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Kansas City, MO Parking Rules: Towing & Impound Rights (2026)

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

Key Facts

Free storage window
No storage charge if the vehicle is released within the first 24 hours after impound (Sec. 70-643(b))
Who sets the rates
City impound rates by the city manager with the neighborhoods and housing services director and the budget officer; non-consent tow caps by the director annually, adjusted by CPI-U (Secs. 70-643(b), 76-422(a))
Fee in lieu of towing
No more than one-half the regular tow fee, and only if the truck is hooked up with two tires off the ground on site (Sec. 76-422(c))
Refund application deadline
60 calendar days from the date of the tow, on the prescribed form (Sec. 70-644(b))
Hearing and decision clock
Hearing within 10 business days, determination within 3 business days, automatic refund if the decision is not postmarked within 4 business days (Sec. 70-644(c), (d))
What a refund covers
The initial tow fee plus up to 7 days of storage, or up to 14 days on proof of indigence (Sec. 70-644(g))
Appeal of a denial
Property maintenance appeals board within 15 calendar days of disapproval, under Sec. 56-341 et seq. (Sec. 70-644(h))
Boot removal cap
$75.00 maximum to remove a vehicle immobilization device, cards accepted with no surcharge (Sec. 76-433(a))

Summary

Kansas City prints no tow rate in its ordinances. The ceiling on non-consent towing, storage and retrieval fees is set annually by the director under Sec. 76-422(a), may not exceed the city tow and storage fees, and may be moved only against the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers, while rates at the city impound lot are fixed by the city manager under Sec. 70-643(b) on the advice of the neighborhoods and housing services director and the budget officer. What the code does fix is the owner's side of the transaction: no storage charge for the first 24 hours, retrieval around the clock, card payment with no surcharge, and a refund hearing on a clock measured in business days.

(b)The request for refund of tow and storage fees will be submitted to the director of neighborhoods and housing services department or designee, in writing on the prescribed refund of tow and storage fees application form within 60 calendar days from the date the vehicle was towed. The applicant may ask for review of the tow and storage fees to be conducted in writing, in person, or by telephone;(c)If the owner requests an in-person or telephone opportunity to be heard on their tow and storage fees refund request, the director of neighborhood and housing services department or designee will schedule the in-person or telephone hearing to be conducted within ten business days. ... If a mail decision is not postmarked within four business days, the owner shall receive a refund; ... (g)If the request for refund for tow and storage fees is approved, the applicant will be granted a refund of the initial tow fee and up to seven days of storage fees. If the applicant can prove indigence, the applicant will be granted a refund of the initial tow fee and up to 14 days of storage fees.(h)If the request for refund for tow and storage fees is disapproved, the applicant may file an appeal with the property maintenance appeals board pursuant to the provisions of 56-341 et seq. within 15 calendar days from the date of disapproval.

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 139 | Zoning and Development Code: Supplement 38).

Full Breakdown

Two different parts of the Kansas City code govern a tow you did not ask for, and which one applies depends on who ordered it. A tow ordered by a police officer or a city department runs under Chapter 70, Article VI. Section 70-642 lists fifteen circumstances in which an officer may remove a vehicle, including one parked in the same spot on a street for 48 continuous hours after a citation has been affixed, one left on an interstate or freeway for more than ten hours, and one bearing plates reported stolen. A vehicle properly displaying a disabled plate or placard issued under RSMo 301.071 or 301.142 is not subject to the 48 hour rule until it has sat for 120 hours. Section 70-643 then holds the vehicle until the owner or an authorized agent applies for it and pays towing and storage. The rate is not in the code: the city manager sets tow-in and storage charges with the advice of the director of the neighborhoods and housing services department and the budget officer, and must notify the city council in writing whenever those rates change. Storage begins to run the moment the vehicle is impounded, but nothing is charged if it is released inside the first 24 hours.

A tow ordered by a private property owner runs instead under Chapter 76, Article III, Division 5. Section 76-422(a) caps towing, storage and retrieval fees at amounts the director establishes annually, which may not exceed the city tow and storage fees and which the director may adjust only against the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. Charging more than that is itself an ordinance violation. Every tow business must separately file a price schedule with the director under Sec. 76-289, built on time, mileage, weight or a combination and stating a minimum charge, and must present that schedule to the customer before the tow is undertaken. If you reach your car before it leaves, Sec. 76-422(c) lets the operator collect no more than one-half the regular tow fee in lieu of towing, and only where the truck is already attached with at least two tires off the ground and the car still on the premises. The property owner who ordered the tow must complete the Missouri Director of Revenue abandoned property report described in RSMo 304.157.5, must be present in person, and the company must keep the written authorization for three years.

Recovery of the vehicle is regulated in unusual detail after the 2025 amendments. A storage facility must let towed vehicles be retrieved 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and may charge nothing extra to reclaim one (Sec. 76-424). Payment must be accepted in cash, in travelers' checks or money orders, and by Visa, MasterCard or Discover, with no added charge for using a card (Sec. 76-425). Under Sec. 76-426 the lot may require nothing beyond the lawful fees and proof of ownership: a title, bill of sale, valid temporary permit, lease, rental agreement or insurance document suffices, proof of current registration may not be demanded, insurance may be shown digitally, no appointment may be required, and a customer's demeanor on the phone or at the counter is not grounds to refuse release or to add storage charges. Receipts must itemize every fee and be kept five years. The same 2025 ordinance bars any tow company or impound lot from disabling or tampering with a towed vehicle's GPS or recording devices, and from holding a customer's keys or title as a condition of inspecting the car or retrieving belongings. Prescribed medication must be released on request even while the bill is unpaid.

Violations & Fines

Violations of Chapter 76, Article III are prosecuted as ordinance violations under Sec. 00, imprisonment of up to 30 days, or both. 00 and up to 180 days. The director may also suspend or revoke a tow business registration number or an operator's certificate, but only after a hearing under Sec. 76-403 on at least ten days' written notice served personally or by certified mail, with the right to counsel, to produce witnesses and to cross examine; no suspension takes effect for ten days after the order, and the decision may be taken up under Sec.

76-316. On the owner's side, abandoning a vehicle on a city street violates Sec. 00, and an unclaimed impounded vehicle may be sold at public auction after 30 days under Sec. 70-645.

Frequently Asked Questions

How much can a towing company charge in Kansas City?
The ordinance sets no dollar figure. For a tow from private property without your consent, Sec. 76-422(a) makes the director's annually established schedule the ceiling, which cannot exceed the city tow and storage fees and may be moved only by the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers. Each tow business must also file its own schedule with the director under Sec. 76-289, based on time, mileage, weight or a combination and including a minimum charge, and must present that schedule to the customer before the tow. Charging above the filed schedule, or above the director's cap, is an ordinance violation. Ask for the filed schedule and check it against the itemized receipt Sec. 76-426 requires.
Do I owe storage if I collect my car from the city lot the same day?
No. Section 70-643(b) starts the storage clock immediately on impound but assesses no storage charge at all if the vehicle or property is released to the owner within the first 24 hours. You still owe the tow-in charge, and if a traffic ticket was written the police will require a bond for the court appearance and for any outstanding warrants before releasing the vehicle.
The truck already had my car hooked up. Can I pay to stop the tow?
Yes, within limits. Section 76-422(c) says the vehicle shall not be towed if the owner is present and capable of removing it, and the owner then owes a reasonable fee not to exceed one-half of the regular towing fee. That drop fee applies only where the tow vehicle is attached to your car, your car has been lifted so at least two tires are off the ground, and it is still on the premises.
How do I get my money back if the tow was wrong?
Section 70-644 sets up a refund process rather than a pre-tow hearing. Apply in writing on the city's refund form to the director of neighborhoods and housing services within 60 calendar days of the tow, and ask for the review to be conducted in writing, in person or by telephone. A requested hearing is scheduled within ten business days, the determination follows within three business days, and if the mailed decision is not postmarked within four business days you receive the refund automatically. An approved refund covers the initial tow fee and up to seven days of storage, or fourteen days if you prove indigence. The listed grounds are a tow with no ticket, a ticket issued in error, an evidence hold that did not involve an arrest or ticket, a recovered stolen vehicle, and financial hardship. A denial goes to the property maintenance appeals board within fifteen calendar days.
What if I am found not guilty of the violation that caused the tow?
Section 70-644(e) makes the refund mandatory rather than discretionary: apply within 30 days of being found not guilty and a refund will be granted, even if an earlier application was denied. If the ticket was dismissed rather than tried, subsection (f) gives you 30 days from the dismissal unless you already filed within the ordinary 60 day window. Where no ticket was issued at all, Sec. 70-643(a) also preserves the owner's or lienholder's right to request a hearing under RSMo 304.156.5.
Can the impound lot refuse to release my car because my registration lapsed?
No. Section 76-426(b) bars any towing company or impound facility from imposing requirements beyond payment of lawful fees and verification of ownership or lawful possession. A title, bill of sale, valid temporary permit, lease, rental agreement or insurance documentation is enough regardless of whether the vehicle is registered with the department of revenue or more than 30 days have passed since the purchase, proof of current registration may not be required, and proof of insurance must be accepted in electronic or digital form. Subsection (c) also forbids requiring an appointment and forbids treating a customer's manner as a reason to withhold the vehicle.
My car was booted instead of towed. What are the rules?
Booting on a private lot sits in the same division of Chapter 76. Section 76-433(a) caps all charges to remove a vehicle immobilization device at $75.00 and requires Visa, Discover or MasterCard to be accepted with no extra fee for card use, plus a receipt on request. Section 76-432(b)(3) requires immobilization services to operate 24 hours and to respond to a release request within one hour, and the notice taped to the driver's side window must give the maximum removal fee, the time and reason for the boot, and the fact that excessive charges should be reported to the police department. Emergency vehicles may not be immobilized at all.

Sources & Official References

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