Little Rock, AR Parking Rules: Towing & Impound Rights (2026)

Sec. 32-322 is the section that actually decides what happens to a Little Rock driver whose car is taken. Two triggers start it. Under (a)(1), the owner has an amount owed on outstanding or unsettled parking violation notices issued in the previous three years that are more than 30 days old, and one or more warrants have been issued against the owner for such a violation. Under (a)(2), $250.00 or more of unpaid parking fines, costs, or both from tickets issued in the previous three years is pending against the owner. The vehicle must be parked on public property or public right-of-way, and the immobilization is done by or under the direction of a certified law enforcement officer, the mayor, the city manager, or their designated "city designee."

The timing rules are where Little Rock departs from a plain tow ordinance. Under (e), if the car is not in an emergency, handicapped, or otherwise specially marked zone, the boot must stay on for at least 24 hours before the car can be moved, giving the owner a full day to pay; only if there is no compliance in that window is the vehicle "towed and impounded at the city impound lot." Under (f), a car booted in an emergency, handicapped or specially marked zone, or in a lane where parking is barred during certain hours, may be towed immediately. Under (g), an owner who has had another vehicle immobilized within the previous 12 months skips the boot stage entirely: the car is towed to the city impound lot at the owner’s expense and is not released until every outstanding fine, fee and cost is paid.

Getting the car back means depositing the collateral required to appear in court on each violation plus the total outstanding parking fines, or the fine or penalty amount where no collateral is set, and then paying the fees the section requires. The immobilization fee is $100.00 under (h)(1); towing and storage fees and costs are added on top under (h)(2) and are not fixed by amount anywhere in Chapter 32. The prescribed warning notice adds a further $50.00 charge for releases that occur after normal business hours and on holidays, and routes owners to the Parking Enforcement Section between 9:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. Monday through Friday and to the Little Rock Police Department desk sergeant at all other hours and on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays. The notice must be printed on highly visible paper and attached to the vehicle in a conspicuous place, and it is issued in the name of the Department of Public Works.

The appeal right in (d) is unusually specific. A request for a post-immobilization hearing must be made within 72 hours of the immobilization, may be delivered in person or electronically including by email to the city address on the immobilization notice, and the hearing itself is held by a hearing officer appointed by the mayor within 72 hours of receipt of the request. If that 72-hour period falls on a weekend, a holiday, or a day the city has released all but emergency staff for inclement weather, natural disaster or a public safety threat, the hearing moves to the first day the city is open. The hearing is civil in nature and will not adjudicate the underlying citation, and under (o) a successful appeal shifts the immobilization and towing costs to the city, though the owner still owes the fine amounts and court costs. Under (n), the fact that the owner was not driving is no defense, but proof that the owner lacked ownership, possession or control when the ticket was written is stated to be an absolute defense.

Separately, Sec. 32-43 gives the police department power to remove a car to the nearest garage or other place of safety, or to a garage designated or maintained by the police department, when it is left unattended on a bridge, viaduct or causeway or in a tunnel as an obstruction to traffic; when it is disabled on a highway and the person in charge is incapacitated by physical injury; when it is parked illegally as a definite hazard or obstruction; when it has stood continuously unattended on a street for more than 48 hours; and any time it sits in a prohibited area marked by signs. The department must immediately give the owner written notice of the removal, the reasons for it, and the place the vehicle went. If the owner cannot be identified and the car is not returned within three days, the department must file a written report of the removal with the state motor vehicle registration agency, including a full description of the vehicle, the date, time and place it was taken from, the reasons, and the name of the garage where it is stored.