Every deadline, width and penalty here was read on September 23, 2026, off the city's own page or the municipal code that city hosts, and each one is quoted and linked beside the line it supports. Cities amend these ordinances between winters and several publish the deadline on a seasonal page that changes in autumn, so the link beside a line is what governs on the day.

Washington Sidewalk Snow Removal: 12 to 48 Hours

Q: How wide does a cleared path have to be in Washington?

One Washington city sets a width, and Spokane sets a 36-inch path. 57 cities nationally publish one; the rest describe the walk rather than measure it, and the city named on each line is the one that reads the result.

Q: Does snow have to be cleared from the sidewalk or the street in Washington?

The rules collected here are sidewalk rules, and the great majority of Washington cities publish a second one about where the snow may go once it has been moved, most often forbidding it on the travelled part of the road. Both come off the same city pages linked below, and the Washington cities that publish only the second are listed as such rather than folded in with the rest.

Q: Which cities in the country give you the least time?

St. Louis, Santa Fe, Sheridan, where the ordinance allows no hours at all. Above them, 57 of the 150 cities that count in hours give twelve hours or less, 74 give exactly a day, and 18 give more than a day. The widest gap inside a single state is Maine, from four hours to three days.

Nothing

What state law sets

37 states are in the same position

12 to 48h

The range across its cities

[object Object] is the tightest

3 of 4

Cities with an ordinance

read on one day

September 23, 2026

Read

1 publish a penalty

The short answer

Washington runs from twelve hours in Seattle to two days in Spokane Valley

Washington has no sidewalk clearing statute at all. The clock is a city's instead, and two Washington cities count in hours. The tightest is Seattle at twelve hours and the loosest Spokane Valley at two days, a gap of 36 hours inside one state. Nationally the deadlines run from no hours at all to three days across 150 cities, and no state legislature anywhere has put a number on it.

Every Washington city below publishes somewhere to report a walk that has not been cleared, linked on its own line. The city that publishes the rule is the city that answers questions about it.

Nothing at state level3 of 4 cities with an ordinance2 counting in hours

City by city, in each city’s own words

The 3 Washington cities that publish an ordinance

Two Washington cities publish a count of hours, and each one below is quoted from the ordinance or the city page it was read from. The middle of the Washington figures is two days, against a day nationally.

Each card below carries what that city published and nothing else: the deadline in its own sentence, the sentence it was read from, and the width, the penalty and the wording about ice where the city printed them. The chip is a band derived from the wording for sorting, not a restatement of it.

Seattle
7h to 12h
every 12 hours before snow turns to ice
Clear sidewalks in front of your home or business every 12 hours before snow turns to ice.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
Property owners are responsible for maintaining the sidewalks adjacent to their property.
What it says about ice
They must make sure snow and ice does not pose a hazard to pedestrians.
- Published by Seattle Department of Transportation
SDOT states the duty is legally required without naming a code section: "Did you know it's required that you keep the sidewalks in front of your home or business clear when it snows?" The 12 hour figure is SDOT's own printed instruction on the same page, not a quoted ordinance. The department's Property Owners' Responsibilities page adds: "Property owners are responsible for maintaining the sidewalks adjacent to their property. They must make sure snow and ice does not pose a hazard to pedestrians." No fine amount is published on either page.
Prepare for Winter Weather, Winter Weather Response, Seattle Department of Transportation, read September 23, 2026 Where the city takes reports
Spokane Valley
Over 24h
within 48 hours after a storm has passed, in Tier I priority areas
Municipal Code 7.45 requires property owners located within Tier I priority areas to remove all accumulations of snow and ice exceeding three inches from adjacent public sidewalks. Tier 1 areas include commercially zoned areas of the city and Safe Routes to School. Sidewalks must be cleared within 48 hours after a storm has passed.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
property owners located within Tier I priority areas
What it says about ice
Accumulation of snow/ice exceeding 3 inches.
- Penalty First and second citation: $52 each; Third plus citation in 12 months: $103 each
- Section Spokane Valley Municipal Code 7.45
- Published by City of Spokane Valley
The city's own FAQ answers the deadline question directly: "How long do I have to clear the sidewalk? 48 hours after the end of the snow event, which may include snow deposited by plows from the roadway." And on repeat citations: "After a citation is issued, you have 48 hours to clear snow/ice before an additional citation may be issued." The 48 hour duty reaches only Tier I sidewalks, shown on the city's sidewalk snow removal priority map.
Snow Removal, City of Spokane Valley, WA, read September 23, 2026 Where the city takes reports
Spokane
By the clock
a goal of completion by 9 a.m. after a snowfall
By ordinance (SMC 12.02.010), residents and businesses must keep their sidewalks shoveled. The City is asking the community to clear a 36-inch path to allow pedestrians to travel effectively, with a goal of completion by 9 a.m. after a snowfall.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
residents and businesses
- Width a 36-inch path
- Section SMC 12.02.010
- Published by City of Spokane Street Department
The 36 inch width and the 9 a.m. goal are phrased by the City as an ask on top of the ordinance's bare requirement to keep sidewalks shoveled, which is why neither stands as the ordinance's own deadline. The same paragraph adds: "Please also clear ADA ramps and clear a pedestrian path even if no sidewalk exists."
Snow Removal, Street Maintenance, City of Spokane, read September 23, 2026 Where the city takes reports

Why one Washington answer does not exist

Seattle and Spokane Valley are 36 hours apart

A house on one side of a city line in Washington has twelve hours and a house on the other has two days, which is the whole reason a state level answer to this question is no answer. 23 states carry a gap like it, the widest being Maine at 68 hours.

Neither city is wrong and neither is unusual. A sidewalk ordinance is written by a council for the street outside its own window, and nothing above it in Washington obliges one council to look at what the next one wrote. The figure that applies to a reader is the one their own city published, which is why every card above carries the city’s name before it carries a number.

A sidewalk cleared earlier in the day with fresh wind blown snow already lying back across the outer half of it, a plowed road to one side and an unbroken snow field to the other — Almost every hour count on these pages runs from the end of the snowfall rather than from its start, which is the one drafting choice the ordinances broadly share. What counts as the end of it, and what a fresh drift across a cleared walk does to the clock, is left to the wording each city chose, and that wording is quoted in full on the state pages. “Snow drifting onto a shoveled sidewalk, Ewing Township, Mercer County, New Jersey, 2024-01-20”, Famartin, CC BY-SA 4.0

What Washington itself did

Washington has written nothing on this

Nothing in the Washington statutes was found setting a sidewalk clearing deadline, which leaves the question to the cities below.

That is the national pattern rather than a Washington quirk. 13 of the 50 legislatures have a statute that touches sidewalk snow at all, 10 of those do nothing but let a city decide, and not one of them sets a deadline. The clock is a municipal ordinance everywhere in the country.

Nothing at state level

No Washington statute was found on this

has no sidewalk clearing statute at all

What happens if it is not done

What Washington cities publish as a penalty

One Washington city prints a penalty beside the rule, each as a dollar figure. Each is reproduced below in the words its own ordinance used.

Both routes are printed on the cards above in the sentence each was read from, because a penalty clause paraphrased is a different statement than the one the city made. Where a city publishes a page for reporting a walk that has not been cleared, that link is on its card too.

Where nothing was found

One Washington city read publishes no clearing ordinance

Washington has no statewide shovelling law and the clock differs by city, with Seattle telling owners every twelve hours, Spokane aiming at nine in the morning under SMC 12.02.010, Spokane Valley allowing forty eight hours but only on its Tier I sidewalks, and Yakima naming a responsibility without a deadline.

Where a city publishes no clearing ordinance, there is no municipal deadline to count against and no municipal penalty behind it, and what stands is the state's own position set out above. Each card below links to the chapter of the code it was read from. Nationally 80 of the 267 cities read are in the same position.

Yakima
No ordinance found
No sidewalk clearing ordinance was found for this city.
Whose duty it is, as the ordinance puts it
the owner or resident of the adjacent property
What it says about ice
After you clear the sidewalk of snow, you may choose to apply an ice-melting substance. The City of Yakima recommends use of Calcium Chloride, (sometimes called "hot melt") rather than Sodium Chloride (Rock Salt) because it is less damaging to sidewalks and plants.
- Published by City of Yakima Streets and Traffic Operations
The city's snow page names a responsibility but no code section, no deadline and no fine: "Snow removal from sidewalks in front of your home and business is a responsibility of the owner or resident of the adjacent property. The best time to shovel snow is immediately after it falls and before ice can begin to form." The only thing the page calls illegal is the reverse: "Don't throw snow from your sidewalk or driveway into the street - it's against the law."
Snow Removal Policies & Tips, City of Yakima, read September 23, 2026 Where the city takes reports

How Washington compares

The same question in the other forty nine

150 cities nationally count in hours, and the counts run from no hours at all to 72. 74 land on exactly a day, 57 give twelve hours or less, and 18 give more than a day. A further 22 set a time of day or a depth of snow rather than a count of hours at all.

The bar splits those 150 cities by how long they allow, and the table beneath it orders the states by how tight their tightest city is, which is a different ranking from how much snow a state gets.

3 of 150No hours allowed
23 of 150Six hours or less
31 of 150Within twelve hours
75 of 150Within a day
18 of 150More than a day

Fifty states and 267 cities, read September 23, 2026.
State	What the legislature did	What its cities do	With an ordinance	Tightest city
Missouri	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	ImmediatelySt. Louis
Wyoming	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	3 of 3	ImmediatelySheridan
New Mexico	A cross reference	Cities count in hours	1 of 4	ImmediatelySanta Fe
Michigan	Nothing found	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	2hMarquette
Maryland	Nothing found	Cities count in hours	8 of 8	3hAnnapolis
Massachusetts	A city may	Cities count in hours	8 of 8	3hBoston
Pennsylvania	Nothing found	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	3hErie
Virginia	A city may	Cities count in hours	6 of 7	3hRoanoke
Connecticut	A city may	Cities count in hours	8 of 8	4hDanbury
Ohio	A city may	Cities count in hours	8 of 8	4hAthens
New York	Nothing found	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	4hNew York City
Maine	A city may	Cities count in hours	4 of 8	4hWaterville
Vermont	A city may	Cities count in hours	1 of 6	4hWinooski
Rhode Island	A city may	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	5hNewport
Indiana	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	6hWest Lafayette
Nebraska	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	8hFremont
New Jersey	Nothing found	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	8hJersey City
Utah	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	5 of 5	8hPark City
Iowa	Owner duty, no clock	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	10hAmes
Kansas	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	12hSalina
Delaware	Nothing found	Cities count in hours	5 of 5	12hMilford
Washington	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	3 of 4	12hSeattle
California	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	1 of 2	12hSouth Lake Tahoe
North Dakota	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	24hBismarck
Wisconsin	The city clears it	Cities count in hours	7 of 7	24hGreen Bay
Colorado	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	24hAurora
Illinois	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	24hChampaign
Minnesota	A city may	Cities count in hours	6 of 6	24hDuluth
Montana	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	5 of 5	24hBillings
South Dakota	A city may	Cities count in hours	5 of 5	24hWatertown
Oklahoma	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	3 of 7	24hTulsa
West Virginia	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	3 of 4	24hMorgantown
Alaska	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	2 of 3	24hSeward
Idaho	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	2 of 3	24hIdaho Falls
Texas	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	2 of 7	24hAmarillo
Arizona	Nothing at state level	Cities count in hours	1 of 5	24hFlagstaff
Oregon	Nothing at state level	Required, no time named	2 of 3	None published
Arkansas	Nothing at state level	Set by the clock or a depth	1 of 7	None published
Kentucky	Nothing at state level	Set by the clock or a depth	1 of 3	None published
Tennessee	Nothing at state level	Required, no time named	1 of 4	None published
Alabama	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 3	None published
Florida	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 3	None published
Georgia	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 3	None published
Hawaii	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 2	None published
Louisiana	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 6	None published
Mississippi	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 3	None published
Nevada	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 3	None published
New Hampshire	A city may	No city rule found	0 of 7	None published
North Carolina	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 4	None published
South Carolina	Nothing at state level	No city rule found	0 of 3	None published

Washington sidewalk snow removal questions

How long do you have to shovel your sidewalk in Washington?

Washington has no sidewalk clearing statute at all. The clock is a city's instead, and two Washington cities count in hours. The tightest is Seattle at twelve hours and the loosest Spokane Valley at two days, a gap of 36 hours inside one state. Nationally the deadlines run from no hours at all to three days across 150 cities, and no state legislature anywhere has put a number on it. Two Washington cities publish a count of hours, and each one below is quoted from the ordinance or the city page it was read from. The middle of the Washington figures is two days, against a day nationally.

Does Washington have a state law about clearing sidewalks?

Why do two Washington cities give different deadlines?

What is the fine for not shovelling a sidewalk in Washington?

How wide does a cleared path have to be in Washington?

Does snow have to be cleared from the sidewalk or the street in Washington?

Which cities in the country give you the least time?

How current is this?

Sidewalk snow removal rules in every state

Washington ice damsWhat builds at the eaves while the walk is being cleared, and the conditions that put it there.Washington ground snow loadThe other winter number a city sets and the state usually does not, and who publishes it where.Washington snowpackWhat is actually on the ground this winter, measured daily, against the years behind it.Washington frozen pipesThe other thing a long cold spell does to a building, and the temperatures it starts at.

Washington read September 23, 2026: the municipal code and the city published pages of the 4 cities above. Every deadline, width, penalty and duty above links to the document it was published in and is reproduced in that document’s own wording. An hour count on this site is a sorting key derived from a city’s sentence and never a replacement for it. Councils amend ordinances on their own schedule, so the section linked beside a line is what governs on the day. What a particular property owes, and to whom, is a question for the city that published the ordinance.