San Bernardino County, CA Parking Rules: Loading Zones (2026)
Key Facts
- Material loading limit
- 20 minutes (yellow curb)
- Passenger loading limit
- 3 minutes (yellow or white curb)
- Green curb limit
- 20 minutes, any purpose
- Red curb
- No stopping, standing or parking
- Loading eligibility
- Commercial vehicles only
- Deliveries covered
- Commercial, express/parcel, U.S. mail
- Zone creation authority
- Board of Supervisors resolution
Summary
Commercial loading in unincorporated San Bernardino County is capped at 20 minutes and passenger loading at 3 minutes under County Code Section 52.0121. Curb color controls what is allowed: yellow marks freight loading, white marks passenger loading, red is no stopping at all, and green limits standing to 20 minutes.
(h) Effect of Permission to Load or Unload. (1) Applies Only to Commercial Vehicles and Time Limit. Permission herein granted to stop or stand a vehicle for purposes of loading or unloading materials shall apply only to commercial vehicles and shall not extend beyond the time necessary therefor, and in no event for more than 20 minutes. (2) Deliveries. The loading or unloading of materials shall apply only to commercial deliveries, the delivery or pickup of express and parcel post packages and United States mail. (3) Passenger. Permission herein granted to stop or park for purposes of loading or unloading passengers shall include the loading or unloading of personal baggage but shall not extend beyond the time necessary therefor and in no event for more than three minutes. (4) Abuse of Privilege. Within the total time limits above specified, the provisions of this Section shall be enforced so as to accommodate necessary and reasonable loading or unloading but without permitting abuse of the privileges hereby granted.
Full Breakdown
0121 lets the Board of Supervisors establish loading zones, passenger loading zones and bus loading zones after a traffic engineering study, and directs the Road Commissioner to mark them with signs or stenciled curb colors. Yellow curbs are for loading or unloading materials only, capped at 20 minutes, or passengers, capped at 3 minutes. White curbs are passenger loading only, capped at 3 minutes. Red curbs mean no stopping, standing or parking at all except a bus in a signed bus zone. Green curbs allow standing or parking up to 20 minutes for any purpose.
mail, never to a private vehicle loading personal items. The 20-minute limit runs only as long as necessary for the delivery and can never be stretched past 20 minutes regardless of how much is being moved, and subsection (h)(4) bars using the privilege to functionally park rather than actively load. Bus loading zones get their own color scheme, a red curb stenciled 'No Standing' and 'Bus Zone' in white, and subsection (e) makes it unlawful for anything but a bus to stop, stand or park there.
Subsection (i) separately bans standing in any alley for any purpose other than loading or unloading passengers or materials. Subsection (j) lets the Road Commissioner post bus loading zones adjacent to school property without a Board resolution, based solely on a traffic engineering finding that it would help move traffic. When the underlying traffic conditions no longer justify a zone, the Board (or, for the school bus zones, the Road Commissioner directly) can order the signs and curb paint removed under the same section.
Violations & Fines
A vehicle that is not a commercial vehicle, or one that overstays the printed time limit, is parked in violation of Section 52.0121 and can be cited by any County officer or deputy enforcing traffic regulations. Stopping in a red zone or a bus loading zone outside the bus exception, or blocking an alley for a non-loading purpose, is a separate violation under subsections (e) and (i). Enforcement runs through standard County parking citation procedure.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I use a yellow loading zone to load my own moving truck?
How long can a delivery truck sit in a yellow zone in unincorporated San Bernardino County?
Can any vehicle stop in a red-curbed bus loading zone?
Who decides where loading zones go in the County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in San Bernardino County
California rules heatmap·Compare San Bernardino County to another location·View the California parking rules overview
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