Fayette County Vehicle Impound Guide

Embrey's Towing, the county's main impound vendor, takes cash only. No cards, no personal checks. Show up without the exact amount and you get turned away while the storage clock keeps running. Call the lot first at 678-364-1807, get the precise total for that day, and bring it in cash.

The fees are capped by Georgia's Maximum Rate Tariff No. 5, which took effect in June 2024. A standard passenger vehicle tow can't exceed $228. Storage is capped at $33 a day, with no charge for the first 24 hours after the car is removed and no charge for any day the lot is closed, including Sundays and holidays. The first notification fee is $26, and total notification charges can't go past $91. If you come after hours and the lot has to send someone to release the car, that gate fee is capped at $65. Weigh that $65 against another $33 day of storage if you would otherwise wait until morning.

Where the car ends up depends on which agency made the arrest. The Fayette County Sheriff's Office uses Embrey's Towing in Tyrone. Peachtree City police use Southside Wrecker, which runs a 24-hour operation and an online impound search you can use to find your vehicle. Fayetteville police use Fayette Wrecker on Industrial Way. If you're not sure who arrested you or where the car went, call the non-emergency line for that agency with the license plate or VIN.

Proving you can take the car

You need a valid, unexpired driver's license. Since the arresting officer usually keeps the physical license after a DUI, bring another state photo ID or a passport instead. If the registered owner can't come to the lot, whether from being in custody or otherwise, the lot requires a notarized power of attorney or a notarized authorization letter that names the person picking up the car, lists the VIN and the make and model, and comes with a photocopy of the owner's ID. If police put an evidentiary hold on the car, you have to go to the arresting agency during business hours and get a written release before the lot will let you near it.

If you think the tow was wrong

File a petition for a tow hearing in the Magistrate Court of Fayette County. Do it within 10 days of the impound notice. That deadline matters: it's what stops the towing company from foreclosing its lien and selling the car at auction under Georgia's Abandoned Motor Vehicle Act. There's a filing fee unless you qualify as indigent.