Evansville, IN Parking Rules: Towing & Impound Rights (2026)

EMC 8.10.320 sets the trigger for a nuisance impound in Evansville. A motor vehicle operated with the owner's permission, express or implied, that is used in the commission of an act for which the operator is charged with any misdemeanor or felony may be seized and impounded, and the owner is considered to have committed the nuisance whether or not the operator's arrest was custodial. Article IV of Chapter 8.10 was added by Ord. G-2017-32, passed November 14, 2017.

Notice is defined in EMC 8.10.310 as either a written document served on the operator in person or a written document mailed to the owner, and the definition states that an operator or owner may not waive that right to notice. Under EMC 8.10.330(A) the Police Department hands the nuisance determination to the operator when the operator is also the owner, and mails it to the owner otherwise.

The money side is where Evansville goes beyond the bare Indiana framework. EMC 8.10.330(B) requires the designated towing service to assess a City administrative fee of $100.00 against the owner on top of all other towing charges, and subsection (C) authorizes a further towing administrative fee of $25.00. Subsection (D) requires both to be itemized within the towing bill rather than buried in a lump sum, and subsection (E) makes the owner liable for the towing bill before the towing service will release the vehicle. Subsection (F) then tracks the money: the towing service forwards the $100.00 City fee to the Police Department within 30 days of collection, the Police Department remits it to the City Controller's Office for deposit into the general fund, the towing service keeps the $25.00 fee, and the towing service is not liable for the City fee when a vehicle goes unclaimed by the owner of record and the fee cannot be collected.

EMC 8.10.340 is the owner's remedy. The appeal must be in writing and filed with the Police Chief or a designee within 10 days of the date of the notice of violation. The Board of Public Safety hears it within 30 days of receiving the notice of appeal, and its decision is final. The Board may reverse, affirm or modify the nuisance determination and holds all the powers of the official, officer or body that issued it. The question at the hearing is whether probable cause exists to believe a violation occurred; evidence of a determination in the related criminal matter may be considered but is not necessary for the Board to reach a decision. If the owner prevails, the Controller's Office refunds the $100.00 City fee within 60 days and the towing service refunds the $25.00 fee directly to the owner within that same 60-day period.

Evansville does not publish tow rates or storage rates of its own in the Municipal Code. The hook and storage charges themselves come from the towing contracts the Board of Public Safety is authorized to enter under EMC 8.10.130, and for commercial nonconsensual towing from the Indiana caps at IC 24-14. Other chapters authorize towing on their own terms. EMC 10.15.430(E) allows a vehicle left in a properly designated accessible parking space for more than four hours to be towed as a public nuisance, and 10.15.430(F) lets the owner obtain its release on adequate proof of ownership by paying towing and storage charges as established by the Board of Public Safety, with both refunded if a challenge shows the citation was not properly issued and the owner executes the claim form required by the State Board of Accounts. EMC 10.15.450(C) permits a tow from parks property only where a notice is posted warning that violators may be towed at the owner's expense, or the vehicle obstructs traffic flow or another vehicle, or it is improperly parked in a fire lane or presents a danger.