Beaufort County Vehicle Impound Guide
Impound Cost Calculator
Calculate how much it will cost to retrieve your vehicle from the impound lot in Beaufort County, South Carolina.
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The First 48 Hours
After a DUI arrest in Beaufort 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 $40.0/day in Beaufort 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 Beaufort County. Verify your vehicle's location before traveling.
Lot Information Pending
Contact Beaufort County local dispatch for specific towing lot assignments.
Frequently Asked Questions
Forty-five minutes is the legal limit a private tow lot has to respond once someone requests their vehicle back. Beaufort County Ordinance 2011-19 builds in that response mandate specifically to stop operators from stalling releases over a weekend to run up storage charges — if the lot attendant doesn't show or process the release within that window, no further fees can legally accrue. Documenting the exact time of the request is what makes the freeze enforceable.
There's no central impound lot at all. The Sheriff's Office and Highway Patrol split the county into rotation zones and dispatch whichever private wrecker is next up, so finding a vehicle means calling the arresting agency's dispatch directly to identify which company took it. The same ordinance caps what that company can charge: $200 for a standard tow, $40 a day in storage after a 12-hour grace period from the moment the car enters the lot, $75 if the owner arrives before the vehicle is hooked to the wrecker, $100 if it's hooked but hasn't left the scene yet, and $125 an hour only for genuinely complex recoveries, which is rare for a standard DUI stop. Heavy equipment like rotators or flatbeds can't be used just to pad the bill when a standard tow would do.
Essential items left inside the car, house keys, prescription medication, a phone, the ID needed to actually get out of jail, don't have to wait for the fees to be settled. The ordinance guarantees a free, one-time retrieval of unattached personal property regardless of whether the tow and storage bill has been paid, and the company has to give at least an hour to get it done.
If a vehicle sits unclaimed, the towing company has 10 days to notify the Sheriff or the relevant police chief with the VIN and registration details, and the agency then has another 10 days to hand over the owner's address and any lienholder information. Skip that notification step and the towing company forfeits every storage charge it would otherwise be owed.
South Carolina doesn't offer a specialized, expedited tow hearing at the magistrate level for a standard DUI impound. Disputing the legality of a tow means filing a regular civil claim for conversion or breach of contract, a slower and more involved process than the streamlined hearings some other counties provide.
Need Help Beyond Impound?
If you're dealing with a recent arrest, here are immediate resources for release and legal help: