answer is unclear.
Parking Sign Scanner AI
iOS App Store app
A native iPhone app that decodes parking signs from a photo.
- Pro: Native camera integration on iPhone.
- Con: iOS only, and you must install it before you can try it.
Parksy’s Sign Scanner needs no sign-up and uses the arrow direction on a sign to ignore the plates that apply to the other side of the street.
What People Ask About Parking Signs
Can I Park Here?
That depends on which plate on the pole applies to you, at this time, on this side of the street. Read the signs from the top down: the topmost plate sets the general rule and the ones beneath it carve out exceptions. Check the arrows first: they tell you which stretch of kerb each plate governs. Scan the pole above and Parksy will work it out for the current time.
How Do You Read a Parking Sign?
Work through four things in order: the arrow (which direction the rule covers), the days it applies, the hours within those days, and the time limit once you are parked. A plate reading “2P 8:30AM–6PM Mon–Fri” means a two-hour limit during those hours on weekdays only. Outside those hours and at weekends, the restriction usually lifts unless another plate says otherwise.
Why Do Parking Signs Contradict Each Other?
They usually don’t, once you read them as a stack rather than as separate signs. Each plate narrows the one above it. A “Permit Holders Excepted” strip under a two-hour limit is not a contradiction. It means the limit applies to you unless you hold the permit named on the sign.
What Does a No Stopping Sign Mean?
A no stopping sign means you may not stop at all in that stretch, even briefly and even with someone in the car. It is stricter than a no parking sign, which generally allows you to stop briefly to drop off or pick up a passenger. The exact wording and penalties vary by country and council.
Do Parking Rules Change From City to City?
Yes. Signage conventions, time-limit notation, permit schemes and penalties are set locally, which is why the same symbol can mean different things in different places. Parksy has local parking guides for thousands of cities: find parking near you to see the rules and available spaces where you are.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Do I Know If I Can Park Here?
Take a photo of the parking sign. Parksy reads it, translates it to English if needed, and checks the time limits against the current time to tell you whether you can park right now and for how long.
What Does This Parking Sign Mean?
Parking signs combine days, hours and time limits that often contradict each other. Parksy decodes the whole stack into one plain-English answer and tells you when the rule next changes.
Can It Read Parking Signs in Other Languages?
Yes. Point your camera at a sign in any language and Parksy translates it to English and decodes the rules, which is handy when you are driving abroad.
Does It Work Out the Time Limits Automatically?
Yes. Parksy reads limits like 1P, 2P or pay-and-display windows and tells you how long you can stay from right now, plus the next time the restriction changes.
Do I Have to Pay to Use the Sign Scanner?
No. Snap a photo of any parking sign and get a plain-English answer, with no sign-up needed. Each scan uses 3 of your AI credits: 10 credits a week without an account, 100 a month included with your account and 1,000 a month with VIP. In the Parksy apps, the quick on-device time-limit read does not use credits.
Can It Read Several Stacked Signs on One Pole at Once?
Yes. When a pole has multiple signs with different arrows, Parksy reads them all and lets you pick which way your car is facing, so you only see the rule that actually applies to your side of the street.
Is the Answer a Legal Guarantee?
No. Parksy decodes the sign against the current time to give you a fast, plain-English read, but it is not legal advice. Always double-check the sign yourself before you leave the car, especially if the photo was blurry or the sign was partly hidden.
Is My Sign Photo Stored?
Yes. Sign photos and their decoded rules are saved privately on our servers. Every scan helps Parksy build better parking-rule data for drivers everywhere. Photos are never published or shared. Signed-in members can also save signs to their account to re-check the rules any time; contact us to have your data deleted.
The Sign Scanner helps you read parking rules, but it isn’t a legal guarantee. Always check the sign yourself before you leave the car.