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Parking Meter Rules

• Meters operate daily except for Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day, and New Year's Day.
• Most meters are enforced from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Saturday. Hours and rates vary.
• Always check the meter for hours of operation.
• Sunday meter operation:
  • Fisherman’s Wharf
  • The Embarcadero
  • Nine off-street parking lots
  • Special Event Area around Oracle Park and Chase Center during special events
• During events, meters near Oracle Park and Chase Center charge special event rates
• Most meters in San Francisco have a two-hour time limit, though approximately 25% of meters have a four-hour time limit or no time limit at all. Where there are time limits, "feeding the meter" (i.e., adding coins to extend the time beyond the legal limit) is not allowed and may result in a citation.
• You may prepay meters for the time you need, even if you arrive before the meter begins enforcement. Prepayment begins at 4:30 a.m. at all meters every day (except at Port meters near waterfront). Note that if you prepay, the paid time shown on the meter will include any amount of free time between when you prepay and when the meter begins operation. For example, if a meter begins operation at 9 a.m., and you prepay for one hour at 8 a.m., the meter will show that the meter is paid for two hours. This means that you are paid through 10 a.m. (one free hour from 8 a.m. to 9 a.m., and one paid hour from 9 a.m. to 10 a.m., for a total of the two hours shown on the meter).
• Green meters have either a 15 or 30 minute time limit.
• Red and yellow meters are designated for commercial loading; yellow for all commercial vehicles and red for vehicles with six or more wheels.
• When paying at a multi-space paystation, you will enter either your vehicle's license plate number or the number adjacent to the parking space.
• Vehicles charging at a metered space are still required to pay for parking.

72 Hour Maximum

In the absence of other posted restrictions, such as residential parking permit (RPP) zones, street sweeping, meters or posted time limits, a regular-sized passenger vehicle or motorcycle is allowed to park in one spot for up to 72 hours without being cited for overtime parking. Vehicles parked beyond the maximum 72 hour limit may be issued a warning in the form of a Marking Notice affixed to the vehicle’s windshield, and one or more of its wheels may be marked at the same time. Having a current (or temporary) RPP decal for the same RPP zone, or a displayed DP placard, does not provide an exemption from this overtime restriction.

If you do not return to move the marked vehicle by the date and time listed on the Marking Notice, the vehicle may be towed for being parked overtime when the SFMTA enforcement officer returns to its previously marked location. A Marking Notice found missing on the overtime vehicle does not affect the enforcement officer’s authority to tow when the officer returns to the marked location.

This overtime parking restriction is generally enforced by the SFMTA as a result of one or more initial complaints from residents who have concerns about vehicles being stored or abandoned in their neighborhoods. The SFMTA requests that residents wait for approximately 72 hours before complaining about a stored or abandoned vehicle—a policy that tends to help prevent harassment or abuses of the overtime parking program. However, there is no 72 hour (or 3-day) waiting period before a 72 Hour Marking Notice may legally be affixed to the vehicle that is identified by a resident’s complaint.

Vehicles found parked on public streets without current DMV registration (i.e., more than six months out of reg., and without a current Dealer’s Notice of Sale or paper plate), or that are parked in a hazardous location that obstructs traffic or access to one or more driveways, or that are obviously disabled and inoperable—may be cited and towed immediately, whether or not they have been issued a 72 Hour Marking Notice.