Parking Rules in Iowa (2026)

Des Moines bans parking any trailer, semitrailer or travel trailer on a city street at any time, so a stored RV or boat…

Ankeny bans parking a boat, camper, recreational vehicle or motor home on any City street at any time, under the same…

Council Bluffs limits where a factory-built structure or trailer, the code's term covering RVs, boat trailers and…

Adair County has no parking or RV-storage ordinance, so this applies only inside the mapped Zone A special flood hazard…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, outdoor storage of recreational vehicles, boats and trailers is prohibited citywide except…

In the City of Dubuque, residential lots may store only one vehicle, boat, trailer or camper outside a fully enclosed…

Polk County's Zoning Ordinance lets a licensed RV or camper be used as temporary shelter for up to 21 days a year (max…

Sioux City caps how long a recreation vehicle, camper, or boat/utility trailer can sit on a city street: 24 hours at a…

In the City of Waterloo, Iowa, no more than three recreational vehicles, including boats, trailers, campers, and motor…

In the City of West Des Moines, parked recreational vehicles and trailers on residential lots must sit on a hard…

In the unincorporated area of Adair County, anyone building or widening a driveway entrance onto the Secondary Road…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, unpaved driveways, parking areas and vehicle maneuvering areas are treated as nonconforming…

In the City of Ankeny, Iowa, Chapter 156 requires a City permit before building any automobile driveway crossing the…

Cedar Rapids bars parking a motor vehicle on anything but a permitted hard surface. Section 302.8.1 of the city's…

Des Moines caps residential driveway approaches at 8 to 24 feet wide, limits total driveway width to 60% of lot…

In the City of Dubuque, vehicles cannot be stored in a residential front yard under any circumstances, and every parked…

Iowa City requires every parking space, drive and aisle to be surfaced in asphalt, concrete or manufactured pavers such…

Every property in unincorporated Johnson County that must provide off-street parking, including single-family homes…

In unincorporated Linn County's agricultural and residential districts, off-street parking can't sit in the required…

In unincorporated Polk County, the Zoning Ordinance's access management standards control where a new driveway can…

Sioux City Municipal Code § 25.05.040 bars parking spaces in front yards and street side yards, with an exception for…

In the City of Waterloo, Iowa, vehicles parked outside a garage must sit on an approved hard surface, concrete…

In the City of West Des Moines, all residential vehicle parking other than qualifying recreational vehicles and…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Ames Municipal Code Sec. 18.16 bars parking any truck or trailer over one ton, any vehicle…

Ankeny bans parking a truck with more than one ton of freight capacity, a tractor-trailer unit, or non-licensed…

Cedar Rapids bans routine outdoor storage of semi-trucks, backhoes, cube vans, and other large equipment on residential…

Council Bluffs bars commercial vehicles with more than two axles or four tires from parking off designated truck routes…

Des Moines bans parking any truck, trailer, or tractor unit over one ton on streets next to N-1 through N-5 or NX1…

In the City of Waterloo, Iowa, no one may park a motor truck, farm implement, special mobile unit, van, or other…

In the City of West Des Moines, parking large trucks, semitractors, or other commercial equipment in a residential zone…

Dubuque bans trucks and trailers from streets posted No Truck Or Trailer Parking, currently applied to a stretch of…

Iowa City bans street parking of motor vehicles over 7 feet tall, 8 feet wide or 20 feet long in residential districts…

The Polk County Zoning Ordinance defines a commercial vehicle as any motor vehicle used for business or bearing a…

Sioux City limits street parking of trucks, tractors, and trailers over five tons to one hour, and bars them outright…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Ames Municipal Code Sec. 18.10 requires cars parked at a curb to sit parallel within 18…

Ankeny's Traffic Code bans stopping, standing or parking on a crosswalk, within 5 feet of a driveway, within 20 feet of…

Cedar Rapids Municipal Code § 61.090(a) lists 15 specific places where you cannot stop, stand, or park, including…

CBMC 9.32.010 bans stopping, standing, or parking on sidewalks, in front of driveways or within five feet of them…

Des Moines bans parking on sidewalks, in intersections, and in front of or within two feet of any driveway, with a $35…

Dubuque bars parking on sidewalks, in front of driveways, near fire hydrants and intersections, and anywhere blocking…

Iowa City bars parking in front of any driveway, within 15 feet of an intersection, on sidewalks, or within 10 feet of…

Linn County's board of supervisors can designate any county road as a no-parking zone by resolution, on the county…

Sioux City treats a vehicle that blocks a private driveway, a fire hydrant, or emergency access as a nuisance per se…

In the City of Waterloo, Iowa, the Traffic Code's "No Parking" section bars stopping, standing, or parking on…

West Des Moines City Code section 6-6-1 bars stopping, standing, or parking anywhere that blocks traffic or safety…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, no vehicle may stand continuously in one spot on a city street, municipally owned or leased…

In the City of Council Bluffs, no motor vehicle or other property may sit on any public street or avenue for more than…

Des Moines allows overnight on-street parking, but a vehicle can't sit in the same spot on any public street or metered…

In the City of Dubuque, no one may let a vehicle sit unmoved on a public street or public place for twenty four hours…

No vehicle may sit in the same spot on an Iowa City street, alley or public ground for more than 48 hours. To beat the…

No vehicle may sit in the same spot on a Sioux City street, alley, or public ground for more than 24 hours; owners must…

In the City of Waterloo, Iowa, no vehicle may sit on any street or in a city-owned parking lot or ramp for more than 48…

The City of West Des Moines prohibits parking on Elm, Maple, Railroad Place, Walnut, Fifth and Sixth Streets in the…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, a Zoning Permit is required before installing an electric vehicle charger and related…

Cedar Rapids requires electric vehicle charging stations to be tied to an approved off-street parking space, and their…

Des Moines charges $0.16 per kilowatt-hour to use electric vehicle charging stations at city-operated public parking…

Every commercial, industrial, and manufactured-housing Site Plan filed in unincorporated Johnson County must be built…

Iowa Code sections 321.89 through 321.91 set the statewide framework for declaring, removing, and disposing of…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, a junked vehicle stored outdoors on private property for more than 48 hours is a declared…

Storing an unlicensed, inoperable, or unsafe junk vehicle outdoors on public or private property in unincorporated…

Des Moines treats any unlicensed, unsafe, or inoperable vehicle, trailer, or boat left outside an enclosed building on…

Storing a junked motor vehicle on private property in Sioux City, Iowa is declared a public nuisance unless it meets…

City Code § 4-4-7 declares storing a junk motor vehicle on public or private property in the City of Waterloo, Iowa a…

West Des Moines City Code section 4-4-2 makes it a nuisance to store, park, or leave an inoperable or obsolete vehicle…

In the City of Ankeny, Iowa, Chapter 80 of the Code of Ordinances adopts Iowa Code Sec. 321.89 by reference for…

Any inoperable, unregistered, or junked vehicle left more than 48 hours on public or private property in Cedar Rapids…

In the City of Council Bluffs, keeping a junk or abandoned vehicle, machinery, trailer or parts on public or private…

In the City of Dubuque, no one may accumulate, store or place an unused or inoperable vehicle in the public…

Iowa City defines an abandoned vehicle under Code 9-1-1 and authorizes towing under 9-9-1 after a 72-hour posted notice…

In unincorporated Johnson County, unlicensed or inoperable vehicles count as junk storage under the Unified Development…

On county-owned parking facilities and other county property, the sheriff or the board's designee may tow a vehicle…

Iowa Code 321.89 lets a police authority impound a vehicle abandoned on public property (24-hour trigger) or private…

In unincorporated Story County, a property can hold no more than three junked vehicles before it counts as an…

In the City of Ames, Iowa a red painted curb marks a no-parking zone where any parked vehicle is treated as a traffic…

Des Moines requires vertical curbs marking a designated fire lane to be painted red on the top and side, with stenciled…

Dubuque's City Manager paints or fixes lines on the curb or street next to every parking meter to mark the legal space…

Polk County's rural county roads are largely uncurbed, so there is no county curb-color parking code; roadway…

Parking against a curb painted yellow is illegal in Sioux City except to avoid a traffic conflict or on a police…

In the City of Waterloo, Iowa, only City employees the City has authorized may paint or mark a street, curb, or…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, Ames Municipal Code Sec. 18.30 sets a downtown truck loading zone, bounded by Lincoln Way…

In the City of Ankeny, Iowa, any new building used for manufacturing, warehousing, retail, wholesale, hotel, hospital…

In unincorporated Black Hawk County, Iowa, commercial and industrial parking lots that don't open directly onto a…

Cedar Rapids lets business owners with no alley access apply to the City Council for a dedicated "No Parking" loading…

Council Bluffs loading zones, marked by signage reading "loading zone" and "no parking", are reserved strictly for…

Commercial loading zones in Des Moines restrict parking to 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday through Saturday, and cap loading…

Dubuque reserves marked curb spaces up to fifty feet long outside theaters, hotels and large assembly buildings for…

Iowa City caps passenger loading zone stops at three minutes and property loading zone stops at fifteen minutes, with…

Any non-residential building of 6,000 square feet or more that takes deliveries must build off-street loading berths…

Commercial and industrial buildings in unincorporated Linn County must provide off-street loading berths: one for the…

The Polk County Zoning Ordinance requires off-street loading berths for buildings of 6,000+ square feet that need…

Sioux City limits marked loading zones to expeditious freight loading and unloading or brief passenger stops, capping…

In unincorporated Story County, any building of 6,000 square feet or more used for manufacturing, storage, retail or…

In the City of Waterloo, Iowa, marked loading zones and Grab-n-Go zones restrict parking to vehicles actually loading…

West Des Moines City Code section 6-6-6 reserves marked loading zones for loading and unloading material, merchandise…

Dubuque lets residents petition for a Residential Parking Permit District when nonresident parking overruns their…

Iowa City designates certain city lots, ramps, and on-street spaces as permit-only under City Code 9-5-4(F). Only…

When Cedar Rapids declares a residential snow emergency, parking flips to alternating even/odd address sides for two…

Council Bluffs bars parking that blocks plowing citywide, and when the mayor declares a snow emergency under CBMC…

Once three inches of snow falls, Dubuque's City Manager can declare a snow route restricted parking emergency, banning…

When Iowa City's city manager declares a snow emergency, parking flips to odd/even alternate-side rules by street…

Every county road in Linn County becomes a snow route once snow tops one inch or any freezing rain falls: parking or…

In the City of Ames, Iowa, parking on a street designated as a snow route is prohibited once the City announces the…

When the Ankeny City Manager declares the Snow Ordinance in effect, no vehicle may park, stand or be left unattended on…

Black Hawk County's Engineer sets the plowing sequence on the county's secondary road system: two-lane paved routes…

Des Moines bans parking on designated snow routes during plowing and restricts odd/even side parking in snow zones…

Unincorporated Polk County bans parking on 136 specifically listed street segments once the most recent snowfall…

Once Sioux City's mayor declares a snow emergency, parking flips to alternate-side-of-the-street rules by odd/even…

In unincorporated Story County, the County Engineer runs snow and ice clearance under Chapter 30 of the county code…

In the City of Waterloo, Iowa, once the Mayor or the Director of Public Works declares Snow Removal on a Priority One…

In the City of West Des Moines, no one may park, abandon, or leave a vehicle unattended on a public street, alley, or…

Sioux City caps a nonconsensual tow at $65.00 for cars and $375.00 for heavy trucks before sales tax, fixes drop fees…

Cedar Rapids sets no local ceiling on what a private tow company may charge, but it does require every towing and…