Hinsdale County Vehicle Impound Guide
Impound Cost Calculator
Calculate how much it will cost to retrieve your vehicle from Hinsdale County Sheriff Dispatch (Rotation) in Hinsdale County, Colorado.
*Estimated fees shown for Hinsdale County. Actual fees may vary.
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The First 48 Hours
After a DUI arrest in Hinsdale County, your vehicle is likely towed to an impound lot. Storage fees accumulate daily, making time your biggest enemy.
Retrieval Timeline
- 1
Vehicle Towed
Usually within 30 minutes of your arrest.
- 2
Lot Notification
Fees and admin processing start immediately upon arrival.
- 3
Daily Accrual
Fees start at $$48.19/day (Colorado PUC maximum)/day in Hinsdale County.
- 4
Final Notice
After 30 days, the lot may begin the auction process.
Required Documents
- Valid Photo ID (License or State ID)
- Vehicle Registration or Title
- Current Proof of Insurance
- Full Payment (Cash/Credit)
- Release Authorization (if not owner)
Owner Not Present?
If the registered owner is in custody, you will need a notarized power of attorney or specific written authorization and a copy of their ID to retrieve the vehicle.
Lot Details & Map
Current storage facility information for Hinsdale County. Verify your vehicle's location before traveling.
Hinsdale County Sheriff Dispatch (Rotation)
Accepted Payments
Hinsdale County has no impound lot of its own, so a towed vehicle almost always ends up 55 miles away in Gunnison, over Slumgullion Pass. Colorado regulates the tow rate by the hour rather than a flat drop fee: $102.28 per hour per truck and driver, billed in 15-minute increments after the first hour. A tow over that stretch of mountain road can easily run several hundred dollars before a single day of storage even gets added.
Storage itself runs $48.19 a day for a standard vehicle, or $59.45 for anything over 10,000 pounds, and it starts accruing immediately. A $150 statutory notification fee gets tacked on once the car has sat long enough for the towing company to mail formal notice. Waiting to retrieve the vehicle costs real money fast — get to Gunnison as soon as bond is posted, not once things feel settled.
Before making the drive, confirm there's no law enforcement hold on the vehicle. A hold gets placed after a collision, an injury, or if the driver lacked insurance at the time of the stop, and the towing company legally can't release the car until the Hinsdale County Sheriff's Office or Colorado State Patrol clears it. Call the sheriff (970-944-2291) or CSP dispatch first to confirm which operator has the vehicle and whether a hold applies — Gunnison Towing and H&H Towing both serve the Lake City area, and which one has a given car depends on the rotation list at the time of the tow.
If the driver's license was confiscated at the scene, retrieving the car takes two people: a licensed driver to physically operate the vehicle off the lot, and the registered owner to handle the financial and administrative release. If the owner can't make the trip in person, a proxy needs a formally notarized power of attorney specific to a motor vehicle release — a handwritten note gets rejected outright, and every day spent tracking down proper documentation adds another day of storage fees.
Reaching into the cab for anything beyond a short list of protected items triggers a $100-an-hour retrieval fee. Prescription medication, medical equipment, child car seats, ID, a phone, and the cash or card needed to pay the tow bill come out free; anything else starts the clock.
Need Help Beyond Impound?
If you're dealing with a recent arrest, here are immediate resources for release and legal help: