Pontiac, MI Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)

Sec. 2.5a defines an abandoned vehicle as one that "has remained on public or private property for a period of 48 hours after a police agency ... has affixed a written notice to the vehicle." Before that clock runs, the police agency must first check whether the vehicle was reported stolen and post a notice bearing the date and time, the agency's name and address, the officer's name and badge number, the deadline before towing, and the vehicle's year, make and VIN. If the vehicle is not moved within 48 hours, it "is deemed abandoned" and may be taken into custody; the agency then has 24 hours to log it as abandoned in the law-enforcement network and 7 days to mail the registered owner and any secured party a Secretary of State notice form, which must also list the towing/storage location, the custodian's address, the redemption procedure, and a warning that failing to redeem or request a hearing within 20 days risks a public sale.

The owner can contest either that the vehicle was properly deemed abandoned or "the reasonableness of the towing fees and daily storage fees" by filing a petition with the court named in the notice within that 20-day window; posting a towing/storage bond, or simply paying the fees, releases the vehicle while the hearing is pending, and a favorable ruling entitles the owner to reimbursement from the police agency. Skipping a hearing lets the owner (or, after 20 days, the secured party) redeem the vehicle by paying the accrued charges outright; otherwise the agency must offer it at public sale under Sec.

2.5g. This procedure is enacted locally as § 114-47, which amends the Uniform Traffic Code the City adopted by reference at § 114-46, whose enforcement penalties follow § 114-46(c): the City may not impose a UTC/Michigan Vehicle Code penalty carrying more than 93 days' imprisonment.