Annapolis, MD Parking Rules: Towing & Impound Rights (2026)

Only a police officer, a parking enforcement officer, or "the authorized agent" may order a tow, and Section 12.20.210.A lists eight grounds for one: a parking or meter violation where the area is posted "Tow Zone" or "Cars Impounded"; sitting in a municipal off-street facility for more than 48 consecutive hours or beyond the time prepaid; violating Sections 12.20.010, 12.20.020, 12.20.030, 12.20.110 or 12.20.200; standing as a menace or obstacle to traffic or to emergency operations; carrying five or more municipal parking citations issued within one year that were adversely adjudicated or are uncontested and remain unsatisfied; blocking a fire lane or occupying a space reserved for a person with a disability or for plug-in electric vehicle charging; abandonment on public property as defined by Maryland Transportation Article Section 25-201; or standing 48 consecutive hours while unregistered in Maryland. Once the vehicle is hooked, Section 12.20.210.B obliges the City or its authorized agent to make reasonable efforts to tell the owner where it went.

Getting it back runs through Section 12.20.220. The vehicle may not be released until the Police Department has verified it is not stolen and every outstanding municipal parking fine plus the towing and storage charges have been paid, and the owner must be handed written notice of the hearing right. That hearing is before the Chief of Police or the authorized agent and must be held no later than 48 hours after the written request is received. An owner unhappy with the outcome has ten days to file a notice of appeal with the Board of Appeals, which then has 30 days to hold a hearing and decide. Meanwhile the car does not have to sit in the yard: the owner may redeem it by posting an appeal bond in the full amount of all fines and charges claimed, and the bond is forfeited at the end of the appeal except for whatever portion the decision finds was erroneously or improperly assessed. No fine or towing or storage charge may be refunded except through this procedure.

The money comes from the Council's Fees Schedule, printed in the Code appendix under the heading "STANDARD TOWING AND STORAGE FEES / Pursuant to Section 7.52.120" with the notice that "These fees are collected by the towing company and not by the City." Road service such as a tire change, jump start or door unlock is $50.00 at any hour. A tow to the yard or police station is $150.00 for a car, van or pick-up, with no extra charge for unlocking the vehicle, disconnecting the linkage, or using dollies, and $175.00 for a truck or trailer over 3/4-ton capacity. Storage is $20.00 per day after 24 hours for a motorcycle, car, van or pick-up. Winching a car runs $40.00 per half hour during the day and $47.00 per half hour at night, weekends and holidays. Waiting time beyond 15 minutes is $10.00 per quarter hour by day and $15.00 per quarter hour otherwise. The release charge itself is $7.00 during the day and $20.00 outside it, and storage lots must be open to release vehicles weekdays 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. and Saturdays 8:00 a.m. to noon, holidays excepted, with other times by arrangement.

The minimum-charge rules protect a driver who catches the truck in time. If the vehicle is removed by its lawful operator or owner before the tow truck arrives, "there shall be no charge imposed by the towing company." If the owner turns up and agrees to move it, the charge is $25.00 before coupling and $35.00 after coupling, and only if a dolly was used. Refusing to pay lets the company proceed with the tow. During a weather-related emergency declared for the City by the Annapolis Police Department a 25 percent surcharge may be added to the basic tow, and a $25.00 administrative fee may be charged on a vehicle not claimed by the next business day.

Who shows up is also regulated. Under Section 7.52.080 the City Clerk supplies the Police Department and the Department of Transportation with the list of licensed operators, calls rotate, and if a truck has not arrived within 20 minutes and cannot arrive within another five, the department moves to the next company on the list. A licensee must post a $25,000 bond to cover damage while the vehicle is in its possession, must hold off-street storage within one mile of the City limits, and must letter its trucks with the owner's name and address in characters at least four inches high.

Private and commercial lots are handled separately. Section 12.28.050.B requires a gated lot, or one that immobilizes vehicles or otherwise prevents them from leaving after unpaid or unauthorized parking, to post signs describing the retention method, a phone number for release, and "the maximum amount that the owner of the vehicle may be charged for its release," at a density of at least one sign per 7,500 square feet. Section 12.28.160 then requires either an attendant authorized to release immediately on payment of posted fees or a phone number answered by a human operator 24 hours a day, seven days a week, that dispatches someone to release the vehicle within one hour. Residential permit districts have their own escalator: Section 12.32.190.A says that upon four violations within one year the violator's vehicle is subject to being towed, while the Council's Fines Schedule entry for the same section states that impoundment follows more than five violations in a 12-month period.