Champaign County Vehicle Impound Guide
Impound Cost Calculator
Calculate how much it will cost to retrieve your vehicle from Urbana City Impound Lot in Champaign County, Ohio.
*Estimated fees shown for Champaign County. Actual fees may vary.
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What comes next after a Ohio DUI arrest
SR-22 insurance
A DUI in Ohio often means an SR-22 must be filed before your license is reinstated.
Ohio SR-22 guideDUI classes
Courts and the DMV usually require an approved alcohol education program in Ohio.
DUI school guideIgnition interlock
Depending on your offense, Ohio may require an interlock device to drive again.
Interlock guideThe First 48 Hours
After a OVI arrest in Champaign 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 state averages in Champaign 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 Champaign County. Verify your vehicle's location before traveling.
Frequently Asked Questions
$100. That's the flat redemption fee at the Urbana City Impound Lot — and it's charged on top of whatever the actual towing bill comes to, not instead of it.
Where your car ends up depends on who arrested you. The City of Urbana runs its own municipal lot, while the Ohio State Highway Patrol and the Champaign County Sheriff's Office dispatch through a rotation of private contractors — names like Tarvin Auto, City Wide Towing & Auto Recovery, and Tatman's Towing show up regularly in that rotation. Call the arresting agency's dispatch center to find out which one actually has your vehicle before you go anywhere.
If your car landed at the city lot, the $100 redemption fee has to be paid at the police records window inside the Municipal Building, and that window only operates Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. Arrested Friday night? There's no way to start the release process until Monday morning — the weekend storage fees accrue the entire time, guaranteed, before you've even been convicted of anything.
Payment method matters more than you'd expect. The Urbana Finance office takes credit cards for city fees, but private rotation tow companies working police impound contracts routinely demand cash only for vehicle releases. Show up with just a debit card at one of those private lots and you'll be turned away — another day of storage added for the trouble.
There's a genuine paradox built into this process: you need to physically retrieve the vehicle to stop the fees from piling up, but if you tested over the limit or refused testing, your license was confiscated the moment you were arrested. You can't legally drive the car away yourself. The registered owner still has to show up with proof of ownership and current insurance, but a second person with a valid, unexpired license has to be the one who actually drives it off the lot.
If this isn't your first OVI, the stakes around the vehicle itself change dramatically. A second OVI within the ten-year lookback period triggers a mandatory 90-day immobilization on a vehicle registered in your name, with the state impounding the plates directly. A third offense within that window moves to permanent forfeiture — the government takes ownership outright, and there's no getting the car back at all.
Need Help Beyond Impound?
If you're dealing with a recent arrest, here are immediate resources for release and legal help: