Washington County, MD Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Code of Public Local Laws § 7-402(b), Traffic Impedance, states plainly that a person may not park an unregistered motor vehicle or unregistered trailer on a highway, road, or other property of the county. This sits inside the broader Subtitle 4 prohibitions covering obstructions and hazards on county rights-of-way. Enforcement runs through the County Commissioners, the zoning inspector, or the Sheriff: § 7-402(d)(1) makes it a misdemeanor, carrying a fine of up to $500 per offense, to refuse or neglect an order from any of those officials to remove a vehicle or obstruction within 24 hours of notice.

Separately, § 7-402(d)(2) gives the Sheriff standalone authority to impound any vehicle parked in violation of the section, or otherwise left so as to constitute a definite hazard to public safety or to impede the normal movement of traffic or pedestrians, without first waiting on the 24-hour notice process. Getting the vehicle back is on the owner's dime: § 7-402(d)(3) requires payment of all outstanding fines and costs, plus towing, impoundment, and storage costs, plus any administrative fees the County Commissioners set, before the vehicle is released.

Note this provision reaches county property, roads, and highways rather than a neighbor's private yard; a junk or dismantled vehicle sitting on private land is addressed instead through the county's zoning definitions of "Junk Vehicle" and "Nuisance Vehicle," which are not paired with a standalone abandonment penalty section in the supplied zoning text.