North Carolina Private Lot Towing and Owner Rights

G.S. 20-219.2 governs vehicles towed from private parking lots, but subsection (c) limits its reach to the Counties of Craven, Cumberland, Dare, Forsyth, Gaston, Guilford, Mecklenburg, New Hanover, Orange, Richmond, Robeson, Wake, and Wilson and the municipalities inside them, plus the Cities of Durham, Jacksonville, Charlotte, and Fayetteville. Elsewhere in North Carolina, private-lot towing runs on local ordinance instead; subsection (d) confirms this statute does not preempt county or municipal towing rules.

Inside the covered jurisdictions, a lot owner cannot tow a trespassing vehicle on a whim. The lot must be clearly designated as such by legible signs no smaller than 24 inches by 24 inches prominently displayed at all entrances, showing the towing company's current name and phone number, and the rule does not take effect until 72 hours after those signs go up. A tow can happen only upon the written request of the owner or lessee of the space; the registered owner of the towed vehicle then owes the removal and storage charges. Distance is capped: if a storage yard exists within 15 miles, the car cannot be hauled more than 15 miles from where it was parked; otherwise the cap is 25 miles. At pickup, the tower must tell the owner in writing that they may pay the lien amount, demand immediate possession, or contest the charges under G.S. 44A-4, and cannot condition release on signing any rights waiver beyond a receipt acknowledgment.

A separate statute, G.S. 20-219.20, is not limited to the 13 counties: before moving a vehicle towed at someone else's request, the tower must call local law enforcement's designated 10-digit line with the vehicle description, tow-from and storage locations, and retrieval contact information (30 minutes after, if towing was urgent).

North Carolina sets no statewide cap on towing or storage fees. G.S. 44A-2(d) gives the tower a lien only for reasonable charges, and G.S. 20-219.2(d) leaves rate-setting to local ordinance. Under G.S. 44A-4, an owner who disputes the bill can pay the asserted lien into the clerk of court and demand immediate possession; if the tower does not file a contrary lien statement within three days, the owner's stated amount controls, and the prevailing party may recover attorney's fees. A tower can sell the vehicle 10 days after towing and storage charges go unpaid past their due date, but waives further storage charges if no action is filed within 180 days of when storage began.

Violating G.S. 20-219.2, wrong signage, no written tow request, exceeding the mileage cap, skipping the required lien notice, or demanding a rights waiver, is an infraction: a court must impose a fine of at least $150, in its discretion. Skipping the separate G.S. 20-219.20 call to law enforcement before a non-owner-requested tow is a lesser infraction, capped at $100. Outside the 13 covered counties and 4 cities, enforcement instead runs on whatever towing ordinance the county or municipality has adopted.