Miami-Dade County, FL Parking Rules: Towing & Impound Rights (2026)

Article III of Chapter 30 of the Code of Miami-Dade County is one of the few Florida towing regimes that publishes real numbers, and that is by design: Fla. Stat. § 715.07 requires posted rates but sets no statewide ceiling, and § 715.07(2)(b) leaves rate regulation to counties and municipalities. Section 30-476(a) puts that power in the Board of County Commissioners and directs that the maximums apply uniformly throughout Miami-Dade, in incorporated and unincorporated areas alike, except where a municipality has established differing maximum rates under Fla. Stat. §§ 125.0103 or 166.043. Section 30-478 reinforces this: the article is the exclusive towing regulation in the county and supersedes contrary municipal ordinances, with one carve out, namely that Sections 30-473, 30-474, 30-475 and 30-479 do not apply inside a municipality that has adopted and maintains its own ordinances governing the same matters. For a driver towed anywhere in the county, the county schedule is the starting point unless the city where it happened wrote its own.

Rates run by class, and Section 30-461 defines class by gross vehicle weight: Class A up to 10,000 pounds, Class B from 10,001 to 19,500, Class C from 19,501 to 26,000, Class D at 26,001 and above. For a private property trespass tow the ceilings are $145.00 for Class A, $208.65 for Class B, $296.50 for Class C and $377.50 for Class D. Class A carries no ancillary fees whatsoever. The heavier classes may add per towed mile after the first five miles at $3.50, $4.50 and $5.50, plus extra labor or waiting time at the scene after the first half hour at $41.25, $58.75 and $75.00 per quarter hour. Government and police directed tows use the same base rates with a different mileage ladder of $3.80, $4.40, $5.90 and $7.00, and waiting time of $36.25, $52.40, $73.90 and $94.60. Lowboy service is capped at $270.00 for hook up and the first half hour, dollies at $40.00 per job, and underwater recovery salvage divers at $143.75 for the first hour per diver. Storage is $27.60 per day outside or $33.90 inside for a car or trailer up to 20 feet, $48.40 and $54.65 over 20 feet, and $13.65 and $16.20 for motorcycles and scooters, with nothing charged at all if the vehicle is held under six hours. An administrative fee of $38.20 per vehicle attaches after the first 24 hours, and the county adds its own $15 administrative fee to any tow requested by the Miami-Dade Police Department. A boot comes off for $65.00, or $32.50 if the immobilization operator is still at the scene. Under subsection (d)6 the government tow and miscellaneous rates rise annually by the change in the Consumer Price Index or three percent, whichever is less.

The signs are what authorize a private property tow in the first place. Section 30-474(a) requires a permanently installed sign structure at each driveway access or curb cut within five feet of the public right-of-way line, or one sign for every 25 feet of lot frontage where there are no curbs, with the bottom no less than four feet and the top no more than ten feet above ground level, maintained for at least 24 hours before any towing. The words "tow-away zone" must appear in light reflective letters at least four inches high; the warning that unauthorized vehicles will be towed at the owner's expense, the towing days and hours, and the tower's name and telephone number must be at least two inches; the storage site address at least one inch. Section 30-475(b) lets a property owner order a tow without liability where the vehicle has sat unauthorized for more than 48 hours, or where the signage above is in place, and Section 30-475(d) requires that owner to ascertain the tower's current towing license number before calling. If the driver arrives before the vehicle is hooked up, the tow stops; once a complete mechanical connection exists, Section 30-474(d)(2) allows a drop fee of no more than half of the posted rate, which is the same ratio Fla. Stat. § 715.07 sets.

Retrieval is scripted in detail. The tower must notify the Miami-Dade Police Department within 30 minutes of completing the removal with the storage site, the time, and the vehicle's make, model, color, VIN and license plate, and must take the vehicle directly to its own storage site with no temporary holding area. Storage must be within a ten-mile radius of the point of removal, or within 20 miles if no licensed tower operates inside ten. The yard is open for retrieval from at least 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Monday through Friday, must post an after-hours phone number, must have its operator return to the site within one hour of a telephoned request, and must release the vehicle within half an hour of an in-person request. Section 30-473(j) gives the owner the right to inspect the vehicle immediately on arrival and before paying anything, and to remove any personal possessions inside but not affixed to it, with the operator required to assist and no release or waiver permitted as a condition of release. Section 30-473(k) requires the operator to accept cash, money order or traveler's check, bank, debit or major credit card, a personal check showing the owner's name and address, and, as of July 16, 2023, digital payment such as Zelle, PayPal, Venmo, Apple Pay or Cash App, and no more than one current government photo ID may be demanded.