Portsmouth, VA Parking Rules: Commercial & Oversized Vehicles (2026)
Key Facts
- Banned hours (weeknights)
- 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m.
- Banned hours (weekend)
- Sat 6:00 p.m. to Mon 6:00 a.m.
- Size exemption
- Under 18 ft long, 7 ft wide, 6.5 ft tall
- Unconnected semitrailer fine
- $250.00 (Sec. 22-567.2)
- Enforcing agency
- Portsmouth Police Department
Summary
Portsmouth bans parking motorbuses, vans, trucks, trailers, and semitrailers on residential streets overnight. City Code § 22-567 prohibits it from 7:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. on weeknights and from 6:00 p.m. Saturday to 6:00 a.m. Monday, except small delivery or pickup trucks under 18 feet long, 7 feet wide and 6½ feet tall.
It shall be unlawful for any person to park or permit to be parked in the streets of the city, in any residential district, any motorbus, van, truck, trailer, or semitrailer, between the hours of 7:00 p.m. of any day and 6:00 a.m. of the following day, except on Saturday and Sunday, and between the hours of 6:00 p.m., on Saturday and 6:00 a.m., the following Monday except for the purpose of taking on or discharging passengers or cargo; provided, however, that this section shall not apply to small delivery trucks and pickup trucks whose overall length does not exceed 18 feet, whose overall width does not exceed seven feet and whose overall height does not exceed 6½ feet.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 65).
Full Breakdown
m. the following Monday, covering the entire weekend. The ban does not apply while the vehicle is actively taking on or discharging passengers or cargo, and it exempts small delivery trucks and pickup trucks whose overall length does not exceed 18 feet, width does not exceed seven feet, and height does not exceed 6½ feet, so an ordinary pickup or panel van used for deliveries can still park overnight on a residential block. Larger commercial rigs, box trucks, tractor-trailers, and buses cannot. 00. 00 add-on if unpaid past 14 days. The Portsmouth Police Department enforces both provisions.
Violations & Fines
Parking a motorbus, van, truck, trailer, or semitrailer on a residential street during the banned overnight and weekend hours defaults to the standard $25.00 parking citation under § 22-578, with $10.00 added if unpaid within 14 days. A disconnected semitrailer of 23 feet or more parked anywhere on a public street is a separate $250.00 violation under § 22-567.2 and can be ticketed, towed, and impounded immediately if it creates a traffic hazard.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I park my work truck in front of my house overnight in Portsmouth?
Is it legal to park an unhitched semitrailer on a Portsmouth street?
What if my delivery truck is just dropping off cargo after hours?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Portsmouth
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