Peoria, AZ Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing section
- Peoria City Code § 14-118
- Violation class
- Civil infraction, not criminal
- Storage surcharge cap
- Up to 30 days
- Removal authority
- Officer under Sec. 14-120
- Owner presumption
- Last registered owner, Sec. 14-121
Summary
Abandoning a vehicle on a Peoria street, on any public land or on private property is a civil violation under City Code Section 14-118. A court can add the City's or a tow operator's removal costs and up to thirty days of storage charges onto the civil sanction, on top of the Arizona Department of Transportation's own transfer-of-ownership fee.
(a) It shall be a civil violation for any person to abandon a vehicle on any street or highway or on any other public, federal, state trust, national forest, state park, bureau of land management land, land owned by a political subdivision of this state or private property. (b) Violation of this section shall be a civil infraction. The Court may impose as surcharges to the civil sanction all costs incurred by the City or a tow truck operator in removing the vehicle from the location, together with all storage charges up to a maximum of thirty days. Such surcharges shall be handled by the court in the same manner as restitution pursuant to A.R.S. Title 13.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-9: Supplement contains: LLocal legislation current through Ord. 2026-15, passed 6-16-26).
Full Breakdown
Peoria City Code Section 14-118 makes it a civil violation for anyone to abandon a vehicle on a street or highway, on public, federal, state trust, national forest, state park or Bureau of Land Management land, on land owned by a political subdivision, or on private property. S. Title 13. Section 14-116 separately makes the vehicle's owner of record liable to the Arizona Department of Transportation's Motor Vehicle Division for a transfer-of-ownership or disposal fee once the vehicle is abandoned and junked. Section 14-120 lets a Peoria officer with reasonable grounds remove an abandoned, lost, stolen or unclaimed vehicle from any street, highway or other public or private property, and Section 14-119 exempts a vehicle that is still eligible for licensing and is stored on the owner's own private property.
Section 14-121 presumes the last registered owner is responsible unless a theft report was filed. These sections were enacted by Ordinance No. 2014-18 on May 6, 2014.
Violations & Fines
Abandoning a vehicle under Section 14-118 is a civil infraction, not a criminal charge. The court adds the City's or tow operator's removal costs plus up to thirty days of storage to the civil sanction. Separately, a person who tows a vehicle into storage without notifying local law enforcement within one hour, as Section 14-122 requires, forfeits all towing and storage claims and commits a class one misdemeanor.
Frequently Asked Questions
Is it a crime to abandon a car in Peoria?
Can Peoria tow my licensed car off my own driveway as abandoned?
Who is held responsible when an abandoned vehicle is found in Peoria?
Sources & Official References
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Abandoned Vehicles in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Maricopa County handle abandoned vehicles.