Seattle, WA Parking Rules: Towing & Impound Rights (2026)

The private impound caps in SMC 6.214.220 are a single flat hourly rate and nothing else. Subsection A requires that hourly fee to be the only basis for computing charges on a Class A, D, or E private impound tow, and it must already include winching, dolly service, drive line removal, chains on the tow truck, portable lights, hookup, tire replacement and standby time, plus the labor of one person per truck. No additional labor charge is allowed on those truck classes. The first hour, or any part of it, bills at the full hourly rate; after that the fee rounds to the nearest fifteen minutes and no more than a quarter of the hourly rate may be charged per fifteen minutes of work. An uncompleted tow is billed the same way and only from dispatch until the car is released to the operator. Subsection C ties the $30.37 storage cap to a further limit: the Director's inflation adjustment may never push it above the maximum daily storage rate allowed by RCW 46.55.118(1)(b). All of these caps fall away if the towed vehicle was not parked and upright, was missing a wheel or tire, had a broken axle, or had been in a crash at that location.

SMC 6.214.230 controls whether the tow may happen at all. A private impound without the driver's consent is lawful only where the tow company holds a contract with the property owner, signs are posted per Chapter 46.55 RCW, the owner authorized removal of that particular vehicle under RCW 46.55.080, the car goes to a secure storage facility a reasonable distance from the lot, and the company has taken digital photographs showing the date and time, the vehicle as parked before hookup, that it sat on the contracted property, and that the signs were posted. The section does not apply to a vehicle blocking a driveway or garage entrance. Section 6.214.240 requires a sequentially numbered duplicate receipt itemizing every service, the tow truck's license or fleet number, and whether the tow was voluntary or involuntary and who requested it; records are held three years and the Director may inspect them without notice under 6.214.250. Seattle also levies a City impound fee of up to $15 per redemption on every private impound under 6.214.350.

City-ordered impounds follow SMC Chapter 11.30. Section 11.30.100.A gives the tow contractor 24 hours to mail first class notice to the last known and legal owners covering the impound, redemption and hearing rights. Redemption under 11.30.120.B means paying removal, towing and storage plus an administrative fee that 11.30.290.D says the Director sets by rule at no more than $100. A person may demand a hearing before a Municipal Court judicial officer by written request received within 10 days, counting weekends and holidays, of the mailed notice. If every redemption requirement is already met the car is released immediately and the hearing follows within 90 days; if not, the hearing must be held within two business days. A judicial officer who finds the impound improper orders immediate release and enters judgment against the City for fees already paid, and an appeal to Municipal Court is de novo if filed within 15 days with the district court filing fee. Section 11.30.180 bars any charge for standby time after the tow equipment arrives, and bars towing or storage charges on an investigatory hold redeemed within 48 hours of written notice. A vehicle unredeemed 15 days after the 11.30.100 notice is deemed abandoned under 11.30.200. The impound triggers are unusually specific: four or more parking infractions unresolved for at least 45 days under 11.30.040.A.7, an expired registration more than 45 days old on a public street, and 30, 60 or 90 day holds under 11.30.105 depending on the driver's prior suspended-license convictions.