Where You Can Stop for Passengers: NYC Curb Rules

In short: You may stop to pick up or drop off passengers at a No Standing or No Parking sign, but not at a No Stopping sign, and you may not wait at any of them. Double parking is illegal at all times, even with you in the seat. Loading zones, hotel zones, taxi/FHV pickup signs and bus lanes allow quick passenger stops, but a taxi stand is off-limits for FHV pickups. If TLC charges you, rule §80-13(a)(1) starts at $100 and adds points and a suspension for repeats.

The basic sign chart

NYC DOT answers the question directly in its sign FAQ (NYC DOT Parking Regulations):

The middle row is the one that matters most for TLC drivers. A No Standing curb is legal for a passenger getting in or out, but not for you to sit and wait for a late rider. Time your arrival, or circle the block.

Three more DOT rules apply everywhere:

• The more restrictive sign wins. "If there is more than one sign posted for the same area, the more restrictive one is the one in effect. If a sign is missing on a block, the remaining posted regulations are the ones that are in effect."
• All of New York City is a Tow Away Zone under state law.
• On major legal holidays, stopping, standing and parking are allowed except where rules are in effect seven days a week (for example "No Standing Anytime").

Special curbs, one by one

Notes on each:

• Neighborhood Loading Zones exist to cut double parking on narrow streets. DOT lists "Taxi and car service pick-up and drop-off" among their uses. New ones use Loading Only signs (NYC DOT Loading Zones).
• Hotel Loading Zones "are designated by No Standing signs. They allow drivers to quickly drop off and pick up hotel guests and to load and unload baggage." They are not a waiting area.
• DOT adds that other curb rules "allow for passenger pick-up and drop-off only. These include Taxi Stands, No Standing, and For-Hire-Vehicle (FHV) Only regulations." For FHV drivers, TLC rule §80-19(d)(2) still bans pickups at taxi stands (TLC Chapter 80). See can Uber drivers pick up at a taxi stand.
• Taxi/FHV pickup signs are real and appear in DOT's sign records with texts such as "FHV (SYMBOL) TAXI/FHV PICK-UP/DROP-OFF ONLY" and "FHV (SYMBOL) FOR-HIRE VEHICLES ONLY MONDAY-FRIDAY 4PM-MIDNIGHT" (NYC Open Data).
• Bus lanes: DOT says unauthorized vehicles may enter a bus lane "to quickly drop off or pick up passengers," and "you may stop in a curbside bus lane for the time it takes for a passenger standing at the curb to enter or exit the vehicle and get onto the sidewalk" (NYC DOT bus lane rules). Bus cameras can still ticket blocking a bus stop. See can I drop off passengers in a bus lane.
• Commercial meters: Local Law 24 of 2026 created a one-year pilot to let FHVs park at commercial meters if they pay and stay no more than 3 hours. Until DOT confirms it is running, treat these spaces as commercial only. Details in taxi relief stands.

Hydrants: DOT says 15 feet, TLC says you may wait

DOT: "It is illegal to park within 15 feet of either side of a fire hydrant, including on floating parking lanes." TLC's rule adds a narrow exception for drivers: "Except where expressly forbidden, a Vehicle is permitted to stop and wait for Passengers in the space immediately in front of a fire hydrant on a street, provided the Driver remains seated in his or her Vehicle, ready for operation at all times" (§80-13(a)(1)(i)). Both conditions matter: stay in the seat, and no sign forbidding it. Full answer: can a taxi wait at a fire hydrant.

Double parking: never

DOT is blunt: "Double parking of passenger vehicles is illegal at all times, including when street cleaning is occurring, regardless of location, purpose or duration. An occupied illegally parked vehicle causes the same safety hazard and congestion as an unoccupied vehicle." On bus routes, bus-mounted cameras ticket double-parked cars too. See can I double park to pick up a passenger.

What a TLC parking summons costs

A parking ticket from the police goes to the vehicle. TLC can also charge you, the driver, under rule §80-13(a)(1), "laws, rules or regulations governing stationary vehicles":

Summonses citing §80-13(a)(1) peaked at 4,810 in 2024 and were 3,412 in 2025. The data does not say where they were written or how they ended. The 80-13(a)(1) violation page covers defenses and the hydrant exception at a hearing.

Three everyday examples

A rider at a hotel with bags. The hotel curb has a No Standing sign. That is a Hotel Loading Zone: DOT allows a quick guest pickup and loading of baggage. You may help with the bags, then leave. If the guest is still in the lobby, you can't park and wait there; go around the block.

An app pickup on a street with a red bus lane. The rider is standing at the curb inside the bus lane. You may stop in the lane only for the time it takes the rider to get in. If they are not there yet, keep going and use the cross street. Never stop inside the bus stop itself, where bus cameras ticket stopping.

A late-night drop-off on a block with a fire hydrant and nothing else free. Dropping someone off in front of a hydrant is a quick stop. The TLC exception even allows you to wait there, but only seated and ready, and only where no sign forbids it. If you get out to carry bags to the door, you are no longer covered.

Taxi or FHV: does the license change the curb rules?

Mostly no. DOT's sign rules apply to every vehicle the same way. Three things do depend on your license: taxi stands (FHVs may never pick up there, and green cabs only in the Hail Zone), relief stands (some are taxi-only), and signs that name a vehicle type, such as FOR-HIRE VEHICLES ONLY. The TLC penalty for a stationary-vehicle violation, §80-13(a)(1), is the same for yellow cab, green cab and FHV drivers.

A routine that keeps you legal

The curb sign decoder walks through any sign step by step. Drivers who cruise for hails should also know where taxis are not allowed to cruise. For the No Standing question alone, see can I pick up passengers in a No Standing zone. The busiest places to stop are on busiest taxi zones for drop-offs, and break spots on relief stand gap by borough. More on the places hub.