Winston-Salem, NC Parking Rules: Towing & Impound Rights (2026)

Two articles of Chapter 42 drive city-ordered towing in Winston-Salem, and they run on different clocks. Article VI covers police impounds. Section 42-311 lists seven triggers: a vehicle left on a bridge, tunnel or underpass; a disabled vehicle whose driver is under arrest or too injured to arrange removal; a vehicle parked so as to be a definite hazard to traffic or next to a fire hydrant; a vehicle in an alley or driveway that would impede the fire department; and vehicles parked in violation of sections 42-253, 42-254 or 42-153(a)(2). Article VII covers abandoned, junked and safety hazard vehicles, and section 42-341 defines abandoned to include a car left on city property longer than 24 hours, on a public street longer than seven days, or longer than 48 hours on U.S. Highway 52, Interstate 40, Business I-40, Peters Creek Parkway, Silas Creek Parkway or U.S. Highway 421 inside the city limits.

Notice is the owner's first protection. Under section 42-312(a)(1) the chief of police or a designee must immediately tell the last known registered owner five things: a description of the vehicle, where it is stored, the violation charged, the procedure for getting the car back, and the procedure for requesting a probable cause hearing. That notice is due within 24 hours for a North Carolina registered vehicle and within 72 hours for an out-of-state vehicle, by telephone if feasible and by mail to the last known address either way. If the car carries neither a valid plate nor registration, section 42-312(a)(2) presumes the city failed to make reasonable efforts unless a tow warning was posted on the windshield at least seven days before the tow. No pre-tow notice is owed at all for the emergency triggers in 42-311(1) through (4) or for a vehicle blocking traffic.

The hearing goes outside city hall. Section 42-312(b) sends the owner to a Forsyth County magistrate for a probable cause determination under G.S. 20-219.11, and section 42-346 requires the same five-item notice again before any sale. Booted vehicles follow a separate track under section 42-176: three or more parking tickets unpaid and overdue for 90 days allow a wheel lock, removal of the lock costs $50.00, the car may be towed 24 hours after the lock goes on if the penalties are still unpaid, and a hearing must be requested by certified mail to the revenue collector within seven days of the impoundment notice. There the revenue collector serves as hearing officer and must issue a written report within three days, and any improper charges are cancelled or rebated.

Release requires payment in full. Sections 42-314(c) and 42-349(c) make towing and storage a lien on the vehicle and bar release until the charges are paid and proof of ownership is shown, with a $60.00 city administrative fee stacked on top of the private tower's bill. Neither section fixes a towing rate: charges are whatever the arrangement between the city and its private tower provides. That matches North Carolina practice, since the state caps no towing rate and G.S. 44A-2(d) requires only reasonable charges. Section 42-313 then starts a 30-day clock running from the mailed notice, after which the vehicle is deemed abandoned and disposed of under Article VII, where section 42-343 lets the private tower sell it by commercially reasonable private sale after notice to the Division of Motor Vehicles at least 20 days out and to the titleholder at least 30 days out.

Tows from private lots are not in the city code, and here the state statute does reach Winston-Salem. Forsyth County is one of the jurisdictions named in G.S. 20-219.2(c), so a private lot in the city must post signs at least 24 by 24 inches at every entrance showing the tow company name and phone number, the tow needs the written request of the owner or lessee of the space, and the vehicle cannot be moved more than 15 miles for storage when a closer yard exists. Section 42-343(a) adds the one hybrid case: a safety hazard vehicle on private property can be towed at city direction without the consent of the vehicle or property owner, but only after a notice is attached to the vehicle and served on the owner or occupant giving 72 hours to eliminate the hazard.