Lafayette, LA Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)
Key Facts
- Notice deadline
- 24 hrs to notify law enforcement
- Fee disclosure
- Itemized inventory form before payment
- Rate cap
- Louisiana PSC's highest allowable rate
- Criminal penalty
- Up to 6 months jail / $500 fine
- Fee dispute path
- Administrative adjudication, Sec. 98-195
- Applies
- City and unincorporated parish alike
Summary
Wrecker operators who tow a vehicle from private property in Lafayette without the owner's consent must hand over a city-parish inventory form itemizing every fee before collecting payment, and must notify law enforcement within 24 hours. Sec. 98-163 backs that with a fee-dispute right under Sec. 98-195, and Sec. 98-103 makes article violations a misdemeanor.
Following a nonconsensual private property tow, a wrecker operator shall provide written documentation to the owner of such towed vehicle on inventory forms to be provided by the city-parish consolidated government containing a breakdown of all fees that are permitted to be charged under the terms of this division for the towing and storage of such vehicle and advising the owner of his rights to seek an administrative adjudication of disputes over fees assessed for nonconsensual tows as provided in section 98-195 of this article. Such documentation shall be provided to the vehicle owner before he is required to remit payment for such nonconsensual tow.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 65).
Full Breakdown
Sec. 98-163 of the Lafayette City-Parish Code regulates private-property, non-consent tows across both the city and unincorporated parish. Within 24 hours of a towed vehicle reaching the operator's approved storage facility, the wrecker company must notify the appropriate law enforcement agency with the vehicle's description, license number, and tow time, and must haul the vehicle there by the most direct route reasonably available. If law enforcement places a special hold on the vehicle pending investigation, the operator cannot release it without that agency's sign-off and a completed release form executed by the registered owner.
Before the operator can collect payment, subsection (d) requires it to hand the vehicle owner a city-parish inventory form itemizing every fee chargeable under the towing article and spelling out the owner's right to challenge those fees through the administrative adjudication process in Sec. 98-195. Sec. 98-164 separately bars a long list of predatory practices: soliciting owners at accident scenes, moving a vehicle before police finish investigating, charging for repairs the owner never authorized, double-billing, or refusing to release a vehicle once all lawful fees are tendered in cash, major credit card, or ATM card.
Charges themselves are capped in Sec. 98-192 at the highest rate the Louisiana Public Service Commission or state law allows. Sec. 00, or both, though fee disputes under Sec. 98-191 through 98-194 are handled civilly instead through Sec. 98-195.
Violations & Fines
Violating the towing article is a misdemeanor under Sec. 98-103, carrying up to six months in the city-parish jail, a $500.00 fine, or both: except that overcharging or storage-fee disputes under Sec. 98-191 through 98-194 are pursued civilly through the Sec. 98-195 adjudication process rather than criminally. Sec. 98-164 separately lists 13 banned practices, from scene-chasing to double billing, that can support a prosecution.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Lafayette tow company make me pay before showing the fees?
How fast must a tow company report a private-property tow?
What can't a Lafayette wrecker operator do?
What happens if I'm overcharged for a tow?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lafayette
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