Chattanooga, TN Parking Rules: Towing & Impound Rights (2026)

Article IV of Chapter 35, the Traffic Incident Management Service ordinance, runs two separate rate regimes. Private-property tows fall under Sec. 35-171. Before a vehicle can be taken, the wrecker must hold express written authorization from the property owner or a designated agent, the designation itself must be signed and in writing, and there may be no personal or business relationship between that agent and the tow company. No employee of the wrecker service may patrol a lot or place stickers deciding which cars get towed. The premises must carry conspicuous signage stating that unauthorized parking will result in towing, and giving the recovery location, the telephone number, the cost and the accepted forms of payment, though residential property containing four or fewer units is exempt from posting. The operator must notify the Chattanooga Police Department of the tow within one hour, electronically or by telephone, reporting the location it was taken from plus the VIN, plate, make, model and color, and must send written confirmation within two days if the car is still unclaimed. A one-time $15.00 processing fee is allowed only once a vehicle has been in storage more than ten days.

Police-rotation tows are priced separately by Sec. 35-160. A Class A tow of a passenger car or pickup is capped at $245.00 during the day and $273.00 at night, on weekends or on holidays, with daily storage of $35.00 after the first eight hours and no storage charge at all if the owner reclaims the vehicle inside those eight hours. A gate fee of $50.00 applies during business hours and $150.00 for an after-hours or emergency release, plus a $75.00 administration fee. Class B rates run $550.00 per hour and Class C $700.00 per hour, with tractor and trailer storage at $70.00 per day each and air bags at $1,500.00 per hour. The starred Class A figures carry an annual January increase tied to inflation that the Wrecker Board approves each year. Sec. 35-157 then requires the wrecker service to notify registered owners and lienholders within fifteen days of a city-ordered tow; a company that misses that deadline may collect only the cost of towing plus storage for the fifteen-day notice window. Vehicles the Police Department establishes as stolen are stored at half the normal rate. Chattanooga is divided into six wrecker districts under Sec. 35-161, and police calls rotate only among permitted operators holding an office and storage lot inside the district where the vehicle sits.