Hamilton County Vehicle Impound Guide

The Chattanooga Police Department's public property counter has been temporarily relocated, and the hours it operates under now are brutal. A toxic mold problem shut down the main service center on Amnicola Highway, and the substitute location — the East Brainerd Annex at 7555 Goodwin Road — is open Monday and Friday 8:00 a.m. to noon, Wednesday 10:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., and closed entirely Tuesday and Thursday. Get arrested Friday evening and the vehicle sits accruing $35-a-day storage through the whole weekend; miss the Monday noon cutoff and it sits until Wednesday morning instead.

Where the vehicle actually ends up depends on the rotation. Police-initiated tows go to a rotating list of contracted wreckers, one of which is American Tow & Recovery at 5910 Shaw Ave, open 24/7 and often used for secondary or heavy-duty calls. The arresting officer is supposed to hand over a tow slip naming the company; if that paperwork gets lost during booking, the fallback is calling the non-emergency line of whichever agency made the arrest and having them run the plate or VIN.

Not every tow plays by the same fee rules. Police-rotation tows are capped at $225, but vehicles towed from private property — an apartment complex lot, for instance — fall outside that cap entirely, since they're handled by private non-consensual towers instead. Chattanooga Impound is one company locals have flagged for using this private-tow loophole to charge well above the public cap; if a car was towed from a private lot rather than a public street, expect a noticeably higher bill. Billing complaints of this kind go to the Chattanooga Beer and Wrecker Board.

Getting the car back requires a valid driver's license, current registration in the claimant's name, and proof of insurance — three unexpired documents, no exceptions. Since a DUI arrest almost always means the owner's license was seized on the spot, someone else with a valid license has to physically show up and drive the vehicle away. If the owner is still in custody, whoever's retrieving the car needs a notarized power of attorney authorizing them to take possession. And if the tow itself seems unlawful or the fees look predatory, Tennessee law allows a petition for a post-storage tow hearing through Hamilton County General Sessions Civil Court — but filing one costs a non-refundable $209.50.