Parking Rules in Memphis, TN

If you live in Memphis or are thinking about moving there, parking rules are one of those things you probably won't think about until they affect you directly. Memphis has 10 specific rules on the books covering different aspects of parking rules, and some of them might surprise you.

Loading Zones

Memphis caps stops in a marked loading zone at 30 minutes unless a vehicle is visibly and continuously loading or unloading. Businesses must apply to the city engineer and get abutting-owner consent before a curb loading zone is installed, and violators face a $20 forfeiture under the traffic violations bureau's schedule.

Key details: Max stop in loading zone: 30 minutes unless actively loading. Fine for zone misuse: $20.00 forfeiture, § 11-8-5. Fine for permit/use violations, § 11-40-17: $10.00 forfeiture. Who approves a new zone: City engineer, with owner consent. Alley loading exemption: Trucks/wagons actively loading, § 11-40-14.

Stopping, standing or parking in a marked loading zone beyond the 30-minute window, or for a purpose other than active loading/unloading, is a citable offense carrying a $20.00 forfeiture under the traffic violations bureau's schedule (Memphis Code § 11-8-5, referencing § 11-40-18). Establishing or altering a loading zone's signs or markings without a valid city engineer permit under § 11-40-17 draws a separate $10.00 forfeiture, and misuse of alley loading space under § 11-40-14 also carries a $10.00 forfeiture.

Towing & Impound Rights

Memphis fixes the price of a non-consent tow by ordinance instead of leaving it to the tow company. Chapter 6-88 caps a Class A tow of a passenger car or pickup at $225.00 when the vehicle can be driven and $275.00 when it is wrecked, sets storage at $30.00 for each 24-hour period after the first 24 hours, and allows a $75.00 administrative fee only after the first 72 hours of impoundment. If you reach your car after the wrecker has hooked it up but before it leaves the lot, Sec. 6-88-6(C) says it must be released for a fee of no more than $75.00, and if you get there before it is connected at all, there is no charge.

Key details: Class A tow cap (car or pickup): $225.00 towed, $275.00 wrecked; extra winching $100.00 one-time (Sec. 6-88-6(A)). Drop fee if you arrive after hookup: No more than $75.00, and nothing at all if the vehicle is not yet connected. Storage: $30.00 per 24-hour period after the first 24 hours; $60.00 rig plus $60.00 trailer for tractor trailers. Administrative fee: $75.00 per tow ticket, only after the first 72 hours of impoundment. After-hours gate fee: $50.00 for a release during night hours (6:00 p.m. to 7:00 a.m.), weekends or holidays; not chargeable on a day storage is also billed.

Overcharging is itself a listed offense. Sec. 6-88-50 lets the director of police services suspend, revoke or refuse to renew a license or permit, or pull an operator from the emergency wrecker call list, where the permittee has violated the fee schedule by overcharging, refused a lawful request to tow to the owner's chosen destination, procured the permit by false statement, used a short wave or police radio to find accident locations, paid for accident tips, or took a route other than the most direct and safest one. Sec. 6-88-51 sets the process: the permits administrator may hold a hearing on 48 hours' notice and impose a suspension of up to ten days, appealable within five days to the transportation commission; anything longer goes to the transportation commission first, whose decision on fines, suspensions and revocations is final and not subject to further appeal. A revoked operator waits one year before reapplying. Sec. 6-88-14 bars dismantling a towed vehicle without the owner's written authorization and, if it happens anyway, requires the company to restore the vehicle and deliver it within 36 hours at no charge for the dismantling, the restoration or the storage. Sec. 6-88-41 makes the wrecker owner answerable for its drivers, and employee violations are grounds to revoke the company license. The traffic violations bureau schedule in Sec. 11-8-5 lists the accident-reporting duty at 6-88-11 as a court appearance rather than a fixed forfeiture. Sec. 6-88-17 forbids any city employee from recommending or soliciting business for a wrecker company.

This is one of the stricter rules in Memphis's municipal code. If you are unsure whether your situation complies, it is worth checking with the city before proceeding.

EV Charging

Memphis regulates electric vehicle charging through the joint Memphis and Shelby County Unified Development Code. A private, non-fee charger is an accessory use allowed in any zoning district, but a commercial fee-based charging station is sited like a gas station, with 20-foot property-line setbacks and up to a 125-foot residential buffer.

Key details: Property-line setback: 20 ft for pumps, tanks, EV chargers. Residential buffer (signage/charger): 20 ft from any residential district. Post-2012 residential buffer: 125 ft from single-family district. Accessory (non-fee) chargers: Permitted in any zoning district. Commercial fee-based chargers: Nonresidential zoning districts only.

A commercial charging station sited closer than the required 20-foot property-line or residential-district setback, or missing its required Class III buffer, fails UDC § 2.6.3.J's use standards and can be denied a permit or ordered to correct the site plan by the Zoning Administrator. Building or reactivating a CMU-3 station outside a qualifying arterial/collector intersection without first obtaining a Land Use Control Board Special Use Permit is a zoning violation subject to the Board's site-plan review process.

Preferential Parking Districts

Memphis lets the city council designate permit parking districts by resolution, exempting residents' vehicles displaying a valid permit from otherwise-applicable street parking restrictions. Designation requires a petition approved by 75 percent of property owners, and an annual permit costs $50.00, prorated to no less than $15.00.

Key details: Designation: By city council resolution, city engineer administers. Petition threshold: 75% of property owners must approve. Annual permit fee: $50.00 (min. $15.00 prorated). Permit limit: Two annual permits per dwelling unit. Visitor permits: $25.00 each, max four per dwelling.

Parking without an exempting permit within a designated district in violation of the posted restrictions is unlawful under subsection K. Falsely claiming permit eligibility, submitting false application information, transferring or assigning a permit, or displaying a counterfeit permit are separately prohibited. A person found by the city engineer, after a hearing, to have violated the program has any permits revoked and is barred from receiving a new one for one year, with 15 days to surrender the revoked permit.

This is one of the stricter rules in Memphis's municipal code. If you are unsure whether your situation complies, it is worth checking with the city before proceeding.

RV & Boat Parking

Memphis code bars parking or storing boats, campers, trailers and other recreational equipment on any public street in a residential district, and separately bars leaving a recreation vehicle unattended on a residential street or in a residential district except while it is actively being loaded or unloaded. Violators face towing and a misdemeanor charge.

Key details: Boats/campers/trailers: Banned from residential public streets. Recreation vehicles: No unattended parking on residential streets. Exception: Active loading or unloading only. Penalty: Misdemeanor under Memphis Code § 1-24-1. Towing fee: $30.00 pull-in plus $5.00/day storage.

Violating section 11-40-12 (nonmotorized recreational equipment) is a misdemeanor punishable under the general penalty section 1-24-1. Section 11-40-11(C) is enforced the same way for recreation vehicles. Either way, the division of police services may have the vehicle or equipment towed under the impound authority of section 11-40-26, with the owner owing a $30.00 pull-in fee plus $5.00 per day of storage before the item is released.

Compared to other cities, Memphis takes a harder line on rv & boat parking. The enforcement and penalty structure reflects that.

Commercial & Oversized Vehicles

Memphis Code § 11-40-11(B) bars trucks, truck trailers, tractors and buses from parking or sitting unattended on any residential public street, though standard two-axle pickups, vans and SUVs are expressly excluded. The only exceptions are active loading/unloading or a vehicle actually working a job on the adjacent property; violators face a $25.00 fine and possible impoundment.

Key details: Governing section: Memphis Code § 11-40-11(B). Covered vehicles: Trucks, truck trailers, tractors, buses. Excluded: 2-axle pickups, passenger vans, SUVs. Exceptions: Active loading/unloading or on-site work. Fine: $25.00 civil forfeiture; misdemeanor.

A truck, tractor or bus parked on a residential street outside the loading/unloading or active-work-site exceptions is a misdemeanor under Sec. 11-40-11(E), fined at $25.00 per the schedule in Sec. 11-8-5, and police may impound the vehicle under Sec. 11-40-26 if it obstructs traffic. Tennessee Department of Safety registration records create a rebuttable presumption that the registered owner is responsible for the violation.

Compared to other cities, Memphis takes a harder line on commercial & oversized vehicles. The enforcement and penalty structure reflects that.

Street Parking Limits

Memphis Code § 11-40-2 lists 16 places where a vehicle may never stop, stand or park: blocking a driveway, parking within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, sitting in an intersection or crosswalk, or stopping within 20 feet of a crosswalk. A base violation carries a $10.00 fine, rising to $20.00 for parking in a posted restricted zone.

Key details: Governing section: Memphis Code § 11-40-2. Driveway/hydrant buffer: No parking in front of driveways; 15 ft from hydrants. Crosswalk buffer: 20 feet at an intersection crosswalk. Base fine: $10.00 civil forfeiture. Restricted-zone fine: $20.00 under subsection (A)(14).

A standard Sec. 11-40-2 violation, blocking a driveway, hydrant, crosswalk or intersection, draws a $10.00 civil forfeiture under Sec. 11-8-5's schedule, while parking in a specifically posted restricted zone under subsection (A)(14) is fined at $20.00. Police may also tow or relocate a vehicle obstructing traffic under the related impoundment authority in Sec. 11-40-26 when the parked vehicle constitutes a hazard.

Overnight Parking

Memphis Code § 11-40-11(A) makes it unlawful to park, or knowingly permit parking, of any vehicle on a residential street for longer than 24 consecutive hours. The rule applies to all vehicles, not just trucks or RVs, and a violation is a misdemeanor carrying a $25.00 civil forfeiture plus possible impoundment.

Key details: Governing section: Memphis Code § 11-40-11(A). Time limit: 24 consecutive hours on a residential street. Covers: Any vehicle, not just trucks or RVs. Fine: $25.00 civil forfeiture; misdemeanor. Enforcement: Police may impound under Sec. 11-40-26.

Leaving any vehicle parked on a residential street past the 24-hour mark is a misdemeanor under Sec. 11-40-11(E), fined at $25.00 under the Sec. 11-8-5 schedule, and the division of police services may tow or impound the vehicle under Sec. 11-40-26 once it's judged a hazard or obstruction. Registration records create a rebuttable presumption that the registered owner is responsible for the overstay.

Driveway Rules

Memphis and unincorporated Shelby County share one zoning code, and its Access Management chapter caps residential driveway width at 16 feet where the driveway meets the street right-of-way. A driveway leading to a detached garage, carport, or a home with no garage must run at least 20 feet past the front facade, and access points must sit at least 20 feet from any intersection.

Key details: Max driveway width: 16 feet at the right-of-way. Min length past facade: 20 feet (detached garage/no garage). Min distance to intersection: 20 feet. Driveways per frontage: 1, except circular driveways. Circular driveway cut spacing: 50 feet minimum apart.

Driveway design is enforced through the development review and building permit process rather than after-the-fact citation. The Zoning Administrator, working with the City or County Engineer, reviews driveway width, spacing, and frontage-count compliance before permits issue, and can approve exceptions such as additional driveways on qualifying nonresidential frontages. A driveway built wider than 16 feet, closer than 20 feet to an intersection, or in excess of the one-per-frontage limit is a code deficiency that can hold up permit approval or certificate of occupancy sign-off until corrected.

Abandoned Vehicles

When a vehicle is wrecked or abandoned in a Memphis street or alley and obstructs traffic, the police division can have it towed to a designated storage lot and held until the owner claims it. Release costs a flat $30.00 pull-in charge plus $5.00 for every day it sits in storage.

Key details: Pull-in fee: $30.00 flat charge. Storage fee: $5.00 per day. Storage day starts: 12:01 a.m.. Enforcing agency: Memphis Division of Police Services. Unclaimed disposition: After 30 days, per Private Acts ch. 599 (1939).

There is no separate criminal fine written into section 11-40-26 itself; the consequence is impoundment. Owners must pay $30.00 to release the vehicle from the tow plus $5.00 for each day it remained in storage before recovery, and satisfactory proof of ownership before it will be released. Vehicles left unclaimed for 30 days become subject to disposition under chapter 599 of the Private Acts of 1939.

The Bottom Line

Memphis is tougher than many cities when it comes to parking rules. Out of the 10 rules covered here, 4 are rated strict. If you are a homeowner, renter, or business owner in Memphis, take the time to understand these requirements before they become a problem. Most violations come with fines, and some repeat violations can escalate.

This guide is based on Memphis's current municipal code. Local rules can and do change, so check the individual ordinance pages for the latest details, penalties, and FAQs.