Richland County Vehicle Impound Guide
Impound Cost Calculator
Calculate how much it will cost to retrieve your vehicle from the impound lot in Richland County, South Carolina.
*Estimated fees shown for Richland County. Actual fees may vary.
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The First 48 Hours
After a DUI arrest in Richland 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 Richland 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 Richland County. Verify your vehicle's location before traveling.
Lot Information Pending
Contact Richland County local dispatch for specific towing lot assignments.
Frequently Asked Questions
A car towed by the City of Columbia can require two separate trips before a private lot will hand it over. First stop is the Parking Services Customer Service Center inside the Lincoln Street Garage at 820 Washington Street, where any outstanding parking tickets have to be paid off — city ordinance impounds a vehicle outright once it has $100 or more in unpaid tickets, and that old debt has to clear before the fresh DUI tow gets resolved. Paid receipt in hand, the next stop is across the street to Columbia Police Department headquarters at 1 Justice Square for a formal vehicle release form. Only with both documents does the actual tow lot come into play, where the towing fee (typically around $175) and daily storage, capped by ordinance at $25, still have to be settled.
Weekends complicate it further. The Parking Services Center doesn't keep full weekend hours, so anyone retrieving a car on a Saturday or Sunday has to pay the outstanding tickets at Columbia Municipal Court on Washington Street instead, then continue on to police headquarters for the release form.
Neither the Highway Patrol, the Sheriff's Department, nor city police tow vehicles into one central lot. Instead, whichever wrecker is next on a rotation list gets the call, and Highway Patrol Troop One's coverage area — spanning Richland along with five neighboring counties — determines which zone a given tow falls into. If a company tows a vehicle without the owner present, state law requires it to file a Notice of Tow Form with local law enforcement, registering where the car ended up.
The private tow lots themselves are required by city ordinance to accept major credit cards for the tow fee without a surcharge. The municipal side is a different story: parking-ticket payments run through a third-party processor that adds a 2.5% fee on credit cards and 1.5% on debit cards.
An unpaid tow bill carries real teeth. State law gives the towing company a lien against the vehicle, and lets it hold the license plate until the debt is settled in full. Leave a car unclaimed long enough and it gets declared abandoned and sold at public auction to cover the balance.
Need Help Beyond Impound?
If you're dealing with a recent arrest, here are immediate resources for release and legal help: