Federal Way, WA Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)
Key Facts
- Notice period
- 15 days' written notice before impoundment
- Hearing right
- Owner may request hearing before removal
- Exemption
- Enclosed or fenced dismantler-lot vehicles exempt
- Warrant
- Not needed if visible from right-of-way
- Fines
- $100 to $500 escalating per-day penalty
- Agencies notified
- WSP and DOL notified after wrecking
Summary
Federal Way treats junk and junked vehicles as a public nuisance under FWRC 7.20.020, letting code enforcement or police impound them from public or private property. FWRC 7.20.010 requires 15 days' written notice to the property owner and registered owner before removal, with a right to request a hearing before the vehicle is towed.
Junk or junked vehicles are declared public nuisances under FWRC 7.20.020 and this title. (1) Junk vehicles may be impounded, provided the following notice and hearing procedures are fulfilled: (a) At least 15 days prior to impoundment, notice shall be provided to the property owner of record and sent to the vehicle's last registered owner of record if the vehicle's owner's identity can be determined and that person is different from the property owner. The notice shall provide that a hearing may be requested and that if no hearing is requested, the vehicle will be removed.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 26-1049, passed August 11, 2026).
Full Breakdown
020, it is a code violation for a property owner or person in control of property to let junk, junked, or inoperable vehicles accumulate, or to run a junkyard, on that property. 010 lays out how the city removes a junk vehicle once a notice of violation issues. At least 15 days before impoundment, the city must mail notice to the property owner of record and, if different, to the vehicle's last registered owner if that owner's identity can be determined; if the property owner blocks the city from identifying the vehicle's owner, the property owner is presumed to be the vehicle's owner.
The notice states that a hearing may be requested and that the vehicle will be removed if none is. 060, with mailed notice by regular and certified mail at least five days ahead. 130. No warrant is needed to enter and impound a vehicle visible from outside the property and reachable from a normal access route, including driveways not behind closed gates. Once impounded, the city notifies the Washington State Patrol and Department of Licensing that the vehicle has been wrecked. 101. A landowner who proves at the hearing that the vehicle was dumped without consent and never acquiesced to it avoids paying removal or administrative costs.
Violations & Fines
Failing to correct a junk-vehicle violation after a code enforcement notice and order triggers the citywide civil penalty schedule under FWRC 1.15.040(5): $100 for a first violation, $200 for a second, $300 for a third, and $500 for each additional violation of the same nature, accruing per day the violation continues past the correction deadline. The city can also abate the nuisance directly and assess removal and towing costs against the vehicle's registered owner or the property owner under FWRC 7.20.010(4).
Frequently Asked Questions
Can Federal Way tow a junk vehicle off my private property?
Does Federal Way need a warrant to remove a junk vehicle?
Are any vehicles exempt from Federal Way's junk vehicle rules?
What happens if I don't remove a junk vehicle after Federal Way's notice?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Federal Way
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Abandoned Vehicles in Nearby Cities
How other cities in King County handle abandoned vehicles.