Can you legally block your own driveway?

As long as it is your own drive way can’t see why not.
Unless your drive way is an easement to another persons property, I see no reason why not.

You can block your own driveway IN your driveway.

I don’t believe you can block any public street, mailbox, fire hydrant, easement, etc….

Around here it is not unusual to see a driveway blocked by 2 or 3 cars so little kids don’t wander go into the road during a large family gathering. They can play in the garage or ride their Big Wheels in the driveway without accidentally going too far.

I see what @LuckyGuy is describing all the time in my neighborhood. Technically it is illegal. But police aren’t going to make any effort to write citations on this sort of thing without a complaint. And who would complain?

It is illegal in the city and you may get ticketed for it.

You also can’t block the sidewalk while in your driveway. I have been ticketed for that.

It is illegal in the city near me. I’m not sure what constitutes blocking; I assume it’s parking on the road so the driveway is blocked in or parking in the driveway across the sidewalk.

The city/town usually has a sidewalk easement along the road, going below the easement toward the street is NOT your property but is your responsibility (snow removal, grass mowing and general maintenance) so you cannot block the easement but above that you put in a gate and fence if you wish.

Also, at least where I live, you need to allow 4ft of distance from the driveway. You can’t park right up on the edge of the entrance.

If you are in a smaller town or all residential area the police might knock on your door to see if it belongs to you. This won’t happen in a city. Parking enforcement doesn’t care and doesn’t have the time. They’ll just issue a ticket.

I don’t think they’re looking up your address when they write the ticket. They’re putting car description, plate number, etc., time, date, officer’s name, etc. So they wouldn’t know where the owner of the car lives…..

As long as you’re within your side of the local right of way aka easement set up by your governing department, I don’t see why it would be a problem. Maybe in some of the larger cities it might be, so you might want to check with city hall or your county government to verify local laws. I live i a really small town & once I cross the sidewalk it’s mine to do as I please. I’m not allowed to park my car across my driveway if I’m parked on the street. I’m not allowed to park my car over the sidewalk. Once my back wheels are on my side of the sidewalk. I can stop so no one else can get in.

If you park on the street and parallel park in front of a driveway in California, it is a violation, and you can be ticketed. Doesn’t matter if it is your own driveway.

In cities like San Francisco where the garage opens almost to the edge of the sidewalk, you can’t park in the driveway because it blocks the sidewalk. And fines for that have gone through the roof because it disrupts Disabled access.

I got a ticket in California changing my tire blocking my own driveway. The cop had to step over the jack to put it on my windshield as I had the tire plugged down the street.

@Dog Someone must have pissed in his Cheerios that morning. What a jerk.

You have to check local laws. You usually can’t block a sidewalk, which might run through your driveway, and usually you can’t park on the street blocking a driveway. Usually, it’s ok to park on your driveway though.

If the house is inside a community with deed restrictions or an HOA, there are usually rules that govern streets and driveways on top of laws. Like, you might not be allowed to park commercial vehicles on the driveway, or you might not be allowed to park on a certain side of the street even if you aren’t blocking a driveway.

@Dog – I don’t know what city you live in, but in San Jose cops are too busy chasing burglars and homeless to be giving out tickets for illegal parking in a private driveway.

I live in a town small enough that a badge feels big.