Gallia County Vehicle Impound Guide

Peak OVI enforcement in Gallia County happens Friday and Saturday nights — and Graham's Towing, the county's primary impound provider, closes its administrative office at 6 p.m. Friday and doesn't reopen until Monday morning at 9. Get arrested during the exact window law enforcement is actively targeting, and your car is guaranteed to sit in impound for a minimum of three days, racking up storage fees around $25 a day with no physical or administrative way to retrieve it until the following week. Budget at least $75 in storage alone, plus the base tow fee, and have exact cash ready for Monday morning.

There's a bureaucratic trap worth knowing about before you even get to the lot: if your wallet or ID was left inside the impounded vehicle at the time of arrest, you're stuck proving your identity to the lot attendant without the ID that's locked inside the car you're trying to access. Tow operators will generally let the registered owner retrieve unattached personal property during business hours, but only if you can establish your identity some other way first.

If this is a second OVI within your lifetime, or you were driving under an active suspension, the vehicle falls under mandatory immobilization — and the tow company is legally barred from releasing it without a specific Journal Entry from the Gallipolis Municipal Court. You have to physically obtain that document from the Clerk of Courts at 518 Second Ave before the lot will even discuss release. Show up without it and you're turned away, racking up more fees in the process.

Here's the genuine upside specific to this county: Graham's Towing doesn't just hold impounded vehicles — it's also the area's authorized Intoxalock installation center. If the court orders an Ignition Interlock Device as a condition of bond or limited driving privileges, the technician can install it right there before the car ever leaves the lot, saving you a separate trip and a second towing bill entirely.

Vehicles may also be dispatched to secondary rotation providers like Stapleton Towing & Neville Wrecker Service or High Road Towing & Truck Center, depending on availability. There's no centralized county database for impounded vehicles, so contact the arresting agency directly — Gallipolis PD, the Sheriff's Office, or OSHP — to find out which rotation lot actually has your car.