Free tool
DC Parking Ticket Heatmap1,667,640 citations mapped, 2025–2026
The short answer
The worst blocks in DC for parking tickets are along Maine Ave SW at The Wharf, where the 800 block alone drew 9,137 citations between January 2025 and July 2026 — more than any other block face in the city. The 600 block of Maine Ave SW (7,572) and the 400 block of F St NW (6,202) follow. Northwest DC accounts for roughly 68% of all parking citations citywide. Full ranking below.
Redder blocks mean more parking citations. Zoom in and the dots become highlighted curb lines, so you can see exactly which side of the block gets ticketed — or zoom out for the full city picture. Use it to spot enforcement patterns, avoid expensive blocks, and learn where DC parking rules are enforced most aggressively.
Methodology
Curblee's own enforcement model, built from 1,667,640 official DC parking citation records — 1,025,109 in 2025 and 642,531 so far in 2026.
Snapshot: January 2025 – July 2026. Counts change over time as the District voids or reclassifies citations, so totals here are a dated snapshot, not a permanent figure.
Counts refreshed August 26, 2026.
Coverage
22,358 DC street segments citywide. Each point is a unique address or block face.
Refresh
Counts are rebuilt on a recurring schedule — most recently August 26, 2026 — so the map keeps reflecting current enforcement trends rather than a one-off snapshot.
Verification: 1,667,640 total citations across 22,358 street segments.
Most ticketed blocks on the DC parking ticket heatmap
The heatmap above, read as a ranked list. These are the 10 block faces in Washington, DC that generated the most parking citations in 2025 and 2026 combined. Several appear twice as separate sides of the same street — a reminder that the ticket risk is usually tied to one specific curb, not the whole block.
| # | Block | Area | 2025 | 2026 | Total | Likely driver |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 800 block Maine Ave SW | The Wharf / SW Waterfront | 4,836 | 4,301 | 9,137 | Heavy rideshare and event traffic loading in metered and no-standing space |
| 2 | 600 block Maine Ave SW (north side) | Municipal Fish Market | 4,086 | 3,486 | 7,572 | Short-stay double parking outside the fish market and marina |
| 3 | 400 block F St NW (south side) | Penn Quarter / Judiciary Square | 3,783 | 2,419 | 6,202 | Loading-zone and alley-adjacent violations behind courthouse blocks |
| 4 | 1100 block 3rd St NE (south side) | NoMa | 3,579 | 2,543 | 6,122 | Commuter overstays on newly metered NoMa blocks |
| 5 | 1400 block Okie St NE (north side) | Union Market | 3,455 | 2,338 | 5,793 | Overflow parking around Union Market with limited legal curb |
| 6 | 1700 block N St NW (south side) | Dupont Circle | 3,689 | 2,004 | 5,693 | Mixed meter and RPP restrictions on a dense office-and-residential block |
| 7 | 1300 block G St NW (south side) | Downtown | 3,927 | 1,712 | 5,639 | Weekday rush-hour and no-parking lane enforcement |
| 8 | 400 block I St NW (south side) | Mount Vernon Triangle | 3,658 | 1,812 | 5,470 | Meter overtime plus construction-zone curb closures |
| 9 | 1700 block Columbia Rd NW (west side) | Adams Morgan | 3,085 | 2,050 | 5,135 | Nightlife parking in RPP and street-sweeping windows |
| 10 | 1300 block Connecticut Ave NW (west side) | Dupont Circle | 3,074 | 1,890 | 4,964 | Rush-hour lane restrictions on a major arterial |
Citations are aggregated to DC's address reference point for each block face, so a row covers one side of one block rather than an individual space. The “likely driver” column is Curblee's interpretation of the surrounding curb rules, not a field in the city's data.
DC parking ticket heatmap by quadrant
Northwest DC absorbs about two-thirds of all citations, driven by the density of meters, rush-hour lanes, and permit blocks downtown and along the Connecticut, Wisconsin, and 14th Street corridors. Southwest has the fewest blocks but the highest citations per block, thanks to The Wharf.
| Quadrant | Blocks | 2025 | 2026 | Total | Share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Northwest (NW) | 9,968 | 692,143 | 433,876 | 1,126,019 | 68% |
| Northeast (NE) | 5,625 | 143,996 | 83,502 | 227,498 | 14% |
| Southeast (SE) | 4,106 | 97,240 | 62,196 | 159,436 | 10% |
| Southwest (SW) | 755 | 67,897 | 46,528 | 114,425 | 7% |
A further 40,262 citations sit on segments whose block label has no readable quadrant, so the four rows above do not sum to the 1,667,640 citywide total.
DC parking ticket heatmap by neighborhood
Same heatmap model, read as a list instead of a map. These are the 10 highest-pressure neighborhoods in Washington, DC, ranked by citations per block so density counts more than size.
| # | Neighborhood | Ticket risk | Peak window | What drives it |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Foggy Bottom & West End | Very high | Weekdays, metered hours | Expired meter and posted time limit on dense hospital and campus blocks |
| 2 | Downtown & Penn Quarter | Very high | Weekdays, incl. AM/PM rush lanes | Rush-hour lane and no-standing zones, often ending in a tow |
| 3 | Dupont Circle | Very high | Weekdays and weekend evenings | Meter plus RPP two-hour limit on the side streets |
| 4 | Logan Circle & Shaw | High | Evenings and weekend nights | RPP zone limit on residential blocks one street off the corridor |
| 5 | U Street Corridor | High | Thu-Sat evenings | RPP two-hour limit and late-night meter hours |
| 6 | Navy Yard | High | Game days and weekday evenings | Event-day emergency no-parking signs and meter overstays |
| 7 | Georgetown | Moderate | Weekends and weekday afternoons | Meter overstay and no-parking blocks on the narrow side streets |
| 8 | Adams Morgan | Moderate | Fri-Sat nights | RPP two-hour limit and late meter hours around 18th Street |
| 9 | NoMa & Union Market | Moderate | Weekday business hours | Loading zones and unpaid meters near the office blocks |
| 10 | Columbia Heights | Moderate | Weekday street sweeping windows | Street cleaning and RPP on blocks around the retail core |
Risk levels are relative ticket pressure per block, from Curblee's enforcement model over millions of DC citations across 2025 and 2026. "Lower" still means tickets — it means fewer per block than the corridors above it.
How much is a DC parking ticket?
Most DC parking fines fall into three tiers. The most common violations — meter overtime, RPP overtime, street sweeping, and loading zones — cost $50. Rush-hour lanes, fire hydrants, bus stops, and crosswalks are typically $100. Accessible parking zone violations are $250. Always verify the exact amount on your citation at the DC DMV portal.
Fines double after 30 days if unpaid, and a vehicle with two or more unpaid tickets about 60 days old becomes eligible for the boot or tow list. The fastest way to cut the bill is to pay or contest within 30 days.
Full details: DC parking ticket fines & how to contest.
When is DC parking enforcement active?
There is no single citywide shift. Enforcement tracks the sign, not the hour of day. If a restriction is posted and in effect, a ticket is possible — metered hours on commercial corridors, permit hours on residential blocks, weekday rush-hour windows, and posted sweeping windows.
The one published schedule is for out-of-state registration enforcement. DPW's ROSA crews work Sunday through Thursday, 10 PM to 6 AM, and deliberately skip Friday and Saturday nights because of visiting out-of-state family and friends.
Read the rules: DC parking enforcement hours, boots & tows.
What the heatmap shows
Every colored dot represents a unique DC street segment where parking tickets were issued. The color and intensity scale with the number of citations — yellow for occasional enforcement, orange for frequent, and red for the blocks that generate the most tickets. At high zoom levels, you can click and inspect the raw count for that location.
This is not a speed-camera map or live police tracker. It is a historical snapshot of parking enforcement, so the patterns reveal where signs, meters, and rush-hour rules are most often misunderstood or violated — not where a ticket is guaranteed today.
Frequently asked questions
Which block in DC gets the most parking tickets?
The 800 block of Maine Ave SW at The Wharf drew 9,137 parking citations between January 2025 and July 2026 — the highest of any block face in Washington, DC. The 600 block of Maine Ave SW is second with 7,572, followed by the 400 block of F St NW with 6,202. Northwest DC accounts for about 68% of all citations citywide. Counts are a dated snapshot and shift as the District voids or reclassifies tickets.
How much is a DC parking ticket?
Most common DC parking tickets cost $50, including meter overtime, RPP overtime, street sweeping, and loading-zone violations. Rush-hour, fire-hydrant, bus-stop, and crosswalk tickets are typically $100. Accessible parking zone violations are $250. Verify the exact amount on your citation at dmv.dc.gov/service/ticket-fine-information.
When is DC parking enforcement active?
DC parking enforcement follows posted restrictions rather than a single citywide shift. Tickets can be issued whenever a restriction is in effect: metered hours on commercial corridors, permit-zone hours on residential blocks, weekday rush-hour windows, and posted street-sweeping windows. DPW's ROSA crews work Sunday through Thursday, 10 PM to 6 AM.
Where does DC write the most parking tickets?
Enforcement is concentrated in commercial and institutional corridors with meters and rush-hour lanes. The Curblee enforcement map ranks hotspots by citations per block, with Foggy Bottom/West End, Georgetown, and the Downtown core showing the highest ticket density. Residential neighborhoods tend to rank lower because most violations there are permit or sweeping tickets.
What is the difference between a DC parking ticket and a boot?
A parking ticket is a civil citation. DC boots or tows vehicles with two or more unpaid tickets that are about 60 days old. A booted vehicle can be towed immediately if the tickets and boot fee remain unpaid. Before the boot is removed or the car is released from impound, the owner must pay all outstanding fees and fines.
How does the DC parking ticket heatmap work?
The heatmap aggregates more than 1.6 million DC parking citations from January 2025 through July 2026 and maps them to individual street segments. Each colored dot or curb segment represents a unique block face; darker red means more tickets were issued there. Zoom in to switch from citywide dots to highlighted curb lines and see exact counts per block.
What do the colors mean on the DC parking ticket heatmap?
Colors show citation intensity. Yellow indicates occasional enforcement, orange indicates frequent tickets, and red marks the most ticketed blocks in Washington, DC. The color scale makes it easy to spot enforcement hotspots at a glance before you park.
Is the DC parking ticket heatmap updated in real time?
No. The map is refreshed on a recurring schedule from official DC citation data, so it reflects recent trends rather than live enforcement. Use it to understand historical patterns and high-risk blocks, not to predict a ticket at this exact moment.
Can I see my exact address on the DC parking ticket heatmap?
Yes. Zoom in to your neighborhood and the map will show individual block faces near your address. Click or tap a highlighted segment to see the citation count for that specific curb. If you want a yes-or-no answer for a specific block right now, use the Can I Park Here tool instead.
After you find your block
The heatmap shows where tickets happen. These guides explain why they happen and what you can do about it.
Rules
DC street parking rules
Meter, permit, rush-hour, and street-sweeping rules explained block by block.
Permits
DC residential parking permit guide
Who qualifies, which zone you live in, and how RPP rules affect visitors.
Towing
DC towing guide
Boot, tow, and impound rules — and how to get your car back.
Fines
DC parking tickets, fines & how to contest
Fine amounts, payment deadlines, and how to dispute a citation.