# Washington — How long before a car left on your property or towed from it can legally be sold — by US state

For Washington, time to count as abandoned on private property is 24 hours (for private, nonresidential property, not posted); statutory citation is RCW 46.55.010, verified against its source on 2026-08-18.

- **State:** Washington _(our reading, not quoted from the source)_
- **Time to count as abandoned on private property:** 24 hours (for private, nonresidential property, not posted) _(verified: appears in the quote below)_
- **Statutory citation:** RCW 46.55.010 _(verified: appears in the quote below)_

## What the source says

> "Unauthorized vehicle" means a vehicle that is subject to impoundment after being left unattended in one of the following public or private locations for the indicated period of time: Subject to removal after: | (a) | Public locations: | (i) | Constituting an accident or a traffic hazard as defined in RCW <http://app.leg.wa.gov/RCW/default.aspx?cite=46.55.113> 46.55.113 . . . . Immediately | (ii) | On a highway and tagged as described in RCW 46.55.085 . . . . 24 hours | (iii) | In a publicly owned or controlled parking facility, properly posted under RCW 46.55.070 . . . . Immediately | (iv) | Within the right-of-way used by a regional transit authority for high capacity transportation where the vehicle constitutes an obstruction to the operation of high capacity transportation vehicles or jeopardizes public safety. . . . Immediately | (v) | Within the right-of-way used by a city with a population greater than 700,000 for streetcar operations where the vehicle constitutes an obstruction to the operation of streetcar vehicles or jeopardizes public safety . . . . Immediately | (b) | Private locations: | (i) | On residential property . . . . Immediately | (ii) | On private, nonresidential property, properly posted under RCW 46.55.070 . . . . Immediately | (iii) | On private, nonresidential property, not posted . . . . 24 hours

## Source

- https://app.leg.wa.gov/rcw/default.aspx?cite=46.55.010

Last verified: 2026-08-18. Review by: 2027-08-18.
Part of [How long before a car left on your property or towed from it can legally be sold — by US state](https://referencesource.org/abandoned-vehicle-private-property-timelines-by-state/).