Tuscarawas County Vehicle Impound Guide

Finlayson Towing, out of Bolivar, serves as the primary heavy-rotation provider for local agencies, running 24/7. The arresting officer is required to hand over an impound slip naming the towing company and lot location, but that paperwork routinely gets lost in the chaos of an arrest or seized along with personal property. If it's gone, calling the arresting agency's dispatch directly tracks down the vehicle — OSHP's New Philadelphia Post 79 at (330) 339-1103, or the Sheriff's administrative line at (330) 339-2000.

A first-offense OVI doesn't automatically trigger long-term vehicle seizure — the car just gets towed incident to the arrest and can be retrieved once fees are paid. A second OVI within ten years is a different story: Ohio law mandates 90 days of immobilization and physical impoundment of the license plates.

The License Trap at the Tow Yard

Because the arrest confiscates the driver's license on the spot, the registered owner legally can't drive their own car off the lot. A second person with a valid, unexpired license has to come along specifically to operate the vehicle, while the owner handles the financial release and ownership paperwork. Release also goes strictly to the titled owner — if someone was driving a parent's or spouse's car, that registered owner needs to either show up in person or send a notarized letter of authorization naming an agent, with copies of their ID and the registration attached.

A second-offense immobilization order isn't necessarily permanent. Defense counsel can petition the court for a waiver if the immobilization creates genuine hardship for a household member who depends on that specific vehicle for work or medical care. If granted, the car gets fitted with restricted yellow and red "party plates" and the defendant still can't drive it — but at least someone else in the household can.

The Title Office Closes for Lunch, No Exceptions

If the title or registration is locked inside the impounded car, or a family member needs to transfer ownership quickly to retrieve it, the county's Title Division closes completely from noon to 1 p.m. every day. Arriving at 11:50 a.m. means waiting until 1 — and that hour-long delay routinely cascades into missing the tow yard's afternoon cutoff, adding a full extra day of storage fees on top.