Yavapai County, AZ Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)
Key Facts
- Junk/disabled vehicle cap
- two per parcel
- Required placement
- side or rear yard only
- Front-yard setback
- prohibited location
- Screening
- must be hidden from street and neighbors
- Max civil penalty
- $750 individual / $10,000 entity per day
Summary
Yavapai County caps disabled, inoperable or junk vehicles at two per residential parcel under Zoning Ordinance Section 564.A.1. Both must sit in the side or rear yard, never the front setback, and be screened so neighbors and the street can't see them.
Vehicles unable to meet these conditions will be deemed disabled or inoperable. Said disabled vehicles or vehicles determined to meet the definition of a junk vehicle are limited to two (2) per parcel. These disabled, inoperable or junk vehicles must be placed in the side or rear yard (but not within the required front yard setback) and screened in such a manner so as they are not visible from any public or private street right-of-way or adjacent property.
Full Breakdown
1 defines the disabled/inoperable category by exclusion: any vehicle on a residential-zoned parcel that isn't complete, operable and currently licensed and arranged in an orderly fashion is deemed disabled or inoperable, and any vehicle meeting the ordinance's definition of a junk vehicle falls in the same bucket. The county caps that combined category at two vehicles per parcel, regardless of how many operable personal vehicles the household also keeps outside, which carry no numeric limit under the same subsection. Placement is restricted twice over: the vehicles must be located in the side or rear yard, never within the required front-yard setback, and they must be screened so they aren't visible from any public or private street right-of-way or from an adjacent property.
C (Landscaping) supplies the qualifying materials, such as a solid fence, wall, or dense live plant screen, that satisfy this visibility test. A property owner who wants to sell an operable personal vehicle out of the same yard is governed by a different, narrower allowance: no more than two personally owned vehicles may be offered for person-to-person sale at any one time, a cap that runs separately from the two-vehicle junk allowance.
Violations & Fines
A third disabled, inoperable or junk vehicle on the parcel, or one left unscreened or parked in the front-yard setback, is a zoning violation under Section 205.C. The Land Use Specialist can inspect and cite the property, and a Hearing Officer authorized by A.R.S. § 11-815 may impose a civil penalty up to $750 per day for an individual or $10,000 per day for a business under Section 206.A, with each day the vehicles remain out of compliance treated as a separate offense.
Frequently Asked Questions
How many junk cars can I keep on my property in unincorporated Yavapai County?
Where on my lot can I keep a disabled vehicle?
What counts as a 'junk vehicle' under county rules?
Can I sell a car from my driveway in the unincorporated county?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Yavapai County
Compare Yavapai County to another location·View the Arizona parking rules overview
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