Fairfax County, VA Environmental Rules: Vehicle Idling Restrictions (2026)
Key Facts
- Idling limit
- 3 minutes after work stops
- Smoke cap
- 20% opacity for over 5 seconds
- Enforcing agency
- Health Dept. Air Pollution Control Division
- Penalty
- Up to $1,000 fine and/or 30 days jail
- Appeal window
- 10 days to Air Pollution Control Board
Summary
Fairfax County's Air Pollution Control Ordinance bars leaving any car, truck, generator or other mobile source idling more than three minutes once it stops doing its job. The same section separately caps visible exhaust smoke at 20 percent opacity for more than five seconds. The Health Department's Air Pollution Control Division enforces both limits countywide.
(a)Prohibition of visible emissions from mobile sources. No person shall cause or permit the emission of visible air contaminants from a mobile source of a density equal to or greater than twenty (20) percent opacity for longer than five (5) consecutive seconds after the operating engine of the mobile source has been brought up to operating temperature.(b)Prohibition of idling engines of mobile sources. The operating engine of any mobile source shall not be left idling more than three (3) minutes after the mobile source has ceased to perform its designed work or function.
Full Breakdown
" The Chapter defines "mobile source" broadly at Section 103-1-5(37): any portable or self-propelled machinery or equipment, including automobiles, tractors, trucks, cranes, compressors, generators, aircraft, locomotives, buses or watercraft that emits or may emit an air contaminant, so the limit reaches idling delivery trucks and stationary generators, not just passenger cars. Subsection (a) of the same section separately bars visible emissions from a mobile source at or above 20 percent opacity for longer than five consecutive seconds once the engine reaches operating temperature. Enforcement runs through the Director of the Health Department (also called the Air Pollution Control Officer) and the Air Pollution Control Division.
Anyone cited for a notice or order under Chapter 103 has ten days from service of the notice to file a written appeal with the Director and get a hearing before the five-member Air Pollution Control Board, which can affirm, amend, modify or withdraw the order under Section 103-4-1(c) and (e).
Violations & Fines
Violating any provision of Chapter 103, including the three-minute idling cap, is a misdemeanor under Section 103-5-7: a fine of up to $1,000, up to 30 days in jail, or both, per offense. Each separate act of idling is its own offense, and if the condition continues unabated each day counts as a separate violation. The Board or Director may also seek an injunction to restrain a continuing violation under Section 103-5-8.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does the 3-minute limit apply to my personal car?
What counts as the engine ceasing its designed work?
Who investigates an idling complaint in Fairfax County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Fairfax County
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