Kirkland, WA Parking Rules: Overnight Parking (2026)
Key Facts
- Overnight definition
- Same spot over 6 hours, midnight to 5 a.m.
- Flat overnight ban
- Category (b) signs, no overnight parking
- Alternate-day bans
- Sun/Tue/Thu or Mon/Wed/Fri, categories (c)/(d)
- Repeat violation
- 2nd violation in 1 week risks impoundment
- Exempt days
- Sundays and city holidays exempted (KMC 12.45.220)
Summary
Kirkland defines overnight parking as leaving a vehicle in one spot for more than six continuous hours between midnight and 5 a.m., per KMC 12.45.010(7). Streets posted with a no-overnight-parking sign under KMC 12.45.230 ban the overnight stay entirely, or on alternating days (Sun/Tue/Thu or Mon/Wed/Fri) for maintenance zones.
(7) "Overnight parking" means the parking of a vehicle in one spot continuously for a period exceeding six hours at any time during the hours from midnight of the day designated to five a.m. of the following day. ... It is a civil infraction to park or stand a motor vehicle in a street zone where a sign or pavement markings restrict parking, in violation of the applicable restrictions... (b) No overnight parking (c) No overnight parking on Sunday, Tuesday or Thursday (d) No overnight parking on Monday, Wednesday or Friday
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 4945, passed July 21, 2026).
Full Breakdown
KMC 12.45.010(7) sets the citywide definition: parking in the same spot for more than six continuous hours between midnight of the designated day and 5 a.m. the next morning counts as overnight parking. That definition only matters where the city has posted a restriction, because KMC 12.45.230 makes it a civil infraction to park in violation of a sign or pavement marking on a street the city has designated as restricted.
The restricted-parking table in KMC 12.45.230 lists several overnight categories a Kirkland street can carry: category (b), a flat no-overnight-parking prohibition; category (c), no overnight parking on Sunday, Tuesday or Thursday; and category (d), the mirror restriction for Monday, Wednesday or Friday, typically used for alternating-day street-sweeping or maintenance zones. Other categories in the same table cover morning no-parking windows from 7:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. on weekdays, an evening 10:00 p.m. to 6:00 a.m. no-parking zone, and several street-specific school-zone and permit-only restrictions.
These restrictions apply except Sundays and city-designated holidays when Kirkland offices are closed, per KMC 12.45.220(b). Enforcement has teeth: under KMC 12.45.230, a vehicle that violates a restricted-parking sign for a second time within one week, so long as there was at least a four-hour gap between the two violations, can be impounded under the KMC 12.40.020 procedure, in addition to the civil infraction penalty set by the schedule in KMC 12.45.030.
Violations & Fines
Parking overnight on a street posted no overnight parking, or on a restricted alternate-day schedule, is a civil infraction under KMC 12.45.230, fined per the schedule in KMC 12.45.030. A second violation of the same restricted sign within one week, with at least four hours between violations, exposes the vehicle to impoundment under KMC 12.40.020.
Frequently Asked Questions
What counts as overnight parking in Kirkland?
Can I park overnight on a street-sweeping day in Kirkland?
Will my car get towed for overnight parking violations in Kirkland?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Kirkland
How Kirkland compares: Cities with the Strictest Overnight Parking Rules·Compare Kirkland to another location·View the Washington parking rules overview
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Overnight Parking in Nearby Cities
How other cities in King County handle overnight parking.