Hendricks County, IN Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)
Key Facts
- Covered vehicles
- Inoperable, unlicensed, scrap-value, abandoned
- Legal basis
- Illegal dumping definition, § 90.31
- Enforcing official
- County Health Officer
- Maximum fine
- $2,500 per day
- Governing ordinance
- Ord. 1993-29, passed 8-2-1993
Summary
Hendricks County treats discarding a scrap-value, inoperable, unlicensed, or abandoned vehicle as illegal dumping. There's no separate junk-vehicle ordinance; the county's illegal dumping ban and its penalties are what apply.
DUMPING. (1) The discarding or long-term storage of any items of solid waste commonly known as garbage, rubbish, refuse construction demolition debris, household trash, appliances, diapers, food service wastes, tires, scrap metal, vehicle parts, implement parts, fence wire, and all other items and materials defined as solid waste below and in I.C. 13-11-2-205; and (2) The discarding of any vehicles which do not have value beyond scrap value, and which are inoperable and unlicensed, or which are considered abandoned due to the surrounding conditions.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2025 S-3: Supplement contains: Local legislation current through Ord. 2024-50, passed 12-10-2024; and State law current through Indiana Legislative Service, 2025 Acts, Pamphlet No. 3).
Full Breakdown
31 to specifically include, as its second prong, 'the discarding of any vehicles which do not have value beyond scrap value, and which are inoperable and unlicensed, or which are considered abandoned due to the surrounding conditions,' alongside the general discarding of garbage, rubbish, and other solid waste. 32(B)(4) prohibition applies directly: no person may dump, or permit dumping, at any location in the county unless the site is an approved, properly permitted landfill, and a leftover junked vehicle on a property or roadside falls squarely within that ban.
34, serving a written notice of violation that identifies the vehicle, orders its removal or proper disposal by a stated deadline, and can escalate to a second notice and legal referral if the vehicle isn't cleared. 33 unless the county's good-faith effort to find the responsible party fails, at which point the landowner becomes responsible for the clean-up.
Violations & Fines
Abandoning a scrap-value, inoperable, unlicensed vehicle anywhere other than an approved landfill violates §§ 90.31-90.32, exposing the responsible person to a fine of up to $2,500 per day under § 90.99(D) plus the county's clean-up, court, and attorney costs, and to an injunction ordering the vehicle's removal.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Hendricks County have an abandoned vehicle ordinance?
Who do I report a junked vehicle to in unincorporated Hendricks County?
What happens if a vehicle is dumped on my property without my consent?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Hendricks County
Compare Hendricks County to another location·View the Indiana parking rules overview
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