Virginia Rest Area & Parking Rules

Sleeping overnight in Virginia

Overnight parking is banned at every Virginia rest area and wayside (24VAC30-51-30, effective March 2026). Camping and sleeping in the building are out too. Violate it and it's a misdemeanor, $5 to $100, and troopers can tow your rig at your expense. Virginia built truck-only rest areas (Dale City on I-95, Abingdon on I-81) and runs a live truck-parking availability system on I-81/I-95, but the no-overnight rule still stands on paper. This is a reference, not legal advice.

Limits, truck parking, and HOS rest

• Time limit: No overnight parking. Most rest areas post no daytime hourly cap; waysides without security lighting are open 8 a.m. to one hour after sunset (lit ones around the clock), and some individual waysides post their own limit (the New Church area on Rt. 13 posts 2 hours).
• Truck spaces are tight on I-81 and I-95. Virginia runs a real-time truck-parking availability dashboard (TruckNPark/TPIMS) on those corridors at truckparking.vdot.virginia.gov and has built truck-only rest areas at Dale City (I-95, both directions) and Abingdon (I-81). Most truck parking statewide is at private truck stops rather than public lots.
• Dual lens: the rule bans overnight at every rest area and wayside, but in practice troopers focus on abandoned/unattended rigs and generally let drivers take a federal HOS rest at the truck-designated lots; the ban is still enforceable and 'I was out of hours' is not a defense. hosException: not addressed - the regulation is silent on FMCSA HOS. Welcome centers follow the same no-overnight rule. Weigh/inspection stations are not for overnight rest. Verified against the Virginia Administrative Code: 24VAC30-51 took effect March 11, 2026 (Va. Register Vol. 42, Iss. 13), recodifying the repealed 24VAC30-50; the rest-area overnight ban is in 24VAC30-51-30 and the misdemeanor/$5-$100 penalty in 24VAC30-51-10.N; wayside hours (8 a.m.-1 hr after sunset, lit ones 24h) confirmed in 24VAC30-51-20; the truckparking.vdot.virginia.gov dashboard is live. The draft's specific statewide count of ~7,300 truck spaces could not be confirmed against the Jason's Law survey and was softened to plain words.

What overstaying costs

Misdemeanor, $5 to $100 per offense plus civil liability for actual damages (24VAC30-51-10.N); unattended vehicles are towed at the owner's expense

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