Jackson, MS Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Chapter 54, Article II defines a 'junked vehicle' at § 54-46 as one that is inoperative and lacks both a current license plate and a valid motor vehicle safety inspection sticker and is wrecked, dismantled or abandoned, or any vehicle that 'remains inoperable for a continuous period of more than 120 days.' Section 54-49 makes the location or presence of such a vehicle on any lot, tract or parcel, improved or unimproved, a public nuisance, and bars an owner from wrecking, dismantling, abandoning or discarding a vehicle on someone else's property or letting one sit on their own land. Three exceptions apply: a vehicle fully enclosed in a building and not visible from the street; a vehicle stored by a licensed dealer or junkyard; and an unlicensed, inoperable vehicle kept on private property if it does not create a health hazard and is screened from ordinary public view.

Before removal, § 54-50 requires the chief of police, the building official, or their designees to mail at least ten days' certified notice to the owner or occupant, stating the nuisance and giving the right to request a hearing before the city council within that ten-day window; the same notice-and-hearing process applies when the vehicle sits on public property or a right-of-way. Under § 54-51, the owner can shortcut the process by giving written permission for removal. If the nuisance is not abated, § 54-52 authorizes the city to impound the vehicle and dispose of it under MCA 1972 §§ 63-23-1 through 63-23-11; the owner has 90 days to redeem it by paying towing, storage and administrative costs before all ownership rights are forfeited. Section 54-53 lets police or the building official enter private property to inspect and remove nuisance vehicles.