Frederick, MD Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Sec. 13-22 of Frederick's motor vehicle and traffic code, added by Ordinance No. G-25-14 in August 2025, governs the private-property storage of vehicles that are inoperable or lack current registration. A vehicle counts as 'unregistered' if state law requires it to display valid plates and it does not. The section does not reach any vehicle kept inside a garage or other permanent structure, or a business storing vehicles under a permitting zoning certificate. Subsection (b) allows a person to keep exactly one unregistered or inoperable vehicle on their own property, or on someone else's property with that owner's consent, but that vehicle must be fully covered with a vehicle cover that is in good condition.

Subsection (c) goes further for vehicles the Code Official finds to be a public nuisance: no such vehicle may be stored at all if it is rusted, wrecked, dismantled, or otherwise deteriorated to the point it could not lawfully be driven on public roads, or if its condition makes it a breeding ground for rats, mosquitoes, or other vermin or insects. Enforcement runs through Sec. 13-22(d): the Code Official must first issue a notice of violation giving the owner a specified period to fix the problem before a citation can be issued, and only after that grace period expires does the municipal infraction fine attach.