Car Lockout in Richmond, VA

When the parking clock is running

A car lockout in Richmond can turn into a race with the signs. On posted streets, the city bans parking Monday through Friday from 7 to 9 a.m. and from 4 to 6 p.m., and it calls these peak-period towing zones. If your keys are locked in a car on one of those blocks at 3:30 in the afternoon, say so, and read the sign so you can quote its posted times. Street cleaning and vacuum leaf collection signs can also lead to a ticket or a tow.

A car with at least three unpaid tickets can get an orange boot, which comes off only after every fine and fee is paid. Opening the door does not release it, so settle the boot with the city as well. City parking rules are in Chapter 27, Article VI of the Richmond City Code. This is general information, not legal advice.

Events and garages

For events at the Greater Richmond Convention Center or the Altria Theater, the city points drivers to its off-street parking. A lockout inside a garage needs more than a street address: give the garage name, the level and the nearest stairwell or exit, and check whether the garage closes at a set time.

Heat and anyone inside

If a child, a vulnerable adult or a pet is locked in the car, call 911 first. NOAA describes Virginia summers as very warm and humid, and a closed car can get much hotter than the air outside, so a lockout on a summer afternoon is not one to sit through. Wait somewhere safe and sheltered, in sight of the car if you can.

What to send

• the street and nearest cross street, or the garage name and level
• any posted tow or cleaning times on that block
• year, make and model, and where the keys are: seat, trunk or ignition
• whether the engine is running

Lost keys, as opposed to keys locked inside, are a car key replacement matter. The Richmond page keeps the city's parking rules together.