Orange County, FL Parking Rules: Towing & Impound Rights (2026)

Reach first, because Orange County answers it in its own text. Sec. 35-53(a) says the trespass towing ordinance "shall be effective throughout the unincorporated area of Orange County, and within any municipality as provided by Section 704 of the Orange County Charter," with one carve-out: if a municipality adopts its own ordinance on the same subject matter, activity, or conduct, the county rules stop applying inside that city. The county also disclaims any duty to police the ordinance inside municipal limits while reserving the right to enforce it where it deems necessary. Orlando, Winter Park and Apopka can each therefore displace this chapter by legislating for themselves, and Orlando has. Note the narrower wording one section later: the rate schedule in Sec. 35-58(a) is expressly keyed to tows whose point of origin is in the unincorporated territory.

The schedule itself is printed in the code and priced by four weight classes. Class A runs through 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight, or a vessel 15 feet or under; Class B is 10,001 to under 19,500 pounds; Class C is 19,500 to under 25,000; Class D is above 25,000. A trespass tow is a flat $135 for Class A, $250 Class B, $375 Class C and $500 Class D. A nonconsensual tow, meaning a crash or disabled-vehicle removal rather than a private-lot tow, is $135, $315, $400 and $550 by class, plus $4 to $8 per mile and $39 to $153 for each 15-minute block of on-scene time past the first 30 minutes. Storage is $32, $44, $76 and $76 per day. A boot is $22 per day including installation and removal, and a $7 research fee is allowed only when the registration has expired. The board of county commissioners may change any of these maximums by resolution under Sec. 35-58(d), so the printed figures are the ceilings as amended by Ord. No. 2023-16, adopted April 11, 2023.

What may not be added is the more useful half of the section. A $40 dolly charge is permitted on a Class A nonconsensual tow and nothing else: Sec. 35-58(b) names double hook-up, vehicle entry when locked, dropping transmission linkage, axle or drive shaft removal, dollies, flat beds, lifts, slim jims, go jacks, removing bumpers, fuel, mileage, copying paperwork, gate fees, and fees for driving the vehicle out of the storage facility as charges that may not be made. A tractor trailer counts as the tow of one vehicle, and a boat or car riding on the towed vehicle is part of its load rather than a second tow. Two extras survive: a one-time $15 tarpaulin fee where cover is genuinely needed to protect the interior from weather, and a $50 administrative fee plus actual state charges, chargeable only after the first 48 hours of fee storage and only once the operator has executed and mailed the lien notice required by Fla. Stat. 713.78.

Storage runs free for the first 24 hours on a trespass tow and the first six hours on a nonconsensual tow, measured from delivery to the yard, and afterward accrues in 24-hour increments rather than by calendar day, so an overnight tow cannot be billed as two days. Florida sets no statewide dollar cap on any of this. Fla. Stat. 125.0103 is the delegation that lets a county fix maximum rates for towing and storage in the first place, and Fla. Stat. 715.07 is the trespass towing framework the ordinance cross-references throughout.

Catch the truck before it leaves and Sec. 35-56(i) puts the car back on the ground. The operator must stop when a person seeks return of the vehicle, and may not tow or charge at all unless the driver refuses to move it or the vehicle has already been fully connected. In that case the drop fee is capped at one-half of the applicable Sec. 35-58 rate, which is $67.50 on a Class A trespass tow. The operator has to wait a minimum of 15 minutes at the scene for the owner to secure payment, accept that payment at the site of the tow rather than at the yard, take any of the payment methods listed in Sec. 35-56(o)(1), and disconnect and return control of the vehicle within 20 minutes of being paid. Sec. 35-57(j) forbids demanding a drop fee at all if the connected vehicle exceeds the gross vehicle weight capability of the tow truck.

Recovery from the yard is scripted just as tightly. The storage site may not be more than 10 miles from the point of the tow, must be open for retrieval from at least 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. on any day the company tows, and must have a telephone staffed 24 hours a day that tells a caller before they set out what documents are needed, the exact charges as of that moment and the rate at which they will accumulate, the accepted payment methods, whether an ATM is on site and what it costs, and that the vehicle can be picked up within one hour of request. Cash, money order, cashier’s check and major debit and credit cards must all be taken, with no additional charge for card payment and change given to the closest whole dollar. Release must follow in no event more than 30 minutes after payment. Inspection of the vehicle and retrieval of unaffixed personal property are free and must be allowed whether or not payment is being made, and no waiver of liability may be demanded as a condition of either. An expired registration cannot be made a precondition of release. A booted vehicle may not be towed until at least four hours have elapsed, and no one may be made to travel more than half a mile to pay a boot release.

The notices carry Orange County’s own markers. Tow-away signs need light-reflective four-inch "Tow-Away Zone" lettering, the words "Strictly Enforced," a citation to "Chapter 35, Orange County Code and Section 715.07, Florida Statutes," and a county-supplied QR code at least one inch square alongside the words "For more information, go to www.ocfl.net/parking or scan this code." The sign structure must stand 3 to 6 feet above ground and be in place for at least 24 hours before any tow. At the pay window the rate schedule must be posted in two-inch letters, above a half-inch notice telling the owner that a wrongfully towed car can be released by posting a bond in the circuit court instead of paying the bill, and giving Orange County 311 at 407-836-3111 as the complaint line. Every trespass tow and immobilization must be reported to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office within 30 minutes of completion, with a case number obtained at the time of reporting, and Sec. 35-56(h)(3) requires that report even if the owner reclaims the car within 30 minutes of its arrival at the yard.