Moffat County Vehicle Impound Guide

Reach into an impounded car in Moffat County for the wrong item and the tow company can legally bill $100 an hour just to supervise you doing it. Colorado's PUC rules protect a short list for free retrieval — prescription medication, medical equipment, a child car seat, ID, a phone, and cash or a card if it's being used to pay the release fee right then. Everything else triggers that hourly labor charge.

Vehicles come off Highway 40 and county roads through a rotation of private carriers, most commonly American Towing (also operating as A Towing, at 1181 Crest Dr in Craig, 970-620-0220) or Cook Towing out of Cook Chevrolet, which runs Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. Given the county's size, confirming which carrier actually has the vehicle means calling the arresting agency directly — the Moffat County Sheriff or Craig PD — rather than guessing.

The base tow rate is capped by the state at $102.28 an hour for a standard law enforcement tow. If the recovery needs more than one truck and driver for more than an hour, the carrier can bill the actual added cost plus a 25% administrative surcharge on top. Credit and debit cards have to be accepted, but carriers are allowed to tack on a 3% card processing fee.

The hardest barrier to a fast retrieval isn't the fee schedule — it's an evidentiary hold. If the arresting officer thinks the vehicle contains evidence related to the DUI, they can place a formal hold on it, and while that's active, the tow yard has no legal ability to let anyone near the car, owner included. Storage fees keep accruing the entire time. The only way to lift it is a written release from the arresting department or the District Attorney's office directly; the tow company can't override it on its own.

If the registered owner can't get there in person, a plain notarized letter isn't enough to authorize someone else. The proxy needs a full, notarized written authorization naming them specifically, in English, that also includes the vehicle's make, model, and the last six digits of the VIN.

There's one genuine catch-22 worth knowing ahead of time: if the vehicle was towed because it lacked current registration, nobody can legally drive it off the lot, even with a valid license and insurance. The only way out is hiring a separately licensed tow operator to physically remove it. And if nobody claims the vehicle and pays what's owed within 30 days of a certified notice going to the address on the title, the towing company can declare it abandoned and take legal possession outright.