Richmond County Vehicle Impound Guide

There is no county impound lot in Richmond County and no public database of towed cars. A DUI tow goes to whichever private company is next on the Sheriff's rotation list, and that company could be anywhere from Hephzibah to West Augusta, miles from where the arrest happened. Defendants are often booked without a tow slip, or lose it during booking, so the first step after release is calling the Sheriff's Records Bureau at 706-821-1010 to find out which lot has the car and whether it's on a hold.

That hold distinction matters. A routine DUI tow is a standard impound, and the owner deals directly with the tow company. But if the DUI involved a serious crash or a felony, the vehicle goes on an investigative hold, and Sheriff's policy is explicit that it will not be released from the station under any circumstances. Once a detective lifts the hold, the car is usually towed a second time to a private lot, and the owner can be billed for both tows.

Retrieving the car runs into a documentation problem specific to DUI. The officer seized the physical license at arrest, and many tow companies won't accept the paper DDS 1205 permit as valid photo ID. Without a passport or a separate state ID card, the owner can't get their own car back until they obtain a temporary ID from DDS, while storage fees keep running. The tow company also checks that the vehicle is currently insured before letting it be driven off; if coverage lapsed, the car has to be towed out of the lot to a home, a third towing fee.

Fees follow the state tariff: a base tow around $175, storage of $25 to $40 a day starting the moment the car enters the lot, plus notification and after-hours gate fees. The 8-plus hours of sobriety hold at the jail guarantees the car sits through at least one billing cycle before anyone can retrieve it. Confirm the payment method before driving out; cash is safest, since the card machines "break" often.