Chelsea, MA Parking Rules: Overnight Parking (2026)
Key Facts
- Citywide overnight window
- 12:00 a.m.-5:00 a.m., 7 nights/week
- Sticker-only streets
- 2:00 a.m.-5:00 a.m. on 9 listed streets/lots
- Enforcement
- Parking Clerk + contracted PEOs (Sec. 13-1)
- Eligible vehicles
- 6 wheels or fewer, under 9 ft. tall (Sec. 13-4)
- Excluded vehicles
- trailers, campers, box trucks, buses (Sec. 13-3)
- Fine
- $25 restricted-area / no-placard violation
- Adopted
- Ord. of 10-20-2025
Summary
Chelsea requires a digital residential permit to park on any city street between midnight and 5:00 a.m., seven nights a week, under Section 13-4.1 of its Citywide Parking Program. Nine listed streets tighten that to sticker-only parking from 2:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.
Section 13-4.1. - Restricted parking zones. The following parking restrictions shall be enforced year-round, except on holidays or as indicated below: A.CITYWIDE. Digital permit parking shall be required on all streets Citywide during the hours of 12:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. seven days a week, except for the following streets which are sticker parking only from the hours of 2:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 26).
Full Breakdown
1, adopted as part of the October 20, 2025 overhaul of Chelsea's Citywide Parking Program, enforces year-round restricted parking zones. on nine specified streets and lots, including Broadway, Eastern Avenue, and the Williams Street and Winnisimmet Street parking lots. Two additional overlay zones apply longer daytime hours: the Upper Central Avenue District and the Chelsea Waterfront District (formerly the Lower Broadway District) each carry their own permit windows under paragraphs B and C. Section 13-1 assigns enforcement to the Parking Clerk and contracted Parking Enforcement Officers with police assistance, and Section 13-3 makes clear a permit never overrides handicapped spaces, tow zones, bus stops, crosswalks, street sweeping or snow-emergency bans, and bars trailers, campers, box trucks, buses and similar vehicles from the program entirely.
Section 13-4 limits eligible vehicles to passenger cars and Massachusetts-plated commercial vehicles with six wheels or fewer and under nine feet in height. Digital permits and sticker parking replaced the prior residential placard system.
Violations & Fines
Parking without the required digital permit or sticker during the restricted hours falls under the general parking fine schedule at Section 11-2, which lists a $25 fine for 'Restricted Area' and a $25 fine for 'Resident Permit Only - No Placard Visible.' Unpaid fines increase by $10 after 21 days and a further $15 once referred to the Registry of Motor Vehicles under Section 11-3.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need a permit to park overnight on any Chelsea street?
Which vehicles are excluded from Chelsea's overnight parking program?
What is the fine for parking overnight in Chelsea without a permit?
Who enforces Chelsea's overnight parking rules?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Chelsea
How Chelsea compares: Cities with the Strictest Overnight Parking Rules·Compare Chelsea to another location·View the Massachusetts parking rules overview
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Overnight Parking in Nearby Cities
How other cities in this county handle overnight parking.