Virginia Beach, VA Parking Rules: Towing & Impound Rights (2026)

City Code Chapter 21, Article IV, Division 3 governs tows taken from privately owned lots at the request of the property owner and without the vehicle owner's consent. Section 21-401 limits the Division to exactly that situation, so the figures below are the ones that apply when a car is hooked up in an apartment, condominium or shopping center lot rather than seized by police.

Section 21-407(a) sets the basic towing fee by gross vehicle weight rating: $211.00 at 10,000 pounds or less, $369.00 from 10,001 to 17,999 pounds, and $606.00 at 18,000 pounds or more. That basic fee is stated to be inclusive of additional towing services such as the use of a dolly, and subsection (e) bars any mileage charge or any other fee on top of it. The same subsection requires operators to provide change for cash payments, which closes the old trick of demanding exact bills.

Storage is free for the first 24 hours under section 21-407(b). After that the ceiling is $63.00 per 24-hour period for a vehicle at 10,000 pounds or less, $79.00 for 10,001 to 17,999 pounds, and $105.00 at 18,000 pounds or more. Delays caused by storage yard personnel are excluded from the storage computation. If a vehicle sits unredeemed for 72 hours, section 21-407(c) lets the operator add a title and lienholder search fee capped at $105.00.

Section 21-405(a) is the provision most owners actually need. A driver who returns after the tow truck arrives but before the vehicle leaves the lot may reclaim it whether or not it is fully hooked up, and refusing to release it is unlawful. Hooking up is defined as unreeling towing equipment after the truck is positioned, or lowering a hydraulic lift in preparation for loading. The drop fee is capped at $25.00. If the driver cannot or will not pay, the tow may proceed, but the operator must let the driver take personal items out first, and no drop fee may be demanded unless the operator first hands the driver a copy of section 21-405. A police officer may order the vehicle released with no payment where it is needed as evidence or where refusing would likely breach the peace.

Ordinance No. 3837, adopted January 20, 2026, added section 21-407.1 for police towing requests, using the definition in Va. Code section 46.2-1217. For a vehicle at 10,000 pounds or less the police-tow fee is $250.00 non-accident and $300.00 accident, plus $25.00 between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. and on weekends and holidays, plus $100.00 where recovery or winching is required. Police directed private property impound tows and police directed resort permit parking tows run on a separate table: $250.00 tow and a $50.00 drop fee for the lightest class, rising to $600.00 and $150.00 at 18,000 pounds and above.

Once the vehicle is gone, section 21-406 gives the tow service 30 minutes from removal to notify emergency communications and citizen services by calling 3-1-1 or 385-3111, reporting the storage yard location and the number the owner should call. Section 21-408 requires the yard to post a sign showing tow and storage rates, and where no attendant is on duty around the clock, a telephone number reachable at any hour so the vehicle can be recovered in a minimum amount of time, not to exceed two hours. The yard must be illuminated during darkness and fenced when unattended.

Section 21-410 backs those release rules with hard prohibitions. Making an owner wait more than two hours for release is a violation in itself, including delay caused by failure to answer the operator's own listed number. During the first 24 hours the operator may not deny access to remove personal items; after that it must allow access once per day between 8:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m. A vehicle may not be moved to any intermediate storage location, and it may not be taken outside the city for the first 24 hours without police notification and approval, unless the out-of-city yard is closer, the operator is licensed in both cities, charges no more than the Virginia Beach cap, and invoices the tow in Virginia Beach.

Every fee collected requires a legible monetary receipt showing the time, date and place of the tow, the operator's name and the company name, and each receipt must carry the printed line telling the owner that the company is required to offer a Survey and Comment Form. Receipts and the operator's log are kept one year and are open to inspection by city police or the Commissioner of the Revenue. The log itself must be completed within 30 minutes of hookup and must carry the signature of the lot owner or representative who authorized the tow. Fee levels are not frozen: the Department of Budget and Management Services reports every two years on the Consumer Price Index category Transportation Services, Motor Vehicle Fees, the Towing Advisory Board recommends adjustments, and City Council reviews towing fees on that cycle.