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Office of Research Services

Serving the NIH Community

Main Visitor Entrance for Vehicles – NIH Gateway Drive

Main Visitor Entrance for Pedestrians ​- NIH Gateway Center​
  • Use the NIH Gateway Center (Building 66)
  • Open Monday - Friday, 6am - 10pm
  • Weekend/​Holidays​: Closed
  • After 10 pm on weekdays, all weekends and holidays, pedestrian visitors should enter campus via the Commercial Vehicle Inspection Facility (CVIF) - Building 67 (on Rockville Pike between North Drive and Wilson Drive)
  • Patients and patients’ visitors are encouraged to use the West Drive Patient Entrance on W. Cedar Lane, 6am – 10pm, 7 days a week

​Commercial Vehicle Entrance: Commercial Vehicle Inspection Facility (CVIF) - Building 67

Rockville Pike - between North Dr. and Wilson Dr. 

  • Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week
  • After 4pm on weekdays, all day weekends and holidays, all visitors in vehicles should enter via the CVIF.
  • After 10pm on weekdays and holidays, pedestrians should enter via the CVIF.​

To learn more about visitor and security issues at the NIH, visit: http://www.nih.gov/about/visitor/index.htm.

For questions about campus access, please contact the ORS Information Line at
orsinfo@mail.nih.gov or 301-594-6677, TTY - 301-435-1908.
 

Patient and Patient Visitor Entrance​

West Cedar Lane and West ​Drive​

Open 7 days a week: Inbound Traffic only, 6 am - 10 pm

After 10 pm, all patients and patient visitors should enter campus via the Commercial Vehicle Inspection Facility (CVIF) -- Building 67 (on Rockville Pike between North and Wilson Drives)

Patients with NIH badges may enter through any one of the badged entrances (​see map)

Valet Parking at Clinical Center Main Entrance (Monday – Friday, 7am – 7pm)
Open to patients and patient visitors ONLY​


Information for Patients and Visitors to the National Institutes of Health

​Street Address: National Institutes of Health, 9000 Rockville Pike, Bethesda MD 20892

Welcome to the NIH. Please take the time to read this bulletin. It contains important parking and security information you need when visiting the NIH campus.

Patient and Patient Visitor Parking:

Clinical Center — P3 Entrance (Open 24 hours a day, 7 days a week)

**Parking Ticket Validation Required**

Patient & Patient Visitor Parking Validation:
B1 Lobby at Hospitality Desk, Monday – Friday, 7am - 9pm

No validation required weeknights after 9pm, weekends & holidays​


Valet Parking Service:
Available at the Clinical Center Main Entrance

Monday – Friday, 6am – 7pm
Ticket validation required

Valet Parking Validation: North Lobby at Hospitality Desk
7am - 7pm

Unclaimed vehicles after 7pm will be parked in the front of the Clinical Center roadway and keys will be transferred to the CRC/Bldg. 10 Admissions desk.

Patient and Patient Visitor Extended Access Pass:
You can request an optional, extended visitor Photo ID and Campus Access Pass to expedite your campus and building entry.

​​Visit the Clinical Center Admissions Desk or see your patient care coordinator for these timesaving services.

General Visitor Parking Information:

Visitors (other than patients)  should park at the Gateway Parking Garage (MLP-11) and in designated visitor parking lots:

Monday – Friday
6am - 9pm (entrance)
6am - 11pm (exit)
$2.00 per hour for the first three hours
$12.00 for the entire day

​Visitor Lot 18 is a 24-hour operation on the south side of campus ​​ on the campus shuttle routes.  An attendant is on site Monday – Friday, 7:00am – 9:00pm.  Outside of those hours, visitors can park and pay upon exit by using a credit card, Apple Pay, etc. 

Metered parking:

Monday – Friday​
Enforced 7am – 7pm weekdays
Available in up to 2 hour increments

$2 per hour ($1.50 per hour in front of Building 31A)


The NIH has implemented security measures to help ensure the safety of our patients, employees, guests and facilities. All visitors must enter through the NIH Gateway Center at Metro, the West Drive Patient entrance (patient/patient visitor only) or the Commercial Vehicle Inspection Facility (during off-hours).  You will be asked to submit to a vehicle or personal inspection.

Visitors over 15 years of age must provide a form of government-issued ID such as a driver's license or passport. Visitors under 16 years of age must be accompanied by an adult.

Vehicle Inspections – All vehicles and their contents will be inspected upon entering the campus. Additionally, all vehicles entering certain parking areas will be inspected, regardless of any prior inspection. Drivers will be required to present their driver’s license and may be asked to open the trunk and hood. If you are physically unable to perform this function, please inform the inspector and they will assist you.

Vehicle inspection may consist of any combination of the following: Detection Dogs Teams (K-9), Electronic Detection Devices and Manual Inspection.

After inspection, you will be issued a vehicle inspection pass. It must be displayed on your vehicle’s dashboard while you are on campus. The inspection pass is not a "parking permit." It only grants your vehicle access to enter the campus. You can only park in designated parking areas. (See campus map above)​

Personal Inspections – All visitors should be prepared to submit to a personal inspection prior to entering the campus. These inspections may be conducted with a handheld monitoring device, a metal detector and by visible inspection. Additionally, your personal belongings m​ay be inspected and passed through an x-ray machine.

Firearms, explosives, archery equipment, dangerous weapons, knives with blades over 2 1/2 inches, alcoholic beverages and open containers of alcohol are examples of prohibited items on the NIH campus.

Visitor passes must be prominently displayed at all times while on the NIH campus.​

 
 
 
 
 
 
NIH Visitor Map