Parking Rules in Seattle, WA (2026)
10 verified parking rules for Seattle, Washington, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
RV & Boat Parking
Seattle forbids parking a detached trailer or camper, including boat and RV trailers, on any street or alley. SMC 11.72.430 allows only a narrow 24-hour exception after a collision, with a lighted red signal required.
Seattle Detached Trailer and Camper Street Parking Ban
Significant RestrictionsSeattle Municipal Code § 11.72.430
11.72.430 - Trailer or camper — Detached A. No person shall detach and park any trailer or camper on any street or alley: provided that in case of collision the trailer or camper may be moved to a portion of the street or alley where parking a motor vehicle is lawful, and if a red signal is displayed at both ends of the camper or trailer during the hours of darkness, the trailer or camper may b...
Driveway Rules
SMC 23.44.160.D bars parking within 20 feet of a front lot line and 5 feet of a side street lot line in Neighborhood Residential zones, with narrow carve-outs for alley-accessed pads, uphill or downhill lots, and a limited two-space driveway option.
Seattle Front-Yard Parking Location Rules
Some RestrictionsSeattle Municipal Code § 23.44.160.D
D. Location of parking. Except as provided below, parking is not allowed within 20 feet of a front lot line or within 5 feet of a side street lot line: 1. If access to required parking passes through a required setback, automobiles, motorcycles, and similar vehicles may be parked on the open access located in a required setback. 2. If access is taken directly from an alley, surface parking may ...
Commercial & Oversized Vehicles
Seattle bans overnight parking of wide trucks and trailers on residential streets. SMC 11.72.070 forbids parking a truck, trailer or other conveyance over 80 inches wide on any street or alley between midnight and 6 a.m., except in an Industrial Zone.
Seattle Commercial Truck Overnight Parking Limit
Some RestrictionsSeattle Municipal Code § 11.72.070
11.72.070 - Commercial and large size vehicles. No person shall park a vehicle on any street or alley, except in an Industrial Zone as defined in Title 23, between the hours of midnight and six (6) a.m. if the vehicle is a truck and/or trailer or other conveyance which is over eighty (80) inches wide. (Ord. 123420, § 20, 2010; Ord. 108200, § 2(11.72.070), 1979.)
Street Parking Limits
Seattle bars parking in front of driveways and alley entrances and bars parking against the flow of traffic. SMC 11.72.110 keeps a 5-foot buffer around driveway and alley returns; SMC 11.72.470 requires the parked vehicle to face the direction of travel on its side of the street.
Seattle Driveway Blocking and Wrong-Way Parking
Some RestrictionsSeattle Municipal Code §§ 11.72.110, 11.72.470
11.72.110 - Driveway or alley entrance. No person shall stand or park a vehicle in front of a public or private driveway within a street or alley or in front of or in an alley entrance or within five feet (5') of the end of a constructed driveway return or alley entrance return, or if none, within five feet (5') of the projection of the edge of the driveway or alley. ... 11.72.470 - Wrong side ...
Overnight Parking
No vehicle may sit on a Seattle street or municipal property for more than 72 hours. SMC 11.72.440 sets the citywide limit, with signed shorter limits enforceable 24 hours after posting and impound authority for violators.
Seattle 72-Hour Street Parking Limit
Some RestrictionsSeattle Municipal Code § 11.72.440
11.72.440 - Parking Enforcement; Seventy-two (72) hours. A. Official signs, including temporary signs, that prohibit stopping, standing or parking shall be enforceable according to their terms twenty-four hours after posting. B. No person shall park a vehicle on any street or other municipal property for a period of time longer than seventy-two (72) hours, unless an official posted sign provide...
EV Charging
Seattle Municipal Code § 23.54.034 requires new parking built with new multifamily construction to be EV-ready. Surface lots serving multiple dwelling units must make the first 12 of up to 25 spaces EV-ready, then 45 percent once a lot exceeds 25 spaces; parking garages serving multiple units must also hit 45 percent, and private garages for individual units need at least one EV-ready space per unit.
Seattle EV-Ready Parking for New Multifamily Buildings
Some RestrictionsSeattle Municipal Code § 23.54.034
New parking spaces provided on a lot when a new building is constructed shall be EV-ready as specified in this Section 23.54.034... 2.Surface parking for multiple dwelling units. When parking for multiple dwelling units is provided in a surface parking area serving multiple dwelling units, the number of parking spaces that shall be EV-ready shall be as follows:a.When up to 25 parking spaces are...
Abandoned Vehicles
Seattle Municipal Code 11.72.500 bans parking a junk motor vehicle on any street, alley, or public property, backed by a flat $250 civil infraction under RCW Chapter 7.80 that a judge cannot suspend or defer. SMC 11.14.268 defines a junk vehicle using six weighted criteria, and vehicles meeting three or more are subject to impoundment under Chapter 11.30 SMC regardless of whether they sit on a street or private land.
Seattle Junk Vehicle Parking Ban
Significant RestrictionsSeattle Municipal Code § 11.72.500
A.No person shall park a junk motor vehicle on a street, alley, or way open to the public, or on municipal or other public property.B.Violation of subsection A is a Class 1 civil infraction as contemplated by Chapter 7.80 RCW for which there shall be a penalty of Two Hundred Fifty Dollars ($250), which penalty shall not be suspended or deferred.
Curb Color Rules
Seattle fixes the meaning of curb colors citywide: red is a tow-away zone. Stop, stand, or park in a space signed or marked red and Seattle Municipal Code 11.72.410 makes it unlawful, the code states outright that violators will be impounded, not just ticketed, wherever the marking appears in the city.
Red Curb Means Tow-Away Zone in Seattle
Significant RestrictionsSeattle Municipal Code §§ 11.14.140, 11.72.410
"Curb markings" means the official markings installed on curbs. ... A. Red means a tow-away zone; B. Red-yellow-red (alternating red and yellow stripes) means a bus zone; C. Yellow means: 1. A truck loading zone, or 2. A load and unload zone, or 3. A taxicab stand, or 4. A no-parking zone adjacent to driveways or alleys; D. White means a passenger load zone. [SMC 11.14.140] ... No person shall ...
Loading Zones
Curb space in Seattle isn't first-come, first-served once the City wants to allocate it: SMC 11.23.420 lets the Director of Transportation issue curb space parking permits for charitable, educational, community, and vending uses, while SMC 11.23.440 lets SDOT carve out signed zones for taxis, loading, disabled parking, car share, and RPZs, but bars exclusive commercial franchises in the public roadway.
Seattle Curb Space Runs on SDOT Zone Permits
Some RestrictionsSeattle Municipal Code §§ 11.23.420, 11.23.440
11.23.420 - Curb space parking permits. The Director of Transportation may authorize curb space parking permits for: charitable, educational, or community events, including medically related programs, armed-forces-recruiting efforts, or street fairs; vending as permitted by Section 15.17.040; or curb space parking as permitted by Title 11, Vehicles and Traffic. The Director shall not authorize ...
Towing & Impound Rights
Washington pegs most private impound rates to a percentage of the State Patrol's negotiated contract rate, but Seattle writes its own dollar ceilings on top of that framework. SMC 6.214.220 caps a private impound tow at $183 for the first hour and $130.60 for each hour after it, storage at $30.37 per 12-hour period, and an after-hours release at $100, with the Director adjusting the towing and storage figures annually by the Seattle-Tacoma-Bremerton CPI-U Transportation index. Before a car may be hooked up from a private lot the tow company needs a Seattle tow company license, a written contract with the property owner, RCW 46.55 signage, and date-stamped digital photographs of the vehicle as parked. Vehicles the City itself impounds run on a separate track under SMC Chapter 11.30, where notice is mailed within 24 hours and the owner has 10 days to demand a Municipal Court hearing.
Seattle Caps Private Impound Tows at $183 for the First Hour
Heavy RestrictionsSeattle Municipal Code § 6.214.220
A.Towing service fee: The maximum hourly fee that tow companies may charge for towing service for private impounds shall be no more $183 for the first hour and $130.60 for the second and subsequent hours for tows conducted with a Class A, D, or E tow truck. ... All towing service fees must be based on a flat, hourly rate only and will apply without regard to the hour of day, day of the week or ...
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County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Seattle city rules.
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