Washington, DC Parking Rules: Driveway Rules (2026)

Subtitle C, Chapter 7 of the Zoning Regulations of 2016 governs every vehicle parking area in the District, including driveways serving a house. Section 713.1 states plainly that 'all parking areas, including access aisles, driveways, and ramp areas, shall be surfaced and maintained with an all-weather surface,' and lists the only acceptable materials: traditional impervious surfaces, porous or pervious concrete, porous asphalt, and mechanically reinforced grass. The same subsection then closes the loophole homeowners most often try: 'Gravel and grass that is not mechanically reinforced are not allowed as surface materials required under this subsection.' Section 713.2 layers on a striping duty for marked parking spaces, requiring durable all-weather striping to be maintained for as long as the space stays in use, and § 713.3 requires a litter receptacle for parking lots tied to retail or eating-and-drinking uses.

Enforcement runs through the Zoning Regulations' general penalty provision, Subtitle A § 305.1, which makes any owner who 'maintains, or uses any building or structure, or part of a building or structure, or land in violation of the provisions of this title' subject on conviction to a fine of up to $100 per day for each day the violation continues. Section 305.2 lets the Office of the Attorney General, or a neighboring property owner specially damaged by the violation, sue to enjoin or abate a nonconforming driveway surface, and § 305.3 allows civil fines to be imposed instead under D.C.

Code Title 2, Chapter 18. A resident replacing a gravel apron or an unpaved front-yard parking pad needs a permit through the Department of Buildings confirming the new surface meets § 713.1 before parking resumes.