Putnam County Vehicle Impound Guide
Impound Cost Calculator
Calculate how much it will cost to retrieve your vehicle from Putnam County Sheriff's Office in Putnam County, Tennessee.
*Estimated fees shown for Putnam County. Actual fees may vary.
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The First 48 Hours
After a DUI arrest in Putnam 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 Putnam 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 Putnam County. Verify your vehicle's location before traveling.
Putnam County Sheriff's Office
Accepted Payments
Frequently Asked Questions
Putnam County has no central impound lot. Cookeville and the Sheriff's Office both use a wrecker rotation, so your car went to whichever private company was next on the dispatch list, and it could be anywhere across a 400-square-mile county. The first step is finding it. If a county deputy arrested you, call the Sheriff's Office non-emergency line at 931-528-8484 and ask them to cross-check the arrest report against the wrecker log. If a Cookeville officer arrested you, call the city police. Companies commonly on the rotation include Rush Towing, M&W Towing and Recovery on Fisk Road, and Ragland's Towing.
The trap here is that 24/7 towing does not mean 24/7 pickup. The tow trucks run around the clock, but the office that verifies your title and takes payment usually keeps regular business hours, roughly 8:00 to 5:00 weekdays. Try to retrieve the car after hours or on a weekend and, if the lot allows it at all, you pay a gate fee on top of everything else, while daily storage keeps adding a charge at midnight. As soon as you know which lot has the car, call and confirm their exact release hours.
To take the car you need a valid photo ID whose name exactly matches the title or registration, plus proof of active insurance. If you were driving someone else's car, the registered owner has to come in person, or send a notarized letter naming you as the person authorized to pick it up. An out-of-state owner arranging that by mail can lose days to it while fees pile up.
The base tow for a police-initiated tow runs around $225, with an added charge of about $6 per mile if the car was hauled out of the county. Daily storage is capped by state maximums set through the Highway Patrol.
Need Help Beyond Impound?
If you're dealing with a recent arrest, here are immediate resources for release and legal help:
Legal Representation
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