Bylaw officers issued 476,000 parking tickets in 2025: These were the top infractions

A parking ticket is seen on the windshield of a car in Ottawa, Ont. (CTV News Ottawa)

Bylaw Services officers issued an average of 1,300 parking tickets a day to Ottawa motorists last year, as the city received more complaints about parking infractions in school zones and residential areas.

The Ottawa Bylaw and Regulatory Services 2025 annual report shows 476,342 parking tickets were issued last year, up from 452,202 parking tickets in 2024, 298,918 tickets in 2023 and 340,625 tickets in 2022.

The report, to be presented to the emergency and protective services committee on April 16, says officers received a record number of parking enforcement requests last year, mainly in school zones and residential neighbourhoods.

There were 50,786 parking enforcement service requests last year, surpassing the pre-pandemic high of 42,700 service requests in 2019.

“The increase in call volume can be attributed to an increased demand for parking enforcement in school zones, bus routes and in residential areas,” the city said.

Bylaw Services received 43,380 parking enforcement requests in 2024 and 41,034 complaints about parking in 2023.

The fines for parking violations range from $60 to $130, with early payment options available at a reduced penalty.

Top parking infractions

The top parking infraction by Ottawa motorists last year was “unauthorized parking on private property.” Officers issued 126,286 tickets to drivers illegally parked on private property in 2025, up from 109,816 tickets in 2024 and 43,610 tickets in 2023.

“Unauthorized parking on private property has increased significantly and now represents the most common infraction, accounting for over one-quarter of all tickets issued in 2025,” staff said in the report.

“At the same time, violations associated with safety and traffic flow, such as stopping in no stopping areas, have risen considerably. Longer-duration parking infractions, including parking in excess of three hours, have also shown sustained growth, suggesting increasing pressure on available parking supply.”

The fine for unauthorized parking on private property is $100, with an early payment option of $80.

A total of 54,043 tickets were issued to drivers for stopping in a no-stopping area in 2025, compared to 44,217 tickets in 2024.

According to the city, the fine for stopping in no-stopping area is $130, with an early payment option of $110.

Officers issued 41,277 tickets to drivers for parking in excess of three hours, and 38,488 tickets for parking in a no-parking area.

Officers issued 33,950 tickets for parking in excess of the posted time limit, down from 42,920 tickets in 2024. The fine for parking in excess of the posted time limit is $70, with an early payment option of $50.

Service requests

Parking complaints topped the list of requests to Ottawa Bylaw Services last year.

Parking enforcement accounted for 46 per cent of the 108,699 service requests to Ottawa Bylaw in 2025, up from 45 per cent of calls in 2021.

Property standard calls accounted for 15 per cent of calls, followed by animal care and control issues at 11 per cent and noise complaints at nine per cent.

Bylaw officers received 12,417 calls about animal care and control issues, down from 13,385 requests in 2024 and 14,400 requests in 2023.

There was a slight increase in noise complaint calls to Bylaw Services in 2025. There were 9,903 noise-related calls to the city in 2025, up from 9,789 calls in 2024.

Parking tickets

Here is a look at the number of parking tickets issued in the City of Ottawa by year.

• 2025: 476,342
• 2024: 452,202
• 2023: 298,918
• 2022: 340,625
• 2021: 262,089
• 2020: 249,721
• 2019: 362,753
• 2018: 353,005