Portsmouth, VA Parking Rules: Overnight Parking (2026)
Key Facts
- Time limit
- 48 hours on any public street
- Removal notice grace
- 24 hours after police notice
- Exemption
- Valid residential parking district decal
- Default fine
- $25.00 under Sec. 22-578
- Enforcing agency
- Portsmouth Police Department
Summary
Portsmouth outlaws leaving any vehicle on a public street for more than 48 hours. City Code § 22-566(a) makes every day after a police officer's 24-hour removal notice a separate offense, while § 22-566(b) exempts vehicles displaying a valid residential parking district decal issued under § 22-567.1.
(a)It shall be unlawful for any person to leave or cause to be left any motor vehicle for more than 48 hours in any public street. If any such person fails to remove the vehicle within 24 hours after being notified so to do by any police officer, then every day which shall elapse thereafter without such removal shall constitute a separate offense.(b)The provisions of subsection (a) shall not apply in any residential parking district created under section 22-567.1, provided the motor vehicle displays a valid residential parking district decal or sticker.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 65).
Full Breakdown
Section 22-566(a) of the Portsmouth City Code makes it unlawful to leave or cause to be left any motor vehicle for more than 48 hours on any public street. Once a police officer notifies the owner to remove it, the owner has 24 hours to comply; if the vehicle stays put after that, every day that passes without removal is a separate offense, compounding the exposure for a vehicle left indefinitely. 1, provided the vehicle displays a valid district decal or sticker. Vehicles that sit for more than 48 hours off-street on public property, or that are inoperable and unattended, meet the separate 'abandoned motor vehicle' definition in § 22-786 and can instead be towed and impounded under Article XIV rather than simply ticketed.
00 added if unpaid past 14 days, and a separate offense if unpaid past 28 days. Enforcement rests with the Portsmouth Police Department, whose officers post the initial removal notice and may cause a persistently parked vehicle to be towed to the city compound if three or more citations go unresolved, per § 22-581.
Violations & Fines
Leaving a vehicle on a public street past 48 hours is a citable offense, and each day it remains after a police officer's 24-hour removal notice is a fresh, separately punishable violation. Absent a specific penalty in § 22-566, the standard parking fine under § 22-578 applies: $25.00, rising by $10.00 if unpaid after 14 days. Vehicles with three or more unpaid citations may be towed to the city compound under § 22-581.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can a car sit on a Portsmouth street before it's illegal?
Does the 48-hour rule apply to residents with a parking permit?
What happens if I don't move my car after the city posts a notice?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Portsmouth
How Portsmouth compares: Cities with the Strictest Overnight Parking Rules·Compare Portsmouth to another location·View the Virginia parking rules overview
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