Finding a permit
Permits → Manage Permits opens to an empty page until a search is run. Permits can be found by permit ID, first or last name, plate, address, permit type, permit status, or start and end date. Cycle, permission, limit, driver's license number, and physical permit ID are available as optional filters. A default filter view can be saved so the page opens pre-filtered.
Commercial permits appear in results with a group icon. Clicking one opens that configuration's Assign Permits view rather than an individual permit record.
The permit detail page
Opening a permit brings up its full record, organized into cards:
User card. The CMRpay account that owns the permit, if one is linked. If no account is linked yet, this card shows only a link code the permit holder can use to connect one. From here a permit can also be unlinked from an account.
Payments card. Recent payments, auto-renew status if enabled (with the option to disable it), and a link to the full payment history. This is also where you get to Transaction Management to refund or reverse a payment, covered below.
Permit details card. The permit's configuration, type, cycle, and permission, plus any custom fields collected from the holder such as a residential address. If the permit is part of a commercial or group configuration, that group is linked from here.
Vehicles card. Every vehicle on the permit, editable individually, with the ability to add more up to the limit set on the permit type.
Documents card. Everything submitted at application or added since. Documents can be added or removed directly, though this requires the right RBAC permission.
History card. A chronological record of everything that's happened on the permit, who did it, and when. Some entries, like an approval or an offer, link out to the actual communication that was sent.
Notes card. Internal notes staff have added. Not visible to the permit holder, and can't be edited once saved.
Linking a permit to an account
If a permit isn't tied to a CMRpay account yet, the User card shows only a link code instead of account details. That code is what connects the permit to an account, but the connection has to happen from the permit holder's side, not the back office.
Get the link code. It's shown on the User card of the unlinked permit.
Give it to the permit holder, however you'd normally reach them, email, in person, printed on a letter.
The permit holder logs into (or creates) their CMRpay account and enters the code themselves. Once they do, the permit is linked and shows up alongside any other permits on that account.
Staff can't complete the link on someone's behalf directly on the permit record, only the end-user can finish that step. What staff can do from the User card is unlink an already-linked permit, useful when a permit landed on the wrong account or a holder needs to move it to a different one.
The Actions menu
Separate from anything in the cards above, an Actions menu on the permit gives staff a handful of direct actions:
Record Payment. Used to log a payment taken outside CMRpay, in person or by mail. Checking "renew permit with payment" advances the permit's end date by one cycle in the same step; leaving it unchecked just logs the payment against the permit without changing its dates.
Extend. Pushes the end date out by one cycle with no payment involved. This is the courtesy or administrative version of Record Payment, same date shift, no money attached.
Suspend / Un-suspend. Marks a permit ineligible to renew, with a note to the holder that goes out by email. Un-suspending uses the same menu item and is only available on permits that are currently suspended.
Cancel. Ends the permit immediately and removes it from the enforcement system's parking rights data right away. This is permanent; a cancelled permit can't be reactivated.
Print. Opens the permit document itself in a new window with standard viewer controls (zoom, rotate, download, print). This is the permit, not a payment receipt, those are two different documents, see below.
Delete. Removes the permit from the holder's view entirely. Recoverable by Passport support if needed, but not something staff can undo on their own.
None of these touch a permit's payment history, and nothing in the payment flow below touches permit status. Cancelling a permit doesn't refund or reverse anything paid on it, and refunding or reversing a payment doesn't cancel the permit or end its parking rights. If the goal is to end someone's parking rights, that's Cancel, done directly on the permit. If the goal is money, that's the payment flow below. They're independent steps.
Refunding or reversing a payment
Refund and reverse are two different actions, not two names for the same thing:
A refund captures a payment record and, for online card payments, physically moves that money back to the card. For cash, refund still captures the record, but cash is handled outside the system, so the actual money back to the person happens separately from this action.
A reversal captures a payment record without any movement of money. It's used for check and card payments taken in person, not online, where the payment already happened outside the gateway. Reverse isn't offered as an option at all on a cash order.
An order is the full transaction, everything purchased together in one checkout, which can include more than one permit. An item is a single line within that order, one specific permit's charge.
From the permit's Transaction Details card, clicking into a transaction ID opens Transaction Management, where refunds and reversals are actually processed. From here, you have a couple of options:
Clicking the three-dot menu on a single line item opens the Adjust Item drawer.
Only Refund Directly is available, as you cannot Reverse a single item
The Adjusted Amount field is editable, so this can be a partial refund
Clicking the blue Manage Transaction button in the upper right opens the Adjust Order drawer for the whole order.
Both Refund Directly and Reverse Payment are available in most cases
If the order was paid in cash, you cannot Reverse
The Adjusted Amount field is greyed out and fixed at the full amount, because any order-level action cannot be partial
This is a common point of confusion: staff looking for Reverse often only check the three-dot menu next to a line item. Be sure to check the Manage Transaction button, not just the item-level menu.
Within a transaction, you can also access a View Receipt button next to the main action that lets you either email the receipt to the payer or open it in a new window to view or print.
Summary
Managing an individual permit day to day means working across a few connected pieces, the permit record itself, its link to a CMRpay account, and its payment history, each with its own rules about what can be undone and what can't. Actions on the permit and actions on its payments are independent of each other, cancelling a permit doesn't touch money already paid, and refunding or reversing a payment doesn't touch the permit's status. Reach out to Passport Support if you need any help.