Virginia Towing Caps: $210 Hookup, $25 Drop Fee, First 24 Hours of Storage Free (Va. Code § 46.2-1233.1)

Virginia regulates trespass towing through four sections that work together, and a driver arguing about a bill needs all four.

The rate ceiling is Va. Code § 46.2-1233.1 A. For any passenger car removed, towed or stored without the owner's consent from private property, the hookup and initial towing fee may not exceed $210. A tow performed between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m., or on any Saturday, Sunday or holiday, may carry an additional fee of no more than $30 per instance, and in no event may more than two such fees be charged for towing any one vehicle. No charge at all may be made for storage and safekeeping for a period of 24 hours or less, and apart from the fees this section or a local ordinance under § 46.2-1233 authorizes, no other fees or charges may be imposed during that first 24-hour period. The $210 figure is current as amended by 2025, c. 625; earlier figures still quoted online are superseded.

The cap is a default, not a floor. Section 46.2-1233.1 A opens with "Unless different limits are established by ordinance of the local governing body pursuant to § 46.2-1233," so the governing body of any Virginia locality may set its own reasonable limits on removal fees. Two districts are singled out and their treatment is not statewide: § 46.2-1233 requires localities in Planning District 8 and Planning District 16 to establish by ordinance a hookup and initial towing fee of no less than $135 and no more than the § 46.2-1233.1 maximum, plus a night, weekend and holiday fee of no less than $25 and no more than the maximum, capped at two such fees. Planning district boundaries are set by the Department of Housing and Community Development under Va. Code § 15.2-4202, so the practical step is to read your city or county's towing ordinance before assuming the statutory numbers govern. Section 46.2-1233.1 B lets any locality go further by ordinance, with the advice of an advisory board appointed under § 46.2-1233.2, and bar storage charges for any period during which the owner could not recover the vehicle because the towing business was closed.

The drop fee is Va. Code § 46.2-1231 D, and Virginia states it as an outright bar on the tow, not merely a fee limit. If the owner or the owner's representative or agent is present and removes the trespassing vehicle from the premises before it is actually towed, the vehicle shall not be towed. What the driver may collect is a reasonable fee in lieu of towing, not to exceed $25 or such other limit as the county, city or town has set by ordinance. The same $25 default applies under subsection E to releasing an immobilization device, and that subsection also requires that any boot used must not damage the vehicle or any part of it.

Signage is § 46.2-1231 A. A private lot owner may have a trespassing vehicle towed only if signs are posted at all entrances to the parking lot or area, clearly and conspicuously disclosing that a vehicle parked without permission will be removed, towed or immobilized. Each sign must at a minimum carry the nonemergency telephone number of the local law-enforcement agency or the telephone number of the responsible towing and recovery operator, so a driver can find out where the car went. The signage requirement drops away in localities whose governing body has adopted an ordinance under § 46.2-1232, which those ordinances typically replace with their own posting rules.

Notice to police is § 46.2-1231 B, and it carries a rare self-executing remedy. The tow truck operator must forthwith notify the State Police or the local law-enforcement agency of the jurisdiction the vehicle was towed from. Failing to report is a traffic infraction punishable by a fine of not more than $100, and it also limits what may be charged for storage and safekeeping to no more than one day's storage. A driver whose car sat for a week should ask whether the tow was reported.

Fee disclosure is § 46.2-1231 C. Every business towing without owner consent must prominently display a comprehensive list of all its towing, recovery and storage fees, or the basis of the charges, at its main place of business and at any other location where towed vehicles may be reclaimed; alternatively it may hand the reclaiming driver a written list as part of a receipt or separately. The operative sentence is the next one: charges in excess of those posted are not collectable from an owner whose vehicle was towed without consent. An operator in Planning District 8 must also give a written receipt showing a telephone number or website for customer complaints.

Personal property is § 46.2-118 B 19. A towing and recovery operator may not refuse to allow the owner of a towed vehicle, on proof of ownership and consistent with subsection E of § 46.2-644.01, to access and recover any personal items without retrieving the vehicle and without paying any fee. Related items in the same list bar an operator from requiring documents not otherwise required by law before release (B 20), from knowingly charging excessive fees or charging for services not rendered (B 11), from refusing to make change up to $100 for a cash-paying owner (B 16), and from towing a trespassing vehicle to any location outside the Commonwealth (B 15). Operators must also accept cash, an insurance company check, a certified check, a money order, or at least one of two commonly used nationally recognized credit cards, with a narrow exception for operators grossing under $10,000 a year from towing (B 8).

Renters get a specific protection added in 2024. Under § 46.2-1231 G, before towing a resident's vehicle from a multifamily dwelling parking lot owned and maintained by the landlord for an expired registration or an expired inspection sticker, the towing operator must post written notice on the vehicle showing the date of posting and stating the vehicle will be towed after 48 hours, and must send a copy to the landlord. No tow may occur until the 48 hours have passed. An operator who skips the notice or jumps the clock must reimburse the resident the full towing, storage and safekeeping charges and faces a civil penalty of up to $100. The definition of multifamily dwelling unit expressly excludes lots in a property owners' association, condominium units, horizontal property regimes, cooperatives, time-shares and subdivided-land lots, so this protection is for renters, not for owners in a community association.

Start with the bill. 2-1233 sets different limits. 2-1231 B requires: failing to report is a traffic infraction with a fine of up to $100 and caps recoverable storage at one day. 2-118, which reaches fraud, obtaining a fee by misrepresentation, knowingly charging excessive fees, charging for services not rendered, refusing access to personal items, demanding documents not required by law, and towing a trespassing vehicle out of state. 2-116, and employing an unregistered driver is itself a prohibited act. 1, or of an ordinance adopted from them, carries a civil penalty of 10 times the total amount charged for the removal, towing and storage.

That penalty is collected by the Office of the Attorney General and the proceeds are paid to the victim of the unlawful towing. 2-1232 ordinance names one, and a civil action. 2-1231 G are entitled to reimbursement of the towing, storage and safekeeping charges, and the operator faces a civil penalty of up to $100.