Tennessee DeKalb CountyImpound

DeKalb County Vehicle Impound Guide

Impound Cost Calculator

$45/day*

Calculate how much it will cost to retrieve your vehicle from the impound lot in DeKalb County, Tennessee.

*Estimated fees shown for DeKalb County. Actual fees may vary.

Arrest Date (Vehicle Towed)

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Planned Pickup Date

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The First 48 Hours

After a DUI arrest in DeKalb 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 state averages in DeKalb 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 DeKalb County. Verify your vehicle's location before traveling.

Lot Information Pending

Contact DeKalb County local dispatch for specific towing lot assignments.

Frequently Asked Questions

Don't drive to the Sheriff's Department or Smithville Police looking for your towed car; it won't be there. DeKalb County dispatches impound towing through a private rotation list, and the vehicle goes to whichever contractor was next up when the 911 center made the call. Getting the tow company's name directly from the arresting officer before transport to jail is the fastest path. Failing that, call DeKalb Central Dispatch's non-emergency line at (615) 215-3000 and ask for the wrecker log; the operators there track which private company responded to a given arrest.

These lots run genuine rural hours. Expect a lunch closure around noon to 1 p.m., and a complete shutdown on Saturdays and Sundays. An arrest on a Friday evening means the car sits inaccessible until Monday morning, and by then the lot has already assessed storage fees for Saturday, Sunday, and Monday, an estimated $60 to $180 before retrieval even begins. Arriving on a weekday between 9 and 11:30 a.m. gives the best chance that administrative staff is actually present to process a release.

A genuine catch-22 trips up a lot of people here. A DUI arrest means the officer seizes the physical driver's license on the spot, replacing it with a temporary 7-day paper permit, but plenty of private tow operators are unfamiliar with that paper permit or simply refuse to treat it as valid ID. Bringing a second, fully licensed driver along from the start avoids the standoff entirely. Ownership rules get enforced strictly too: if the car is registered to someone other than the arrested driver, that registered owner has to be physically present with government ID and the title or registration, no exceptions for who's paying the bill.

Tennessee Code § 55-31-404 caps the administrative release fee a private towing operator can charge at $100. Demand a fully itemized receipt before paying, and check any vaguely labeled "processing" or "gate" fee against that statutory cap; rural operators occasionally try to stack surcharges that exceed it.