Nevada Tow Rules: 48-Hour Sticker, No Storage Fee for 48 Hours

Nevada splits tow regulation between the Nevada Transportation Authority, which licenses operators and approves their tariffs, and the property-side rules in chapter 487 of NRS. NRS 706.4477(1) sets the four conditions for a tow requested by anyone other than the vehicle owner or a law enforcement officer: the person requesting it must be the owner of the real property or an authorized agent of that owner and must sign a specific request for the towing, the area must be appropriately posted in accordance with state or local requirements, notice must be given to the appropriate law enforcement agency, and a law enforcement officer may direct the operator to terminate the tow. The same paragraph adds that, outside residential complexes, the tow operator is not an authorized agent of the property owner, which is what stops a towing company from patrolling a lot and authorizing its own tows.

The posting requirement is filled in by NRS 487.038(1): a sign must be displayed in plain view on the property declaring public parking to be prohibited or restricted in a certain manner, and the sign must show the telephone number of the police department or sheriff's office. Two situations need no sign at all. Under subsection 3 a vehicle parked in a space designated for persons with disabilities without proper marking may be removed whether or not a sign is posted, and under subsection 4 the owner of residential real property with a single-family dwelling on it may have an unauthorized vehicle towed without a sign. In every case oral notice must go to the police department or sheriff's office stating the time the vehicle was removed, the location it was removed from and the location it was taken to.

Apartment and condominium residents get a warning first. NRS 706.4477(2) applies to a residential complex, defined in subsection 11(b) as a group of apartments, condominiums or townhomes intended for residential use with a common parking area, whether or not spaces are assigned. There the property owner or authorized agent, which may be the tow operator itself if it holds a contract for the purpose, may have a vehicle towed only because of a parking violation, because the vehicle is not registered in Nevada or another state, or because the vehicle is blocking a fire hydrant, fire lane or space designated for the handicapped or posing an imminent threat of a substantial adverse effect on the health, safety or welfare of residents, which the statute says may include parking in a space clearly marked for a specific resident or unit. For the first two grounds the complex must affix a sticker to the vehicle giving the date and time after which it will be towed, at least 48 hours before the tow. The sticker may be skipped only if a notice was previously affixed to that vehicle for the same or a similar reason in the same complex, or three or more times in the immediately preceding six months in that complex for any reason.

Expired tags alone are never a lawful ground. NRS 706.4477(2)(c) provides that a vehicle may not be towed solely because its registration is expired, that the operator may not charge any fee or cost for such a tow, and that doing so is a violation of the section. Under subsection 9 the operator may face a penalty under NRS 706.756 to 706.781, and the vehicle owner may sue the operator to recover any costs incurred as a result, including loss of income.

Rates are set by tariff, not by a figure in the statute, and nonconsensual tows have their own category. NAC 706.406 puts a tow requested by someone other than a law enforcement agency, the vehicle owner, the owner's agent or the driver into Category C. NAC 706.408(1) allows an operator to bill only the rates and charges approved by the Authority in its tariff. Subsection 2 requires the Category C charge to be a flat rate that may vary by the time of day but not by the time the tow took, the distance or the equipment used, except that a mileage rate may be added for a tow of more than 10 miles, with distance measured by the shortest practical route and fractions of a mile rounded to the nearest mile. The drop fee lives in subsection 3: every operator must include in its tariff a specific reduction in the flat rate for releasing a vehicle if the owner or the owner's agent arrives at the scene of the tow before the vehicle is towed. Nevada does not fix that reduction in dollars, so ask the operator for the filed tariff and, failing that, the Authority.

Storage charges start late and stop early. NRS 706.4477(6) bars any storage fee until at least 48 hours after the vehicle arrives and is registered at the place of storage, and if it arrives after the storage yard's regular business hours the 48 hours does not start until those hours next begin. NAC 706.410(1) adds that no storage fee may be charged if the owner, the owner's agent or the driver arrives at the place of storage to secure release before the vehicle is placed in storage, or if a Category C tow is released within 24 hours, because the first 24 hours of storage must be built into the flat rate. Storage may not be charged for more than 15 days unless the operator has complied with the notice duties in NRS 706.4479.

Getting to your property inside the vehicle is a regulated right. Under NAC 706.410(2) an operator that charges an access fee may not charge it the first time the owner or agent visits the stored vehicle or when the vehicle is being claimed, may not deny reasonable access unless a law enforcement agency requires it, may not charge per person when a reasonable number of people visit the same vehicle together, and must keep a log recording each visitor's name and the date and time of each visit and of the recovery, confirming identity with a driver's license, identification card or other valid identification. A separate charge for opening a secured facility outside normal business hours is allowed, and normal business hours are deemed to be 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday excluding legal holidays. Payment cannot be limited to cash: NRS 706.44793 requires the operator to accept cash, money orders, credit cards, debit cards and any electronic transfer of money, though it may offer a discount for cash.

The operator must find you. NRS 706.4479(1) requires notice to the registered and legal owner by certified mail not later than 15 days after the vehicle is placed in storage, or 21 days if it was towed at a law enforcement officer's request following a crash, stating where the vehicle is stored, whether storage is inside a locked building, a secured fenced area or an unsecured open area, the charge for towing and storage, the date and time it was placed in storage, the actions the owner can take to recover it while incurring the lowest possible liability, and the opportunity to rebut the presumptions in NRS 487.220 and NRS 706.4477. If the owner is not known, the operator must make every reasonable attempt and use all resources reasonably necessary, documented in writing, to identify the owner within the same period, then mail notice within 15 days of identification. An operator that does not comply may not charge its towing and storage fee for more than 15 days, or 21 days for a crash tow. NRS 706.4477(4) presumes the registered owner left the vehicle where it was towed from and makes that owner responsible for removal and storage, but subsection 5 lets the owner rebut it by showing a transfer of interest under NRS 482.399 to 482.420 or a signed bill of sale, or by evidence that a theft affidavit or police report was filed before the vehicle was discovered.

Nevada also builds in a hardship path and a complaint path. Under NRS 706.4477(7) an operator must consider charging less than its tariff rate where the owner, for reasons outside his or her control as defined in the Authority's regulations, cannot pay the normal rate, and may go below tariff without Authority approval to do it. Subsection 10 requires the operator to display conspicuously at its place of business a written notice, in boldface letters not less than 1 inch high and 1 inch wide, saying the operator must consider charging a lower rate and giving a telephone number for the Authority where violations may be reported. NRS 706.4473 separately requires the operator to inform every vehicle owner or agent of the right to file a complaint with the Authority.

The fast remedy is NRS 487.039, an expedited complaint in the justice court of the township where the property the vehicle was towed from is located. It is available if the vehicle was towed under NRS 487.037 or NRS 487.038 or immobilized under NRS 487.0385, the owner believes the tow or boot was unlawful, the cost of towing and storing does not exceed $15,000, and the vehicle is still being stored or is still immobilized. The complaint must be filed within 21 calendar days after the tow or immobilization, against the property owner or authorized agent who authorized the tow together with the tow company, or against the parking facility operator together with the tow company, or against the garage owner who ordered the boot. The court must set a hearing not later than 7 calendar days after filing and have the complaint served by the sheriff, a constable or a licensed process server. If the court finds the tow unlawful it declares the person who authorized it liable for the towing and storage cost and orders the vehicle released to the owner immediately; presenting a certified copy of that order compels immediate release. If it finds the tow lawful, the owner is liable for the cost and gets the vehicle on paying it. Every storage facility must conspicuously display a sign setting out this section and a statement about the availability of legal aid, a court-operated self-help center or a similar program in that city or county.

Paid parking lots have their own prohibitions. NRS 487.037 makes it unlawful for an operator of off-street parking facilities to tow a vehicle within 24 hours after the period a particular fee was paid for expires, to tow when the lot is held open for public use and no attendant was on duty or no other means to pay existed when the vehicle first parked, or to tow where the lot is open to the public and the payment device does not dispense a ticket or time-dated slip, the last of which does not apply to government-owned lots. Any person who tows a vehicle without the registered owner's knowledge must immediately report it by oral communication to the city police department or the county sheriff's office, giving the time of the tow and the locations it went from and to.

For rate and conduct violations the forum is the Nevada Transportation Authority, whose telephone number the operator must post in boldface letters at its place of business under NRS 706.4477(10) and whose complaint process the operator must tell you about under NRS 706.4473. A tow performed in violation of NRS 706.4477, or a fee charged in violation of it, exposes the operator to a penalty under NRS 706.756 to 706.781 and lets the vehicle owner sue for costs incurred as a result of the violation, including loss of income. Where the operator missed the certified-mail notice deadlines in NRS 706.4479, the practical consequence is financial: it may not charge towing and storage for more than 15 days, or 21 days for a crash tow, so ask for the mailing date and the certified-mail record before paying a long storage bill.