Towing & Impound Rights

Alabama regulates the paperwork of a nonconsensual tow far more tightly than the price of one. Ala. Code § 32-13-2(d) lets a property owner or lessee have a car removed once it has…

When an Alaska vehicle is towed from private property without the owner consent, AS 28.10.502 gives the towing company a possessory lien, but a narrow one: the lien "is limited to…

Arizona sets no statewide cap on what a private towing company can charge to remove a vehicle from private property: A.R.S. § 9-499.05(A) only lets an incorporated city or town…

Arkansas sets no statewide ceiling on hookup, mileage or storage charges, and it has no statutory drop fee for a driver who returns before the truck leaves. What it does give you…

California doesn't ban private-property towing, but Vehicle Code Section 22658 controls how it happens. A posted sign at least 17 by 22 inches must warn drivers before a tow company…

Colorado's Towing Bill of Rights, C.R.S. 40-10.1-405, governs only nonconsensual ("predatory") tows that PUC-permitted towing carriers pull from private property and common parking…

A Connecticut private commercial lot may tow an unauthorized vehicle only if it has posted conspicuous signage saying vehicles may be removed or booted and telling you where the…

Delaware regulates private-property towing in Title 21, Chapter 69A, and the numbers are hard ones. For a noncommercial or rental vehicle the tow fee may not exceed $250 and the daily…

The District fixes impound charges by statute rather than leaving them to a tow operator: D.C. Official Code § 50-2457(a)(3) sets a towing fee of $100 and storage of $20 per day…

Florida caps the drop fee a tower can charge at half the posted rate if the owner shows up mid-tow, requires a signed itemized receipt, and forces storage lots within 10 to 15 highway…

Georgia caps what private-property tow companies can charge under DPS Rule 570-38-7-.13 and Statewide Maximum Rate Tariff No. 5. Removal fees top out at $228 for vehicles under 10,000…

Hawaii caps what a towing company may charge for a nonconsensual tow from private or public property: $75 for a tow, $85 with a dolly, $7.50 per mile and $25 per day storage for the…

Idaho replaced its entire towing chapter in 2025, and Idaho Code title 49, chapter 18 is now titled Towing and Storage of Motor Vehicles. There is no statewide dollar cap on a tow, but…

Illinois runs two layers of private-property towing law, and which one you are under depends on the county. Statewide, 625 ILCS 5/4-203(f) governs every nonconsensual tow from private…

Indiana regulates nonconsensual towing through IC 24-14, the towing services article, backed by the abandoned vehicle rules in IC 9-22-1. If you reach your car while it is being hooked…

Kansas sets no statewide cap on hookup, mileage or storage charges and creates no drop fee for an owner who returns before the truck leaves. K.S.A. 8-1103 instead gives the towing…

If you reach your car while it is being towed from a private lot in Kentucky, KRS 281.924(5) requires the towing company to tell you, orally or in writing, that you may pay no more…

A tow company may not haul a car out of a Louisiana parking area unless a law enforcement agency authorized the tow, the vehicle was tagged for removal with a dated sticker naming the…

Maine regulates what a towing or storage facility can charge you for keeping the car, not what it can charge for taking it. Under 29-A M.R.S. § 1857 daily storage charges must be…

Maryland Transportation Article Title 21, Subtitle 10A governs nonconsensual towing from a parking lot, defined as a privately owned facility of 3 or more spaces that is accessible to…

Massachusetts caps what a tow company can charge you after a nonconsensual tow. Under 220 CMR 272.03(1) the maximum charge for towing a passenger automobile up to five miles is $132.00…

Michigan regulates nonconsensual towing through the Michigan Vehicle Code, 1949 PA 300. MCL 257.252k makes an owner or lessor of private real property post a sign at every vehicular…

Minnesota Statutes chapter 168B governs nonconsensual towing and impoundment. It sets no cap on hookup, mileage, storage, or gate fees, and it creates no drop fee for an owner who…

Mississippi split its towing law in two. A 2024 chapter, Miss. Code Ann. Sec. 63-37-1 through Sec. 63-37-15, bans drop fees, requires posted signage and written property-owner…

Missouri lets a private lot tow a car without calling police only when the real property owner, the lessee in lawful possession, or a full-time property or security manager is…

Montana regulates who may tow far more tightly than what they may charge. The Professional Tow Trucks part, Mont. Code Ann. §§ 61-8-901 through 61-8-920, sets no cap on hookup…

Nebraska regulates tows from private restricted parking lots at Neb. Rev. Stat. §§ 60-2401 to 60-2411. You may be charged only the reasonable cost of towing and storage, the tower must…

In Nevada a vehicle may be towed from private property without the owner's consent only if the property owner or an authorized agent signs a specific request, the area is properly…

New Hampshire sets no dollar limit on a hookup, mileage or storage charge. RSA 262:35-a, I requires only that every fee for a tow ordered by an authorized official or taken from…

New Jersey's Predatory Towing Prevention Act, N.J.S.A. 56:13-7 et seq., and its implementing rule, N.J.A.C. 13:45A-31, control every non-consensual tow in the state. A private property…

New Mexico regulates every nonconsensual tow through 18.3.12 NMAC, a rule the New Mexico Department of Transportation reissued effective July 1, 2024. A towing service may not touch a…

New Yorkers outside New York City who get towed or booted from a private lot rely on General Business Law 399-v, not a statewide rate cap. The law applies only to lots with capacity…

North Carolina's private-lot towing statute, G.S. 20-219.2, is not a statewide rule: it applies only in 13 named counties, including Wake, Mecklenburg, Guilford, Forsyth, and…

North Dakota regulates nonconsensual towing through chapter 23.1-15 of the Century Code, the Abandoned Motor Vehicles chapter administered by the Department of Environmental Quality. A…

R.C. 4513.601 governs only private-lot tows a property owner orders without police involvement; it does not reach police-ordered tows off residential or farm land, which fall under the…

Oklahoma caps what a wrecker may charge for any nonconsensual tow, from a public road or a private lot, and the Oklahoma Corporation Commission sets those maximums by order. Under the…

If you reach your car before the tow truck has finished hooking up, Oregon requires the tower to release it at no charge under ORS 98.853(2)(a); once the hookup is complete the tower…

A Pennsylvania private parking lot cannot tow you unless it is posted. Under 75 Pa.C.S. § 3353(b)(2) the trespass-parking rule does not reach a private parking lot at all unless the…

Rhode Island lets a property owner have a trespassing vehicle towed without going to court, but only through a certificated tower retained in writing, and the impoundment lot must be…

South Carolina caps no towing charge. There is no statutory or regulatory ceiling on a hookup fee, mileage rate or daily storage rate, and no statewide drop fee for returning to your…

South Dakota sets no maximum hookup, mileage, or daily storage rate for a nonconsensual tow, requires no drop fee, and mandates no warning signs at private lots. What it does regulate…

Tennessee rewrote its towing law twice in two years. The Modernization of Towing, Immobilization, and Oversight Normalization Act of 2025, at T.C.A. §§ 55-31-101 to 55-31-307, deleted…

Texas Occupations Code chapter 2308 sets the statewide rules for nonconsent towing and vehicle booting. A vehicle owner has 14 business days to demand a hearing in the justice court…

Utah caps what a nonconsensual tow can cost and how long you can be made to wait. Under the 2026 Non-Consent Towing Fee Schedule that UDOT publishes under Utah Code § 72-9-603(16), a…

Virginia puts the ceiling on a nonconsensual tow in the Code itself rather than in an agency tariff. Va. Code § 46.2-1233.1 A caps the hookup and initial towing fee for a passenger car…

Washington caps what a private-property tow can cost. Under RCW 46.55.118, a class A, D or E tow truck operator's filed hourly towing rate cannot exceed 135 percent of the State…

A tow you did not ask for is regulated in West Virginia as common carriage. W. Va. Code § 24A-2-2a makes it unlawful to tow wrecked or disabled vehicles for hire without registering…

Wisconsin caps what a towing service may charge you after a nonconsensual tow from private property. Wis. Admin. Code § Trans 319.03(1) limits removal to $150 regardless of the…

Wyoming sets no dollar cap on hookup, mileage, winching or storage charges, has no statutory drop fee, and requires no warning sign at a private lot. What it does instead is shift the…