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Wilmington, DE Parking Rules: Towing & Impound Rights (2026)

Significant Restrictions
Compiled from the official code textEditor Martyn O'NeillLast verified September 2026

Key Facts

Boot threshold
Unpaid fines must exceed $300.00; the warning notice starts at $150.00 in fines or five citations
Boot-to-tow clock
36 hours on the scofflaw track, 24 hours for handicapped and other restricted spaces
Release cost
$100.00 under Sec. 37-125(d), plus a release fee of $25.00 or more if the car was booted and then towed
Rate cap
No figure in the code; pound charges may not exceed the current city towing contract, and the schedule must be posted at the pound
Handicapped-space tow
$50.00 redemption plus a $50.00 fee, which may be added to a finance payment agreement (Sec. 37-132(d))
Owner and lienholder notice
Registered mail within five days of removal; sale possible if costs are unpaid 45 days after removal (Sec. 37-129(b))
Contest route
City hearing officer for the boot or tow itself; Justice of the Peace Court under 21 Del. C. 4181A for the underlying ticket
Boot tampering fine
Not less than $515.00 plus court costs (Sec. 37-125(c))

Summary

Wilmington sets no dollar cap on tow rates in its own code. Instead, Chapter 37, Article III routes every non-consensual tow through a city towing contractor and an official pound under contract, and Sec. 37-131(a)(3) forbids the pound from charging more than the amounts agreed with the city in the current contract for towing services. That printed schedule must be posted in a public area at the pound and can be obtained from the department of finance or the police records division. Redemption runs in three fixed steps: pay finance, collect a release-of-vehicle form from the police records division, then present it at the pound.

(a)Before the owner or his agent shall be permitted to have an immobilized vehicle released or to remove an impounded vehicle from any pound provided for by this article, the following steps shall be taken:(1)The owner shall pay by cash, money order, certified check, or by any other payment method authorized by the director of finance, only to the city any fines, penalties and immobilization fees due and owing for the violations for which the vehicle was immobilized or towed ... (3)The owner of an impounded vehicle shall then deliver to the official pound the release-of-vehicle form, and he shall also pay to the pound operator any applicable towing and storage charges. The towing and storage charges shall not exceed the amounts agreed upon between the pound operator and the city in the current contract for towing services. A printed statement of the charges which the pound operator is permitted to charge under contract can be obtained through the department of finance or through the records division of the police department. A statement of charges shall also be prominently posted in a public area at the pound.(b)If such immobilization and/or towing and storage charges are paid under protest ... the vehicle owner shall be entitled to a hearing before a hearing officer employed or contracted by the city who will determine whether the vehicle was properly subject to immobilization or towing.

View official code

Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 72).

Full Breakdown

Most Wilmington tows begin on the scofflaw track in Sec. 37-125. 00 or more in unpaid fines, or five or more outstanding traffic citations, and those vehicles first get a warning notice affixed to the car explaining how to dispute the amount owed, how to pay, and that payment plans may be available. 00. Fines waived, permanently suspended or voided under Sec. 37-66 do not count toward that threshold, and neither do fines under an appeal whose window has not closed. A booted vehicle not released within 36 hours is then towed and impounded, and only the city towing contractor may direct that tow, after verifying the state-issued plate and registration tags or the vehicle identification number.

The 36 hours can be cut short where the same vehicle has had a boot unlawfully removed before, or where the owner issued a bad check or made fraudulent use of a credit card. Redemption under Sec. 00 or more, with towing and storage billed on top of that. Sec. 00 fee that may be folded into a finance payment agreement. Under Sec. 37-121(a) an unregistered vehicle or one with no registration tags is given a warning and towed 24 hours later, while a currently registered vehicle still gets a seven-day warning first.

Sec. 37-128(a) names the only officials who may order a boot or a tow, requires that person to be physically present, and requires the notice form to carry the badge number of whoever ordered it along with how to contest and how to pay. Sec. 37-129(b) then requires registered-mail notice to the owner and any lienholder within five days.

Violations & Fines

Removing a motor vehicle boot yourself, failing to return one you removed, or towing an immobilized vehicle without the city towing contractor directing it is punishable on conviction under Sec. 37-125(c) by a fine of not less than $515.00 plus court costs, and every unpaid citation on the booted vehicle still has to be paid. The registered owner is presumed responsible for a missing or stolen boot. The same conduct involving a vehicle booted in a handicapped or restricted space draws a civil penalty at Level 22 plus court costs under Sec. 37-132(c). Parking in a tow-away zone established by the department of public works under Sec. 37-241 carries a Level 6 civil penalty in addition to the tow, and appearing as the owner of a wrecked or abandoned vehicle carries a Level 6 penalty under Sec. 37-131(c). Where an officer issues a citation instead of towing or booting, Sec. 37-128(c) sets the penalty at Level 2.

Frequently Asked Questions

What does it cost to get a booted or towed car back in Wilmington?
Sec. 37-125(d) sets a $100.00 payment for the cost of immobilizing or towing and releasing the vehicle, and a vehicle that was booted and later towed carries a release fee of $25.00 or more. Towing and storage are billed separately by the pound operator. The ordinance names no figure for those. Sec. 37-131(a)(3) instead caps them at the amounts agreed between the pound operator and the city in the current contract for towing services, and requires that printed statement of charges to be posted in a public area at the pound and to be available through the department of finance or the police records division.
How long does a boot stay on before the car is towed?
A vehicle immobilized on the scofflaw track and not released for up to 36 hours is towed and impounded, but only at the specific direction of the authorized towing contractor. That window is 24 hours instead for a vehicle booted in a handicapped space, a space reserved for city officials, or a loading area at a government office building under Sec. 37-132(c). The 36 hours may also be shortened where the same vehicle has previously had its boot unlawfully removed, or where the owner issued a bad check or made fraudulent use of a credit card.
Can I get the car back while I dispute the tow?
Yes. Sec. 37-131(b) lets the owner pay the fines and charges under protest, at which point the vehicle is released and the money is held in escrow by the department of finance until a hearing officer employed or contracted by the city decides whether the vehicle was properly subject to immobilization or towing. An owner may also elect a hearing without paying under protest. If the hearing officer rules for the owner, finance releases the escrowed money. That decision has no preclusive effect in a later court action, and the underlying parking or traffic violation is appealed separately to the Justice of the Peace Court for the State of Delaware under 21 Del. C. 4181A.
What are the three steps to redeem an impounded vehicle?
First, pay the city directly by cash, money order, certified check or another method the director of finance authorizes, covering the fines, penalties and immobilization fees for the violation that caused the tow plus any other parking fines owed to the city, or sign a payment agreement authorized by the director of finance. Second, take the finance receipt and proof of ownership to the records division of the police department and receive a release-of-vehicle form. Third, deliver that form to the official pound and pay the pound operator the applicable contract towing and storage charges.
Does the city code govern a tow from private property?
Only partly. Sec. 37-126 covers police-directed removals and is enforceable by the Wilmington Police Department, the State Police and the Department of Safety and Homeland Security rather than by code officials. Where an abandoned vehicle sits on private property with the owner or occupant consent, police must first send certified mail giving ten days to move it, then affix a sticker giving a further 24 hours. Where it is there without consent, the posting step may be omitted on the property owner complaint. Rate limits for consent-free private tows arranged by a property owner are state law, at 21 Del. C. ch. 69A, not city code.
Can Wilmington sell an impounded vehicle?
Sec. 37-129(b) requires the city to identify any lienholder and, within five days of removal and while the vehicle is still in the pound, send the owner and lienholder registered-mail notice stating that the vehicle was removed pursuant to law, the place it was taken to, and that it may be sold to satisfy removal and storage costs under 21 Del. C. 4404 and 25 Del. C. 3903 unless those costs are paid in full within 45 days of removal. If the owner address cannot be found through reasonable diligence, that notice is not required.

Sources & Official References

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