Charlottesville, VA Parking Rules: Overnight Parking (2026)
Key Facts
- Restricted hours
- Midnight to 6:00 a.m.
- Covered vehicles
- Semis, big buses/vans, boats, RVs/trailers over 20 ft
- Exemption
- City-issued parking permit
- Enforcing agency
- Charlottesville Police Department
- Amended
- Dec. 16, 2024 (Ord. O-24-166)
Summary
In the City of Charlottesville, Virginia, City Code § 15-144 bans parking specific heavy or oversized vehicles, including semi-trucks, buses over twelve passengers, boats, and RVs over twenty feet, on any public street between midnight and 6:00 a.m. Ordinary passenger cars are not covered unless a sign or permit district applies elsewhere. Vehicle owners can avoid the ban only by obtaining a parking permit from the city.
Sec. 15-144. - Parking and covering of restricted vehicles. (a)No vehicle or trailer listed below shall be parked on any of the public streets of the city between the hours of midnight and 6:00 a.m.; however, this section shall not apply to a vehicle that has obtained a parking permit from the city.(1)Semi-truck or semitrailer truck, as defined by the Code of Virginia § 46.2-1500.(2)Bus or van designed to carry more than twelve (12) passengers (city school buses and vans excepted).(3)Vehicle with [an] antique license plate.(4)Vehicle with F-tag license plate or farm use placard.
Full Breakdown
Charlottesville Police enforce § 15-144 citywide: no semi-truck or semitrailer truck (as defined by Va. m. The prohibition does not apply once the owner has obtained a parking permit from the city, so contractors and RV owners who need overnight street access must apply through the city rather than assume the ban is absolute. The same section separately makes it unlawful to cover a parked vehicle or trailer with a tarp that blocks inspection of its license plate or state inspection decal, and bars using a public street to store, service or repair a vehicle left in a business's custody, with narrow exceptions for emergency repairs or a vehicle owner's own minor work.
The section was retitled by Ord. No. O-24-166, adopted December 16, 2024; the earlier version applied only to buses and trucks. Violations fall under the article's general parking penalty, § 15-148, which classifies a conviction as a traffic infraction; tickets are processed through the procedure in § 15-149, letting a recipient pay the scheduled fine at the treasurer's office or contest it through the police department's traffic division before a court date is set.
Violations & Fines
A vehicle in the restricted list found parked on a Charlottesville street between midnight and 6:00 a.m. without a city parking permit is subject to a traffic infraction under § 15-148, ticketed under the § 15-149 procedure. Fines follow the schedule set for the applicable category, and unpaid tickets that reach three or more unresolved violations expose the vehicle to towing or immobilization under §§ 15-301 and 15-302.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I park my personal car on a Charlottesville street overnight?
How do I get a permit to park a work van overnight?
What happens if I get caught violating the overnight parking ban repeatedly?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Charlottesville
How Charlottesville compares: Cities with the Strictest Overnight Parking Rules·Compare Charlottesville to another location·View the Virginia parking rules overview
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