Parking Rules in Portland, ME (2026)
11 verified parking rules for Portland, Maine, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
RV & Boat Parking
Portland caps street parking of boats, campers, trailers, RVs and snowmobiles at 24 cumulative hours in any 7-day period. Oversized vehicles over 20 feet also can't sit on residential streets November through March.
RV, Boat & Trailer Parking Rules in Portland, ME
Some RestrictionsPortland Code of Ordinances § 28-58
(a) No person shall stop, stand or park any motor vehicle which exceeds twenty (20) feet in length in any area zoned residential pursuant to the zoning ordinance on any public street, public way, or publicly owned property, during the months of November through March. ... (c) No person shall park any boat, camper, trailer, recreational vehicle, similar vehicle or any snowmobile on any and all s...
Driveway Rules
Portland's Land Use Code bars parking a vehicle in the front yard of most lots: spaces must sit to the side or rear of the principal structure, behind the front building line. The only carve-out is the paved driveway itself, and only on lots holding a single-family, two-family, three-family, or four-family dwelling under Land Use Code § 18.1.6.A.1.a.
Portland Driveway Exception To Front-Yard Parking
Significant RestrictionsPortland Code of Ordinances, Chapter 14 (Land Use Code), § 18.1.6.A.1.a
Vehicular parking spaces shall be located to the side or rear of the principal structure, and shall not be located between the front building line and the front lot line, with the exception of parking within driveways on lots containing single-family, two-family, three-family, or four-family dwellings.
Commercial & Oversized Vehicles
From November through March, Portland bars parking any motor vehicle over 20 feet long on a public street, way, or publicly owned property in residential zones. The rule targets large trucks and RVs during snow season, with carve-outs for deliveries, utility work, and street maintenance vehicles actually on the job.
Portland Bans Winter Parking of 20-Foot-Plus Vehicles
Some RestrictionsPortland Code of Ordinances § 28-58
Sec. 28-58. Parking of trucks and certain other vehicles prohibited. (a) No person shall stop, stand or park any motor vehicle which exceeds twenty (20) feet in length in any area zoned residential pursuant to the zoning ordinance on any public street, public way, or publicly owned property, during the months of November through March. (b) The above prohibition shall not apply when such vehicle...
Street Parking Limits
Portland requires every vehicle parked on a public street to sit parallel to the curb, headed in the direction of traffic, with its curb-side wheels within 18 inches of the roadway edge: no nose-in, backed-in against traffic, or double-parked spots. The code separately bars stopping within five feet of any driveway apron, protecting access for residents and emergency vehicles alike.
Portland Bans Wrong-Way and Driveway-Blocking Parking
Some RestrictionsPortland Code of Ordinances §§ 28-52, 28-53(b)
Sec. 28-52. Parallel parking; exceptions. No person shall stand or park a vehicle in a roadway other than parallel with the edge of the roadway, headed in the direction of traffic, and with the curb-side wheels of the vehicle within eighteen (18) inches of the edge of the roadway, except upon those streets which have been marked or signed for angle parking... Sec. 28-53. Stopping, standing or p...
Overnight Parking
On streets posted for it, Portland bars overnight street parking between 12:01 a.m. and 7:00 a.m., under a rule the traffic engineer applies for narrow streets, snow removal, or traffic hazards. The winter-driven ban is suspended each year from June 1 to September 30 unless an emergency order keeps it active.
Portland's Overnight Street Parking Ban, 12:01–7 A.M.
Some RestrictionsPortland Code of Ordinances § 28-54(a)
Sec. 28-54. Overnight parking. (a) No person shall park a vehicle on any street between designated nighttime hours, 12:01 AM – 7:00 A.M., as described in Traffic Schedule XXXA and XXXB; and on any street between designated daytime hours of 10:00 AM – 2:00PM, as described in Traffic Schedule XXXIA, when signs prohibiting same have been posted... Effective June 1, 2018, on streets posted pursuant...
EV Charging
Portland's traffic code bars any gas-powered car from occupying a designated EV charging space, and bars electric vehicles too if they're just parked there without plugging in. The rule was added to the stopping-and-parking chapter in 2023 alongside a formal citywide definition of what counts as an EV.
Portland Reserves EV Charging Spots for Plugged-In EVs
Some RestrictionsPortland Code of Ordinances §§ 28-53(o), 28-1
Sec. 28-53. Stopping, standing or parking prohibited at specific locations... (o) At any designated EV charging station, if the vehicle being parked is not an EV or is an EV which is not plugged in. (Ord. No. 42-23/24, 10-16-2023)... Sec. 28-1. [Definitions.] Electric Vehicle or EV shall mean a vehicle that can be powered by an electric motor that draws electricity from a battery and is capable...
Abandoned Vehicles
Leaving an old, worn-out or junked motor vehicle on a Portland street or public place is banned outright under Chapter 12, and the city can tow and dispose of it without any liability to the owner. On private property, the city must give the owner 30 days' written notice to remove a junked vehicle before towing it and billing the removal cost, with a right to appeal to the city manager first.
Portland Junked & Abandoned Vehicle Rules
Significant RestrictionsPortland Code of Ordinances § 12-76
It shall be unlawful for any person to deposit, place, leave or abandon any old, discarded, worn out or junked motor vehicle, or parts thereof, on any public street or any public place in the city.
Loading Zones
Portland restricts marked truck loading zones to commercially-plated vehicles actually loading or unloading materials, only between 6:00 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Any single stop is capped at 30 minutes unless the operator has a special street occupancy permit, and passenger zones nearby are limited to a five-minute pickup or drop-off window.
Portland Limits Truck Loading Zones to 6 A.M.–6 P.M.
Some RestrictionsPortland Code of Ordinances § 28-56
Sec. 28-56. Passenger and loading zones. (a) 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 zone during the hours when the regulations applicable to such passenger zones are effective, and then only for a period not to exceed five (5) minutes. (b) No person shall...
Preferential Parking Districts
Portland's city council can designate residential parking permit zones where a $50 annual sticker lets residents park past posted 1- and 2-hour limits. A separate Bayside Student Parking District serves Portland High School.
Residential Parking Permit Districts in Portland, ME
Some RestrictionsPortland Code of Ordinances § 28-91
Annual permit stickers, hereinafter "permits," may be issued to Portland residents for parking in excess of one-hour and two-hour limitations on public streets in residential areas, as defined by order of the city council, when parked within the defined residential parking district for which the permit is issued... An applicant for a permit based on five month residency shall pay an annual fee ...
Snow Removal Parking Rules
Portland's city manager can declare an emergency parking ban for plowing, with at least 6 hours' notice to media before it starts. Vehicles blocking snow removal, or left parked during a declared ban, face citation and towing.
Emergency Snow Parking Bans in Portland, ME
Some RestrictionsPortland Code of Ordinances § 28-97
The city manager, or his or her designee, may declare an emergency parking ban. ... Such a declaration of emergency shall be for the purpose of plowing or removing snow or ice which has accumulated, or for other good cause stated in the declaration of the parking ban. ... The declaration shall be made no less than six (6) hours prior to the starting time of the ban.
Towing & Impound Rights
Portland caps what a wrecker may charge for a tow taken without your consent at $150.00, or $175.00 from an accident scene, and holds storage to $50.00 a day beginning twenty-four hours after the tow. Sec. 28-122(b) also gives you a $40.00 cash drop fee to take the car back before the wrecker leaves the scene, and no fee at all if you get there before it is hooked up.
Portland Caps Non-Consent Tows at $150, Storage at $50 a Day
Significant RestrictionsSec. 28-122
(a) The fee schedule set forth in this section shall apply to any tow of a vehicle without the owner's consent, including but not limited to private lot tows requested by a lot owner or manager, and to police requested tows of private vehicles ... $150.00 per non-accident tow. $175.00 per accident tow. $165.00 for any vehicle with dual tires on the rear axle. $270 for a vehicle and trailer or t...