Dearborn Heights, MI Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Sec. 32-118 of the Dearborn Heights City Code lays out the city's full procedure for abandoned vehicles found on public or private property. A vehicle counts as 'abandoned' once it has sat in place for forty-eight hours after the police department, or another agency the department designates, affixes a written notice to it. That notice must show the date and time it was posted, the name and address of the police department, the officer's name and badge number, the date and time the vehicle may be towed or scrapped if not moved, and the vehicle's year, make and identification number when available. Before doing anything else, the department first checks whether the vehicle has been reported stolen.

If the vehicle stays put past the forty-eight-hour deadline, it is deemed abandoned and the department may have it towed into custody. From there, the clock keeps running: the vehicle must be entered into the law enforcement information network within twenty-four hours of being towed, and within seven days the department must mail the registered owner and any secured party a state-form notice explaining how to redeem the vehicle, contest the tow, or request a hearing. An owner who wants to fight the abandonment finding, or dispute the towing and storage fees, must file a petition with the district court within twenty days of that notice, and can get the vehicle released in the meantime by posting a bond or simply paying the accrued fees. An owner who never redeems the vehicle or requests a hearing within the twenty-day window loses it: Sec. 32-118 requires the department to offer the vehicle at a public sale under Sec. 32-124 once that window, or any hearing under Sec. 32-123, has run.

Related sections cover variations on the same problem: Sec. 32-119 handles scrap vehicles seven years or older that are inoperable, Sec. 32-120 covers vehicles towed from private property at someone else's request, and Sec. 32-121 lets police order immediate removal of a vehicle that is a hazard, blocking traffic, or evidence of a crime.