Monterey County, CA Parking Rules: Overnight Parking (2026)

Unlike many incorporated cities, the unincorporated areas of Monterey County do not impose a blanket overnight on-street parking prohibition. Overnight parking on county-maintained roads is regulated by the California Vehicle Code. The key statewide rule is Vehicle Code Section 22651(k), under which a vehicle 'parked or left standing upon a highway for 72 or more consecutive hours' may be removed where a local ordinance authorizes it; this is the practical limit on extended overnight street storage. Where the county or Caltrans chooses to prohibit overnight parking on a particular road, Vehicle Code Section 22507 requires that the ordinance or resolution 'not apply until signs or markings giving adequate notice thereof have been placed.' On state highways within the county, the Department of Transportation may post signs restricting stopping, standing, or parking under Vehicle Code Section 22505. Drivers should look for posted 'No Parking' or time-restriction signs and painted curbs; absent such signage, overnight parking on most unincorporated county roads is generally allowed subject to the 72-hour rule and the abandoned-vehicle provisions of County Ordinance Chapter 12.72. The Monterey County Sheriff handles enforcement and accepts reports of vehicles that appear abandoned.