Clay County, FL Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Chapter 14, Article II of the Clay County Code bans keeping a 'junk vehicle,' one that is dismantled, wrecked, junked, nonoperating, or lacking a valid tag, on any public or private property in the county under Sec. 14-17, and Sec. 14-16 defines an 'abandoned' vehicle as one left unprotected from the elements with no intent by the owner to keep possession of it. When the enforcement officer, which can be a building inspector, zoning inspector, or law-enforcement officer, finds a junk vehicle on public property, Sec.

14-18 requires posting a weatherproof notice on the vehicle and mailing a copy to the owner if the owner can be found; the owner then has 15 days to remove the vehicle or show reasonable cause, or the officer can charge the owner with a Code violation and have the vehicle removed and destroyed. Section 14-19 runs the identical 15-day notice-and-removal process for junk vehicles on private property, except the notice also goes to the property owner of record, and both the vehicle owner and the property owner can be charged if the vehicle stays past the deadline.

Section 14-20 lets the enforcement officer enter private property to inspect for junk vehicles and post notices, carrying official county identification while doing so. Section 14-22 exempts a vehicle kept inside an enclosed residential garage, up to two vehicles under fitted car covers in a rear yard, one untagged vehicle for up to 12 months if it carries a military base sticker (six months otherwise), and farm trucks and equipment used on land zoned Agriculture, Agricultural/Residential, or Rural Residential.