How to Parallel Park
Backing your vehicle into a parking space between two cars along the curb.
Step by step
- Find a space at least 3 feet longer than your vehicle. Signal, check your mirrors and blind spot, and slow to a stop.
- Pull up alongside the car in front of the space, leaving about 2 feet between the two vehicles, with your rear bumpers roughly even.
- Shift into reverse. Check over both shoulders and out the rear window, then back up slowly while turning the steering wheel fully toward the curb.
- When your car is at about a 45-degree angle and your front seat is even with the rear bumper of the car ahead, straighten the wheels and keep backing slowly.
- As your front bumper clears the rear of the car in front, turn the steering wheel fully away from the curb to swing the front of your car in.
- Straighten the wheels, center the car in the space, and finish within 18 inches of the curb without touching it.
- Set the parking brake and shift to park (leave a manual transmission in gear).
What examiners look for
That you check mirrors and blind spots, control your speed, end up within about 18 inches of the curb without hitting the curb or the other cars, and finish parallel and centered in the space.
Common mistakes
Ending too far from the curb, hitting the curb or another vehicle, skipping the blind-spot check, turning the wheel too early or too late, and backing up too fast.
When you'll use it
Parallel parking is a standard part of many state road tests and is common when parking on city streets.
Related maneuvers
Based on state DMV driver manuals and official road-test criteria. Exact requirements vary by state — check your state's driver manual.