Parking Rules in Chattanooga, TN (2026)
8 verified parking rules for Chattanooga, Tennessee, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Driveway Rules
Chattanooga requires parking lots and driveways to be paved with all-weather material, but allows gravel if a 20-foot paved apron and permanent space markers are installed.
Chattanooga Driveway & Lot Paving Rules
Some RestrictionsChattanooga City Code § 38-56(c)
(c)Surfacing .....(1)All parking lots must be paved with all-weather materials such as asphalt, concrete, or brick. However, a gravel parking lot is permitted if a paved apron that extends from the lot line into the parking area a minimum of 20 feet in length is provided and parking spaces and drive aisles are delineated in a permanent fashion, for example, wheel stops. In a gravel parking lot,...
Commercial & Oversized Vehicles
Chattanooga limits large commercial vehicles, semis, box trucks, buses, tow trucks, and heavy equipment, to rear-yard-only overnight parking on residential lots; standard vans, SUVs, and pickups are exempt and can park anywhere outdoors.
Chattanooga Bars Overnight Oversized Vehicle Parking
Significant RestrictionsChattanooga City Code § 38-59(a)(2)
All other commercial vehicles that exceed standard size passenger vehicles, including, but not limited to, semi-truck tractor units, with or without attached trailers, commercial trailers, flatbed trucks, box trucks, buses, tow trucks, construction heavy equipment and livery vehicles that exceed standard passenger vehicle size, such as limousines, or other large commercial vehicles, are not per...
Street Parking Limits
Chattanooga bans stopping or parking on sidewalks, in front of driveways, within an intersection, within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, or within 20 feet of a crosswalk.
Chattanooga On-Street Parking Restrictions
Some RestrictionsChattanooga City Code § 24-286
(a)No person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle, except when necessary to avoid conflict with other traffic or in compliance with law or the directions of a police officer or traffic-control device, in any of the following places:(1)On a sidewalk, provided, however, a bicycle may be parked on a sidewalk if it does not impede the normal and reasonable movement of pedestrian or other traffic, or...
EV Charging
Chattanooga's zoning code defines three EV charging infrastructure tiers and rewards installing them with extra credit toward a site's minimum required parking spaces.
Chattanooga EV Charging Station Rules
Light RestrictionsChattanooga City Code § 38-55
(a)There are three types of electric vehicle (EV) charging stations: .....(1)EV-Capable: Reservation of space in the electrical room for a panel to serve the future EV chargers and continuous raceway from the reserved panel space to the future EV parking space. .....(2)EV-Ready: Installation of electrical panel capacity and raceway with conduit to terminate in a junction box or 240-volt outlet ...
Abandoned Vehicles
Chattanooga treats an abandoned or discarded vehicle left on any lot in the city, occupied or vacant, public or private, as a public nuisance, with narrow exceptions for enclosed, screened, or licensed-dealer storage.
Chattanooga Abandoned Vehicle Nuisance Rule
Significant RestrictionsChattanooga City Code § 24-344
The location or presence of any discarded or abandoned vehicle or discarded or abandoned vehicles on any lot, tract, parcel of land or portion thereof, occupied or unoccupied, improved or unimproved, within the city shall be deemed a public nuisance and it shall be unlawful for any person or persons to cause or maintain such public nuisance by wrecking, dismantling, rendering inoperable, abando...
Loading Zones
Chattanooga's city traffic engineer designates passenger and freight curb loading zones and posts the hours they apply. Drivers may stop only to actually load or unload, capped at 3 minutes in a passenger zone and 30 minutes in a freight zone, and a violation carries a $45 civil penalty.
Chattanooga Curb Loading Zone Rules
Some RestrictionsChattanooga City Code §§ 24-293 to 24-295, § 24-302(b)(1)
Sec. 24-294. Same-Standing in passenger zone. No person shall stop, stand or park a vehicle for any purpose or period of time other than for the expeditious loading or unloading of passengers in any place marked as a passenger curb loading zone during hours when the regulations applicable to such curb loading zone are effective, and then only for a period not to exceed three (3) minutes. Sec. 2...
Preferential Parking Districts
Chattanooga's Transportation Department can designate residential streets as restricted on-street parking areas, limiting daytime parking to vehicles with a $25 annual permit. A neighborhood qualifies only if 70% of its on-street spaces fill up and at least 25% of those cars belong to non-residents on weekdays.
Chattanooga Residential Parking Permit Districts
Some RestrictionsChattanooga City Code §§ 24-380, 24-382, 24-383, 24-507
"Restricted on-street parking area" means a contiguous or nearly contiguous area containing streets or parts thereof primarily abutted by property which is zoned R-1, R-2, R-3, R-3MD, RZ-1, RT-1 or R-4 designation on the official zoning map records and designated for restricted parking by the Transportation Department pursuant to criteria and procedures established in this division... During an...
Towing & Impound Rights
Chattanooga fixes the price of a non-consent tow in its own ordinance instead of leaving it to the wrecker company. Sec. 35-171(e) caps the tow of a two-axle vehicle under 7,000 pounds GVWR at $125.00, caps storage from a private-property tow at $20.00 per day with nothing charged for the first 24 hours, and requires the vehicle to be released within two hours of the owner's request at no charge for the release itself. Those fees are all-inclusive, so no separate line for dollies, lifts or mileage is permitted. If you reach your car before the wrecker has connected it, there is no fee at all; if it is already hooked up, the drop fee is capped at $75.00 for a two-axle vehicle and $150.00 for three or more axles.
Chattanooga Caps Private-Property Tows at $125 and Drop Fees at $75
Significant RestrictionsSecs. 35-157, 35-160 and 35-171
(d) Any person {all licensees} who engage in the business of towing vehicles from public or private property shall post a notice on each vehicle, in letters not less than two (2) inches high ... on the boom or rear of the wrecker as follows: FEE TO DROP VEHICLE BEFORE DEPARTING: Two Axle $75.00; Three or More Axles $150.00 ... If the owner or operator of the vehicle is present and removes the v...
Looking for Hamilton County county-wide rules?
County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Chattanooga city rules.
Parking Rules in Hamilton County →