To get a car towed off your property, post any signage your jurisdiction requires, call a licensed towing company, and sign a written authorization identifying the vehicle before it’s hooked up. Some cities also want you to notify police first. Do it this way and the vehicle owner pays every dollar; cut a corner and the bill, plus potential damages, can land on you.
First, Is the Car Actually on Your Property
The rules below only work if the vehicle is on land you own or lease: your driveway, yard, parking lot, or an assigned space. A car parked on the public street in front of your house sits on a public right-of-way you don’t control, even if it’s blocking the approach to your driveway. Only your local government or police can authorize a tow from a public road, usually after parking violations pile up or the car is reported abandoned. For a street parker who isn’t blocking a hydrant, crosswalk, or posted no-parking zone, your route is parking enforcement or the non-emergency police line.
Calling a private tow company to remove a car from the street as if it were on your property is an unauthorized tow, and the liability comes back to you.
Signage That Makes the Tow Legal
For commercial properties, apartment complexes, and multi-unit residential buildings, posted signs are almost always a legal prerequisite. Without them, a tow from your lot can be treated as unauthorized even if the vehicle plainly didn’t belong there. The sign is what puts drivers on notice.
Specifics vary by jurisdiction, but towing signs generally must include:
- A clear warning that unauthorized vehicles will be towed at the owner’s expense
- The name, address, and phone number of the towing company contracted for the property
- The hours and conditions under which towing is enforced
- The storage facility’s location and the hours the owner can retrieve the vehicle
Many jurisdictions set minimum sign dimensions and require a sign at every vehicular entrance. Some also want the local law enforcement phone number on the sign. Check the exact wording of your city or county’s towing ordinance, because a sign an inch too small or missing one required line can invalidate the tow.
Single-family homeowners usually get more flexibility. Most jurisdictions waive or relax the signage requirement for a private residence, on the reasoning that a stranger parked in your driveway is obviously there without permission. The waiver isn’t universal, so confirm your local rule before assuming you can skip the sign.
The Steps to Get the Car Towed
Document the Vehicle
Before you call anyone, write down the make, model, color, and license plate number. Take photos from multiple angles showing the car on your property, ideally with a landmark or address marker in frame. Photograph the VIN through the windshield if it’s readable. This is your evidence if the owner later claims their car was parked legally or the tow was improper.
Notify Police If Your Jurisdiction Requires It
Some jurisdictions require you to notify local police before towing from private property; others don’t. Where notification is required, it creates an official record so the tow isn’t later mistaken for a stolen vehicle. An officer may come out to tag the car and run the plates, or the report may be logged over the phone.
Where it isn’t mandatory, it’s still often worth doing. A police report is a paper trail if the vehicle owner files a complaint. Call the non-emergency line, explain that you have an unauthorized vehicle on your property, and say you intend to have it towed.
Call a Licensed Towing Company
Use the company named on your signage if you have a contract, or any licensed tow operator in your area. If your local ordinance requires a specific company or an approved list, follow that rule. An unlicensed operator can void your legal protections completely.
Sign a Written Authorization
When the tow truck arrives, the operator will hand you an authorization form to sign before hooking up the vehicle. This form is the legal backbone of the whole tow. Across most jurisdictions it must include:
- The date and time you’re authorizing the tow
- The vehicle’s make, model, color, and license plate number
- Where on your property the vehicle is parked
- The reason for the tow
- Your name, signature, and contact information
Some jurisdictions also require an itemized list of fees the vehicle owner will be charged. The operator should provide the signed authorization to the owner at pickup. Don’t sign a blank form, and don’t sign one with missing information. A sloppy authorization is where liability comes back to you.
If the Owner Shows Up Mid-Tow
If the vehicle owner appears while the tow truck is still on your property, the situation changes. Most states require the operator to release the car on the spot for a reduced “drop fee” rather than haul it to impound. The drop fee is lower than a full tow because the vehicle never leaves the property, and the operator is generally required to tell the returning owner that option exists. That’s a legal obligation in most places, not a courtesy. An operator who refuses to release the car, or demands the full tow rate with the owner standing there, is a red flag.
Who Pays
The vehicle owner pays. When a car is lawfully towed from private property, the property owner owes the towing company nothing. The operator collects from the vehicle owner when the car is retrieved from storage, and until that bill is paid the towing company holds the car under a possessory lien.
Base tow charges commonly run a few hundred dollars, with daily storage fees stacking on top. Some lots take only cash; others are required by local rule to accept cards. If you’re the vehicle owner, call the storage lot before you show up so you know the total and the accepted payment methods.
Abandoned Vehicles Follow a Different Track
A car someone will come back for tomorrow is different from one that’s been sitting in your lot for weeks. Most states treat abandoned vehicles as a separate legal category with extra steps.
Typically you report the vehicle to local police so they can confirm it isn’t stolen. Many jurisdictions then require a waiting period, often 48 to 96 hours or longer, during which the car must be tagged with a notice before it can be towed. Local authorities may take custody themselves, or authorize you to have it removed by a licensed company.
If nobody claims the car from impound, the towing company can eventually sell it through a lien sale to recover storage costs, following state-specific notice procedures. For vehicles that are clearly junk, missing an engine, wheels, or other parts needed to operate, some jurisdictions allow immediate removal without the standard waiting period. Your local code enforcement or police non-emergency line can point you to the right process.
Special Situations
Tenant Vehicles at Rental Properties
Towing a tenant’s car raises issues that don’t exist with a stranger’s vehicle. Your lease should spell out parking rules, assigned spaces, and the consequences for violations. Most jurisdictions require landlords to give tenants written notice of a parking violation and a reasonable chance to correct it before towing. Skipping that step opens the door to retaliation or lease-violation claims, especially if the tenant can argue they were in an assigned space or that the rules were unclear. Make sure your signage, lease provisions, and enforcement practices line up. A sign saying “unauthorized vehicles towed” means nothing if the lease doesn’t define who’s authorized.
Vehicles With Disability Placards
A valid disability placard or disabled veteran plate doesn’t give someone permission to park on your private property, and you can still have the vehicle towed. Some jurisdictions add notice requirements or protections for vehicles displaying disability credentials, particularly in commercial lots with designated accessible spaces. Follow the same procedures you’d use for any other tow and keep your documentation thorough.
Predatory Towing Arrangements
If you’re contracting with a towing company, avoid arrangements that could be classified as predatory. A growing number of states prohibit tow companies from patrolling private lots on their own initiative looking for cars to tow without a specific call. Kickback arrangements, where the tow company pays the property owner per car towed, are illegal in many jurisdictions. If a company offers you money per tow, find a different company.
What Not to Do
The urge to handle it yourself is understandable when a car has been in your driveway for days, but self-help almost always backfires.
Don’t push, drag, or move the vehicle yourself. Damage it and you’re on the hook regardless of how illegally it was parked. Don’t put a boot or lock on the car unless your local ordinance specifically authorizes immobilization by property owners. Don’t block it in to extract payment. Don’t call an unlicensed operator or ask a friend with a truck to haul it away, because if anything goes wrong you have no legal protection.
Once a licensed tow operator hooks up the vehicle, responsibility for damage during transport and storage shifts to them. Until then, treat the car as someone else’s property sitting on your land, because that’s exactly what it is. Don’t tamper with it, don’t let air out of the tires, and don’t remove anything from inside.
Protecting Yourself From Liability
Do this right and your exposure is minimal. A property owner with adequate signage, any required police notification, and a written authorization to a licensed company is generally shielded from liability for the tow and storage costs.
Skip a step and that protection is gone. Towing without proper signage, failing to get written authorization, using an unlicensed operator, or authorizing a tow from land you don’t actually own or control can leave you responsible for the tow, storage, vehicle damage, and the owner’s legal fees. Some states pile statutory penalties on top of actual damages. The correct path is always the same: document, notify where required, and use a licensed tow company with a signed authorization.