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Durham, NC Parking Rules: Towing & Impound Rights (2026)

Some Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Non-collision rotation tow
$125.00 maximum
Basic collision tow
$225.00 maximum, includes dollies and basic winching
Collision tow with recovery services
$325.00 maximum
After-hours release or property retrieval
$50.00 maximum
Daily storage
$35.00 per day, or $75.00 per heavy-duty vehicular unit, starting 8:00 a.m. the day after the tow
DMV filing fee
$75.00, only if form ENF-260 is filed on or after the 10th day of storage
Administrative fee
$20.00 maximum
Wheel-lock removal fee
$50.00 immobilization fee, Fee Schedule Part 12-102
Overcharge penalty
Misdemeanor plus $200.00 first offense, $400.00 each later offense

Summary

Durham puts hard dollar ceilings on a nonconsensual tow, which North Carolina does not do statewide. Fee Schedule Part 12-104 caps a police-initiated rotation wrecker tow at $125.00 for a non-collision tow, $225.00 for a basic collision tow and $325.00 when recovery services are needed, sets storage at $35.00 a day for a vehicle under 10,000 pounds, and limits the charge for releasing a vehicle or letting an owner retrieve personal property outside business hours to $50.00. Those caps do not reach the tow charge for a heavy-duty vehicle, a private-lot tow, or a tow that follows a wheel lock for unpaid parking tickets.

Pursuant to City Code Section 50-391, the following maximum charges are allowed and apply to police-initiated (Durham rotation wrecker request) nonconsensual tows in the City. (a) Towing of vehicles as a result of Durham rotation wrecker request: Non-collision tows: maximum charge of $125.00 Basic collision tows (includes use of dollies and basic winching): maximum charge of $225.00 Collision tows requiring recovery services (recovery services are for over-turned vehicles, fatality crashes, use of snatch blocks, or the removal of a vehicle from an embankment or beyond the roadway and its shoulder/right-of-way): maximum charge $325.00 (b) Release of vehicle or retrieval of personal property outside of the tow truck operator's regular business hours: Maximum charge of $50.00 (c) Storage of vehicle: ... $35.00 charge for non-heavy-duty vehicle will apply after 8:00 a.m. the following day, then $35.00 each day or portion of a day thereafter $75.00 charge for each heavy-duty vehicular unit (1 tractor = 1 vehicular unit and 1 trailer = 1 vehicular unit) will apply after 8:00 a.m. the following day, then $75.00 each day or portion of a day thereafter (d) DMV filing fee: Maximum charge of $75.00 ... (e) Administrative Fee: Maximum charge of $20.00 (f) Heavy-duty tow fee: ... The maximum charges in this part do not apply to the towing of a heavy-duty vehicle. However, sections (b), (c), (d) and (e) of this part ... apply to heavy-duty vehicles.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 36).

Full Breakdown

The caps live in the City of Durham Fee Schedule rather than in Chapter 50, and they bite only on the narrow class City Code Section 50-391 describes: a tow by an operator on the city's rotation wrecker list responding to a police-initiated request, meaning a severe accident, an arrest, or an officer's order where the driver cannot consent. 00 administrative fee, and daily storage. The DMV fee is conditional rather than automatic. The operator may charge it only if it actually reports the vehicle as unclaimed, and only by completing DMV form ENF-260 on or after the tenth day of storage, delivering it to the Division of Motor Vehicles and keeping a copy on file for review.

Storage does not begin at the moment of the tow. the following day, then for each day or portion of a day after that. A heavy-duty vehicle is defined as 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight or more, and Part 12-104(f) exempts the tow charge itself for those vehicles while keeping the release, storage, DMV and administrative ceilings in force. Getting the vehicle back runs through Chapter 66, Article VI, Division 3. Section 66-398 makes all towing-in, storage, advertising and other charges a lien on the vehicle and states that no impounded vehicle shall be released until all such charges have been paid.

Section 66-399 puts the notice duty on the police chief or a designated officer, requires written notice to the registered owner at the last address on file with the Division of Motor Vehicles, and requires the notice to describe the possible sale or other disposition of the vehicle. Where the vehicle carries no plates or identification, notice is instead published once in a county newspaper with the description, the place of storage, the reasons for the tow and the schedule of charges required for release.

Section 66-400 adds a custody rule: a locked vehicle stays locked at the storage facility until claimed, and an unlocked one has its contents listed, with one copy posted on the windshield and a record copy kept at public safety headquarters. Section 66-396 lets an owner who is present at the scene choose a garage or wrecker of their own preference instead of the city's contract operator. A separate and more expensive path applies to vehicles taken for unpaid tickets. 00 immobilization fee set in Fee Schedule Part 12-102, and if the penalties and that fee are not paid within 24 hours of attachment, tow the vehicle to a public or private lot.

The Part 12-104 caps do not apply there. Section 66-375(c) says a private contractor who tows and stores the vehicle may impose his or her customary fees and charges, so the ceiling is whatever that operator normally bills.

Violations & Fines

00 for a second and each subsequent violation. Rotation-list operators must post the permitted charges conspicuously at the business premises and inside every tow truck, and Section 50-391(b) requires that towing and storage fees for nonconsensual tows be payable by cash, debit card or credit card, so a cash-only demand at the impound gate is itself a violation. Section 50-389 gives an operator 30 minutes to reach the vehicle after a request, after which police or fire may call the next available wrecker and the city owes the late operator nothing.

each Wednesday, and violation is a misdemeanor. On the owner's side, Section 66-375(f) makes it a misdemeanor to remove a wheel lock or take a vehicle out of impoundment before all civil penalties and applicable charges are paid or an approved payment plan is in place. A vehicle owner who believes the immobilization or tow was wrong has seven calendar days from receiving the notice of impoundment to request a hearing in writing by certified mail or personal delivery, the hearing officer appointed by the city manager must issue a written report within three days, and improper charges are canceled or, if already paid, rebated.

Because the rotation list is run by the Durham Police Department, an overcharge complaint on a police-initiated tow goes there rather than to a consumer agency.

Frequently Asked Questions

Do Durham's tow fee caps apply if I was towed from a private parking lot?
No. Part 12-104 governs only police-initiated tows by an operator on the city's rotation wrecker list, so a private-lot tow is priced by the operator and the lot owner. North Carolina has no general rate cap either, only the requirement in G.S. 44A-2(d) that a towing lien be for reasonable charges. Durham is not left bare, though. The City of Durham is one of only four cities named in G.S. 20-219.2, alongside Jacksonville, Charlotte and Fayetteville, so that statute's private-lot protections do reach vehicles towed here. It requires signs no smaller than 24 inches by 24 inches prominently displayed at all entrances carrying the current name and current phone number of the towing and storage company, does not apply until 72 hours after those signs are posted, and requires the operator to tell the owner in writing at the time of retrieval that the owner may pay the amount of the lien, demand immediate possession, and still contest the towing charges. Stored vehicles must be kept within 15 miles of the removal site where storage is available locally, or 25 miles otherwise.
When does the storage clock start running in Durham?
Not at the moment of the tow. Part 12-104(c) says the $35.00 non-heavy-duty charge applies after 8:00 a.m. the following day, then $35.00 for each day or portion of a day after that. A vehicle towed at 11:00 p.m. and collected at 7:00 a.m. the next morning should carry no storage charge at all. Heavy-duty units run on the same clock at $75.00, counted per unit, so a tractor and its trailer are billed as two.
Can the impound lot refuse to release my car until I pay?
Yes. Section 66-398 makes all towing-in, storage, advertising and other charges a lien on the vehicle, and states plainly that no impounded vehicle shall be released until all such charges have been paid. Section 66-399 lets the owner regain possession by paying the city or the tow-in and storage provider all reasonable costs incidental to removal and storage. What the lot cannot do is refuse your card. Section 50-391(b) requires fees for a nonconsensual tow to be payable by cash, debit card or credit card.
Can I get my belongings out of the car after the office closes?
Durham prices that access rather than guaranteeing it free. Part 12-104(b) caps the charge for release of the vehicle or retrieval of personal property outside the tow truck operator's regular business hours at $50.00, and subsection (f) keeps that ceiling in place even for heavy-duty vehicles whose tow charge is uncapped. If the vehicle was locked when police had it towed, Section 66-400 requires it to stay locked at the storage facility until claimed. If it was unlocked, an inventory of the contents is posted on the windshield with a record copy held at public safety headquarters.
My car was booted for old parking tickets and then towed. Do the same caps apply?
No, and this is the gap most owners hit. Section 66-375 covers vehicles with three or more tickets unpaid and 90 days overdue. After the wheel lock goes on, you have 24 hours to pay the penalties and the $50.00 immobilization fee before the car can be towed to a public or private lot, and Section 66-375(c) allows a private contractor who tows and stores it to impose his or her customary fees and charges rather than the Part 12-104 schedule. You get a mailed notice of impoundment to the registered owner and any known lienholder, seven calendar days to ask for a hearing, and a written decision within three days of it, with improper charges canceled or rebated.
Is the printed fee schedule current?
Treat it as a dated snapshot. The published edition of the Durham Fee Schedule was revised August 2, 2022 and reflects City Council actions through August 1, 2022, and Part 12-104 itself traces to ordinance 15780 adopted February 15, 2021. The schedule states that ordinances adopted after August 1, 2022 that change fees are available from the City Clerk's office at 919-560-4166, so confirm the current amounts there or in the city's ordinance search before relying on a figure in a dispute.

Sources & Official References

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