Cars improperly parked, whether in designated no-parking zones or on private property without authorization, are subject to towing at the owner’s expense. These are categorized as Private Property Tows. In some instances, property owners may opt for a wheel boot instead of towing. This guide aims to clarify the charges associated with private property towing, ensuring car owners are well-informed about their rights and the costs involved.
Your Rights When Faced with Towing
Knowing your rights is crucial when encountering a towing situation. Here’s what you should be aware of, both as a tow commences and after your vehicle has been towed.
Pre-Towing Rights:
- Unattached Vehicle: If you return to your car while it’s being hooked up to a tow truck, and it’s not yet fully prepared for towing, you are entitled to have your car released without any charge. Proof of ownership is not required at this stage.
- Fully Hooked but On-Site: If your car is fully hooked up and ready for towing but hasn’t left the parking area, you can still reclaim your vehicle. However, in this case, you are required to pay a drop fee. Again, proof of ownership is not necessary at this point.
Post-Towing Rights & Vehicle Recovery:
- Locating Your Towed Vehicle: If your car has been towed from a parking lot, the no parking signs should display a phone number to call to locate your vehicle.
- Vehicle Storage Facility (VSF) Access: You have the right to recover your car from the VSF after verifying ownership or authorized use and settling the towing and storage fees.
- Document Retrieval: You are allowed access to your car at the VSF to obtain ownership documents without incurring any fees.
- Personal Property Retrieval: Similarly, you can access your car at the VSF to retrieve personal belongings without any charge.
- 24/7 Claim Access: If the VSF operates 24/7 for vehicle intake, you can claim or access your car at any time, typically within an hour of your request.
- VSF Operating Hours: For VSFs not operating 24/7, you can claim your car within one hour of your request between 8:00 a.m. and midnight, Monday through Saturday, and from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. on Sundays, excluding national holidays. These VSFs are not obligated to release vehicles after midnight.
- Tow Hearing Option: If you believe your car was wrongfully towed, stored, or booted, or if you were overcharged, you have the right to request a TOW HEARING at a Justice of the Peace Court in the county where the tow occurred. This request must be made within 14 days of the tow.
Limitations on Your Rights:
- You cannot remove or dismantle any parts from your car while it’s at the VSF.
- Retrieval of your car from the VSF is contingent upon paying all applicable towing, storage, and other legitimate fees.
- Boot removal requires payment of the booting fee.
- You must prove ownership or authorized use to retrieve your car from the VSF.
- You cannot reclaim your car after it has been removed from the parking facility but before it has been placed in a VSF.
Steps to Take When Confronted with Towing
Understanding the process can help you navigate towing situations effectively. Here’s a breakdown of what you should do.
If Towing is in Progress (Not Fully Hooked):
If you return to your car and find it being hooked up to a tow truck but it’s not fully ready for towing, you can request the release of your car without any fees or charges and without needing to prove ownership.
If Towing is Imminent (Fully Hooked but On-Site):
If your car is fully hooked up, ready for towing, but still within the parking area, you can reclaim it by paying a drop fee. It’s important to note the maximum allowable drop fees which are set statewide and vary by vehicle weight:
- Vehicles 10,000 lbs or less: Maximum $135
- Vehicles between 10,000 and 25,000 lbs: Maximum $190
- Vehicles exceeding 25,000 lbs: Maximum $244
These are ceiling amounts; local rules may set lower fees, but never higher. Tow truck operators are legally required to accept cash, credit cards, and debit cards for drop fee payments.
If Your Car Has Been Towed:
Locate your car by calling the phone number posted on the tow-away sign in the parking area.
If Your Car Has Been Booted:
Contact the phone number on the warning sticker attached to your car window. Do not attempt to remove the boot yourself or drive with it attached as this can cause significant damage to your vehicle.
Recovering Your Vehicle from a Vehicle Storage Facility (VSF)
To successfully recover your car from a VSF, you must fulfill the following requirements:
1. Provide Photo Identification:
Acceptable forms of photo ID include:
- State-issued driver’s license or identification card
- Federal government-issued photo ID
- Foreign government-issued photo ID (e.g., Mexican driver’s license or “matricula consular”)
2. Prove Vehicle Ownership or Authorized Use:
You can demonstrate ownership or authorized use with one of the following:
- Government-issued driver’s license matching DMV car registration database owner information
- Insurance card listing you as a named insured for the vehicle
- Certificate of title showing you as the vehicle owner
- Notarized power-of-attorney from the vehicle owner
- Tax collector’s receipt and car registration renewal card with matching identification
- Current automobile lease or rental agreement signed by the vehicle operator
- Completed TDLR Personal Vehicle Owner Removal and Inspection form (or Commercial Vehicle Removal and Inspection form for commercial vehicles), which VSFs are also required to provide.
3. Pay All Applicable Fees:
Understanding the fee structure is essential. Here’s a breakdown of potential charges:
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Tow Charge: Maximum rates for private property tows are set statewide but can be lower by local rule:
- Up to 10,000 lbs: $272
- 10,001 to 25,000 lbs: $380
- Over 25,000 lbs: $489 per unit, maximum total $978
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Daily Storage Charge:
- Vehicles 25 feet or less: $22.85 per day (2023 adjusted rate)
- Vehicles over 25 feet: $39.99 per day (2023 adjusted rate)
Key points about storage fees:
- Charged for any part of a day, but only one day’s fee if the vehicle is stored less than 12 hours. A day is midnight to midnight.
- VSFs in Texas cannot charge for more than five days of storage unless a notification is mailed or published to the owner.
- For out-of-state vehicles, the five-day limit applies until a request for owner information is sent to the registering governmental entity.
- Storage fees accrue daily after notification until the vehicle is retrieved and fees are paid.
- Storage fees include reasonable storage efforts like securing windows and doors.
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Notification Fee: Up to $50 for notifying you that your car is at the VSF. If publication is required and exceeds 50% of the notification fee, the VSF can recover the additional publication cost. No notification fee if the car is reclaimed within 24 hours or before notification is sent.
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Impoundment Fee: Maximum $20, chargeable if impoundment services are performed. Impoundment includes actions to protect unsecured vehicles, like covering broken windows, and requires at least one of the following:
- Written inventory of unsecured personal property.
- Removal and storage of unsecured property with inventory documentation.
- Obtaining vehicle registration information from the DMV.
If an impoundment fee is charged, the service and date must be itemized on the bill.
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Governmental or Law Enforcement Fees: VSFs may collect fees that they must pay to law enforcement or governmental entities.
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No Additional Fees: VSFs cannot charge any storage-related fees beyond those listed above.
Information You’re Entitled to Receive
As a consumer whose car has been privately towed or towed due to traffic incidents, you are entitled to specific documentation and information:
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Tow Ticket Copy: Towing companies must issue a tow ticket for every non-consent tow. You are entitled to a copy if present at the tow, and a copy must also go to the VSF.
Tow tickets can only include charges directly related to the tow, itemized using the towing company’s filed non-consent towing fee schedule. They must include the towing company’s licensed name, phone number, registration and TDLR license number of the operator. Towing companies must provide their fee schedules to VSFs and make them public upon request.
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Statement of Consumer Rights to a Tow Hearing.
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Information Needed to File for a Tow Hearing.
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TDLR Contact Information: Each VSF must provide the TDLR’s website, email, mailing address, and phone number for complaint submission.
Unclaimed Vehicles
If a vehicle remains unclaimed at a VSF, it may be considered abandoned. The VSF must send at least two notices and wait 30 days after the second notice before acting. After this period, the VSF may sell the vehicle at a public sale to cover towing and storage fees, with any remaining proceeds potentially returned to the vehicle owner. Disputes regarding the sale or proceeds can be taken to court.
Vehicles over 10 years old and in junk condition have different rules. For these “nuisance vehicles,” only one notice is required, and the VSF can sell the car 30 days after the first notice.
Requesting a Tow Hearing
Consumers have the right to a hearing if their vehicle was towed or booted without consent. The VSF, towing, or booting company must provide notice of this right, including the relevant justice court information. Hearing requests must be filed within 14 days (excluding weekends and national holidays) after the car was placed in the VSF or booted.
The consumer notice for tow hearings must include:
- Right to request a hearing within 14 days to determine probable cause for the tow or boot.
- Required information for a hearing request.
- Filing fee amount.
- Towing or booting company details (name, address, phone).
- VSF details (name, address, phone).
- Authorizing party details (person, property owner, or law enforcement agency).
- Justice court details (name, address, phone) where the VSF is located or where booting occurred.
A tow hearing request must contain:
- Owner/operator contact information (name, address, phone).
- Location of tow or booting.
- Date of tow or booting.
- Authorizing party details (name, address, phone).
- VSF details (name, address, phone).
- Towing or booting company details (name, address, phone).
- Copies of receipts or notifications received.
- Photos of parking restriction signs or a statement that no signs were present.
Courts may charge a $20 filing fee for tow hearings, which must be held within 21 calendar days of the request.
Filing a Complaint with TDLR
Consumers can file complaints online via the TDLR website (https://www.tdlr.texas.gov/Complaints/) regarding towing companies, operators, VSFs, booting companies, or their employees. While filing a complaint with TDLR is not a substitute for a tow hearing, you can pursue both options.
This guide summarizes key provisions of the Vehicle Towing and Booting Law, the Vehicle Storage Facilities Law, and related rules. It is intended as a helpful overview and not a complete legal description of your rights or all requirements for license holders. For detailed information, refer to the full legal texts and regulations.
