Anderson County Vehicle Impound Guide
Impound Cost Calculator
Calculate how much it will cost to retrieve your vehicle from Public Works Complex in Anderson County, South Carolina.
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The First 48 Hours
After a DUI arrest in Anderson 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 $25.0/day in Anderson 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 Anderson County. Verify your vehicle's location before traveling.
Frequently Asked Questions
Thirty minutes is all a defendant might get to save a car from an overnight impound. Vehicles seized by City of Anderson police can only be released from the Public Works Complex on Southwood Street between 8:30 a.m. and noon, and again from 1 to 3:15 p.m. — pay the release fee at City Hall at 2:45 p.m. and there's barely enough time to arrange a ride across town, present the paperwork, and grab the keys before the gate closes for the day. Miss 3:15 by even a minute and the car sits overnight, adding another $25 storage charge the next morning.
That's because Anderson runs a split-location system: showing up at the impound lot with a credit card accomplishes nothing. Payment has to happen first at the Court Collections Office inside City Hall, which issues the receipt and the official Vehicle Release Form required before Public Works will hand over the vehicle. Since a DUI arrest triggers an automatic license suspension, the defendant can't legally drive between these two stops and needs a rideshare, taxi, or family member for both legs.
There's a small mercy built into the fee structure: the city excludes weekends and city holidays from its $25-a-day storage calculation, so a Friday-night impound doesn't rack up extra charges over the weekend, though the vehicle still can't be retrieved until the facility reopens Monday at 8:30 a.m. The base tow fee is $200, and the first day of storage is included in that. Extra costs pile on fast beyond that: labor for a complicated recovery runs $30 per 15 minutes, and a broken or open window adds a $25-per-window fee to cover the interior.
Arrests made by the Sheriff's Office or Highway Patrol work differently. Those vehicles go to a private wrecker on the county's rotation list rather than the municipal lot, and finding out which one requires calling ACSO central dispatch. Unlike the city's weekend amnesty, these private lots let storage fees accrue straight through weekends and holidays with no exception, a real risk if the defendant stays in custody over a long weekend. Every tow, whether public or private, includes a mandatory inventory search, and anything illegal found inside is fully usable in court and can add new charges on top of the DUI.
Need Help Beyond Impound?
If you're dealing with a recent arrest, here are immediate resources for release and legal help: