Paterson, NJ Parking Rules: Towing & Impound Rights (2026)

Paterson's towing rules sit in Chapter 453 of the City Code, adopted 4-28-2020 by Ord. No. 20-028, with the priced fee schedule at § 453-13 added later by Ord. No. 21-058 on 12-29-2021. The chapter covers the towers the Police Department dispatches from its rotation list, which is what makes it a non-consensual towing rule rather than a private contract. Its definition of a basic tow at § 453-1 bundles arriving at the site, 15 minutes' waiting time, hooking or loading, transport to the storage facility, unhooking and situating the vehicle in its space, plus the release paperwork, an itemized bill, and three trips to the vehicle in storage, including making it available to an insurance appraiser or adjuster. Nothing on that list may be billed as a separate line item.

The money is set by weight class. A light-duty hookup, meaning a vehicle up to 10,000 pounds, is $150. Medium duty from 10,001 to 16,000 pounds runs $250 per hour and heavy duty at 16,001 pounds and above runs $500 per hour. If the tow is never performed, the decoupling fee is half the basic rate. Road service without a tow is $125 per hour plus parts for cars and $175 per hour plus parts for trucks. Recovery and winching are charged on top of the tow, at $350 per hour for light and medium duty billed in half-hour increments of $175, and $600 per hour for heavy duty. Labor carries a one-hour minimum, with a certified towing operator at $125 per hour per man, manual laborers at $100 per hour per man, a recovery supervisor or Level III recovery specialist at $225 per hour, and minor accident cleanup at $75 per hour plus absorbent materials used. Storage is charged per calendar day: $45 for cars and light trucks in a ten-foot by twenty-foot space, $90 for dual-wheel or single-axle trucks, $125 per unit for tractors, dump trucks and tractor-trailer combinations, and $150 for buses. Indoor storage costs twice the outdoor rate. One internal tension is worth flagging: § 453-9B states flatly that there will be no mileage charge for vehicles towed, while the 2021 schedule at § 453-13C prints an on-hook mileage rate of $6 per loaded mile for light duty and lists mileage as not applicable for medium and heavy duty.

Several extras are capped rather than left open-ended. An after-hours release is $75. A notification documentation fee is $50. An administrative charge of $50 for cars may be imposed only after a third visit to the vehicle, which pairs with the three free trips built into the basic tow definition; the equivalent charge for a medium or heavy truck is $200. Tarping or wrapping a damaged vehicle is $90 per car and $250 per truck. Subcontractor work carries a 10% markup, and hazmat or trash recovery is surcharged 10%.

Getting the vehicle back is governed by § 453-7B. Vehicles must be available for release Monday through Friday from 9:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. and Saturday from 9:00 a.m. to 3:00 p.m., excluding legal holidays, although the storage-yard standard at § 453-2C(3) prints a Saturday closing of 12:00 p.m., so it is worth calling ahead late on a Saturday. Sunday and holiday hours are the tower's option, and if the yard stays shut no storage charge may be assessed provided the vehicle is picked up by noon on the following normal business day. A vehicle towed after 4:00 p.m. and claimed before 11:00 a.m. the next day is charged for one day of storage only. Vehicles impounded in police investigations involving stolen vehicles or fatal, serious or suspicious accidents draw no storage charges at all. Before the tower may hand a vehicle over, § 453-8B requires the claimant to first obtain a release from the Police Department. The tower must keep a record of all property found anywhere in the vehicle, including the trunk and glove compartment where opened or a key is available, and is responsible for safeguarding and releasing those contents.

Two disclosure duties protect the driver at the scene. Under § 453-9A(1) the tower must hand over a three-inch-by-five-inch preprinted card naming the company, its address, the storage location, pickup hours, phone number and the towing and storage rates, and must explain it to the owner or occupant; if nobody is present or able to receive it, the card goes to the officer who requested the tow for inclusion in the police report. The bill must state the time the vehicle reached the storage facility, list every service charged, be itemized in detail, and carry a statement that the claimant may complain to the City. Separately, § 453-7B(3) gives a driver a real out: if the City has summoned a rotation tower but the owner's own tow truck arrives before the vehicle is removed, the owner may take the vehicle at no cost to the owner or the City, and the City tower keeps its place in the rotation.

Complaints about overcharging, theft of parts, damage to a stored vehicle or discourteous treatment go to the Chief of Police under § 453-6. The tower has 48 hours from written notice to correct the violation or the Chief suspends or revokes the contract and removes it from the rotation immediately, and a tower whose license is revoked cannot reapply for three years. Fee disputes also route through the Chief under § 453-10. Violators of the chapter face up to 90 days' imprisonment, a fine up to $2,000, or up to 90 days of community service under § 453-11. If a registrant does not claim an impounded vehicle and pay the removal and storage costs by midnight of the 30th day after impoundment, § 453-12 lets the City add a $50 administrative fine and sell the vehicle at public auction, after certified-mail notice to the registrant and any lienholder and one newspaper insertion at least five days before the sale.

A separate and much harsher track runs under Chapter 466 for vehicles seized because police had probable cause the car was used to facilitate prostitution, assignation or lewdness under N.J.S.A. 2C:34, or a controlled dangerous substance offense under N.J.S.A. 2C:35. There the release price is $1,500 or 10% of the vehicle's blue book value, whichever is greater, plus towing and storage. The owner is entitled to written notice of the seizure and to a preliminary hearing within five days excluding weekends and legal holidays, with a final hearing no later than 30 days after seizure. A finding of no probable cause releases the car with no fees imposed. A decision may be appealed to the New Jersey Superior Court, Passaic County vicinage, within 30 days. If the fee goes unpaid or the vehicle is not retrieved within 180 days of the determination, the car is deemed abandoned and may be auctioned. Chapter 466 does not apply if the vehicle was stolen at the time it was subject to seizure, though the owner or the insurer still owes towing and storage.