Boise, ID Parking Rules: Towing & Impound Rights (2026)

Chapter 16 of Title 3 is titled Nonconsent Towing Services, and section 3-16-7 states that the figures in the chapter are maximums for the release of a vehicle towed without the owner's consent. The tow fee schedule at 3-16-7-1 is unusual in being flat: $180.00 for light duty vehicles of three quarters of a ton or less, $180.00 for medium duty vehicles on a one ton chassis or larger, and $180.00 for heavy duty vehicles such as semitractor trailers and buses. Daily storage at 3-16-7-2 is likewise $50.00 whether the vehicle is a sedan or a bus, and storage may not keep accruing past sixty days or past the date the registered owner mails notice of intent to relinquish title to the appropriate government agency. Section 3-16-7-3 allows three add-ons and no others: a $70.00 after hours gate fee for retrieval between 5:00 P.M. and 8:00 A.M. Monday through Friday and at any hour on a Saturday, Sunday or City holiday; mileage at $6.00 per mile from the tow location to the tower's nearest impound lot; and labor at $120.00 per hour for light and medium duty and $360.00 per hour for heavy duty. Licensees must take major credit cards as well as cash, and may add a four percent administrative fee on card payments.

Boise also caps the drop fee. Under 3-16-4-9 a tow operator must release the vehicle on request if it has not yet left the tow location and the driver can lawfully move it. The operator may demand the full tow fee only if the vehicle was already attached to the truck and in position to be towed before the request. If it was not attached, the most the operator may require is $75.00 plus one way mileage from the storage lot, and the operator must allow reasonable accommodation for the driver to go get that money.

Where the vehicle ends up is fixed too. Section 3-16-4-8 requires delivery to a locked, lighted and secure impound lot inside Boise city limits or its area of impact, or inside the city limits of Meridian or Garden City. Section 3-16-3-2(J) requires that lot to be fenced in chainlink, steel or concrete at least six feet high, and requires the licensee to keep an agent on site at all times or post a visible phone number, with the agent obliged to come out day or night so an owner can recover the vehicle or personal property. Service may be refused only for a documented safety issue, defined as obvious intoxication or aggressive behavior, and the licensee must report that refusal in writing to the Police Department the next business day. Section 3-16-3-4 requires the tower to keep an itemized statement of services and fees for every nonconsent tow and to hand a free copy to the registered owner on request. For a tow from private property, 3-16-4-6 requires the licensee to notify the Police Department as soon as practicable with the make, model and plate of the vehicle, where it was taken from, and who authorized the tow.

The rate schedule and the drop fee were both last amended by Ordinance 18-26, passed May 19, 2026. The codifier still prints a publisher's note on the chapter headings for 3-16-3 and 3-16-4 saying that ordinance is not yet fully incorporated, so a reader relying on a licensing detail should confirm the current text with the City Clerk.