Roanoke County, VA Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Section 12-13(a) lets a law-enforcement officer remove a vehicle, trailer or semitrailer that is unattended on a public road or public ground and hazards traffic or violates a parking law, or one left more than ten days on public or private property other than the owner's, or one abandoned on such property without the owner's, lessee's or occupant's permission. Removal from private property requires the written request of the owner, lessee or occupant, and any owner of a lot normally open for public parking must post signs warning that vehicles left more than seventy-two hours will be towed at the owner's expense.

Subsection (c) creates a presumption of abandonment when the vehicle lacks a current state license plate or decal or a valid inspection sticker, and it has sat in the same spot for four days without moving. Subsection (d) requires the removal to be reported immediately to the chief of police, with notice to the owner, and the owner must pay all reasonable removal, storage and owner-locating costs before reclaiming the vehicle. Under subsection (e), if the owner won't pay or can't be found after a diligent search and notice to any lienholder, the chief of police may hold the vehicle thirty days at the towing service's impound lot and then sell it at public sale, or, if three disinterested dealers value it under $150, dispose of it by private sale or junk it.

Subsection (f) routes sale proceeds through the county treasurer, who pays removal and storage costs first and holds any balance for the owner to claim within three years.