10 rules for unincorporated Yellowstone County, Montana.
Verified from official government sources
In the county's zoning jurisdiction (within 4.5 miles of Billings), storage and parking of RVs, boats, and trailers is regulated as part of general property maintenance and zoning standards. Outside a zoning district, the county sets no rule—your city or township does.
Yellowstone County Code Enforcement (zoning jurisdiction)
The Yellowstone County Zoning Code jurisdiction includes an area within 4 ½ miles of the Billings city limits... has regulations concerning land uses, building setbacks, storage and parking of vehicles and general property maintenance.
Within the county zoning jurisdiction near Billings, off-street parking and driveway placement fall under zoning and setback standards. Approaches connecting to a county road need county Public Works/road approval. Rural parcels outside a zoning district face no county driveway-surface rule.
Within the county zoning jurisdiction (~4.5 miles of Billings), parking and storage of vehicles is regulated under the zoning code and property-maintenance standards, which can limit commercial vehicles in residential districts. Rural parcels outside a zoning district have no county rule.
Yellowstone County has no general on-street parking meter or permit ordinance for its rural roads. Statewide rules (MCA 61-8) govern how and where you may stop on a public highway; municipal on-street rules apply only inside Billings and Laurel.
MCA 61-8-355
A local authority may by ordinance permit angle parking on a roadway, except that angle parking may not be permitted on any commission-designated highway system or state highway.
Montana law sets the county's overnight backstop: a vehicle may not be left on a public highway right-of-way longer than 48 hours, or on county, city, or state property longer than 5 days. Beyond that it can be treated as abandoned.
MCA 61-8-356
A vehicle may not be parked or left standing upon the right-of-way of a public highway for a period longer than 48 hours or upon a city street or state, county, or city property for a period longer than 5 days.
Yellowstone County has no ordinance requiring or restricting home EV chargers, and Montana has not enacted a statewide "right-to-charge" law. Installing a home charger follows the state electrical code and any local building-permit requirement—not a county parking rule.
Yellowstone County runs the state Junk Vehicle Program and enforces its Community Decay Ordinance. Every junk vehicle, regardless of number, must be shielded from public view. Vehicles left too long on public property are treated as abandoned under MCA 61-8-356.
Yellowstone County Junk Vehicle Program (MCA 75-10-501+)
All junk vehicles, regardless of number must be shielded from public view... Placing tarps or plastics over the vehicles is not acceptable shielding.
Painted curbs (red no-parking, yellow loading, etc.) are official traffic-control markings placed only by the road authority—not by residents. Rural county roads generally have no painted curbs; where markings exist, they are set by the city road authority under state law.
Designated loading zones are an urban curb-management tool; Yellowstone County does not establish loading zones on its rural roads. Where they exist, they are set by the cities of Billings or Laurel by ordinance. State law lets local authorities post traffic-control devices restricting stopping where dangerous.
MCA 61-8-355
The authority having jurisdiction may place official traffic control devices prohibiting or restricting the stopping, standing, or parking of vehicles on a highway where in its judgment this stopping, standing, or parking is dangerous.
Storage of oversized vehicles—large RVs, semis, heavy equipment—is regulated under the county zoning and property-maintenance standards in the Billings-fringe jurisdiction. On unzoned rural land the county sets no size limit, though junk/inoperable units still fall under the Community Decay Ordinance.
MCA 75-10-501(6)(a)
"Junk vehicle" means a motor vehicle, including component parts: (i) that is discarded, ruined, wrecked, or dismantled; (ii)... is not lawfully and validly licensed; and (iii) that remains inoperative or incapable of being driven.
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