Abstract: A system for monitoring the parking status of vehicles incorporating a plurality of wireless identification tags, each tag having a unique tag identifier and having association with a selected vehicle. The system also includes a portable scanner to be used by a parking monitor, the portable scanner having a processor executing instructions thereon, a tag scanner capable of reading a wireless identification tag of a selected vehicle located in relatively close proximity over a wireless link, and a communication device capable of communicating over a wireless wide area network to transmit information about vehicle parking status. A server, having a database with fields for each of the selected vehicles, communicates with the portable scanner over the wireless wide area network to log data related to vehicle parking status. A software program may also be used to facilitate communication between the scanner and the vehicle owner and/or between the scanner and a tow service.