Permission Numbers

What is a permission number?

Permission numbers are special “codes” departments or class instructors may choose to issue so you can enroll in the class that the system may be preventing you from enrolling in on your own.

Permission numbers are needed to do the following:

• add a class during the last 4 days of the add/drop period, check the Student Planning Calendar for specific dates
• override the prerequisite(s) of a course
• enroll in a full class with or without a waitlist
• enroll in a class without enrolling into its component (e.g., lab, activity, corequisite etc.)

The process to obtain permission varies by the department that offers the course.  If you are trying to get a permission number for a course offered outside the College of Engineering, we recommend contacting the instructor and/or department offering the course (use the Cal Poly directory or search their website to find contact information).   

Below are the preferred contacts for the departments in the College of Engineering.  When reaching out about a permission number, be clear in what you are looking for and include the following information:

• Your name
• Cal Poly Email
• Empl ID
• The reason you are requesting a permission number
• Preferred Course
• Preferred Section Number (location in Schedule Builder)

If you receive a permission number, you will want to follow the steps outlined in the "Add a Class- with Permission Number demo" on https://registrar.calpoly.edu/student-center/#AddClass to officially enroll in the course.