Fannin County Vehicle Impound Guide

Bonham's municipal ordinance caps a DWI tow at $100 and daily storage at $20, well under the state maximum of $272 and $22.85 a day. That cap only applies inside city limits, though, and it's worth checking the receipt against it, since a facility can mistakenly bill at the higher state rate.

Two separate rate systems govern impound fees here. State rules from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation cap a light-duty non-consent tow at $272 with storage up to $22.85 per day. Bonham's own Ordinance 1219 sets a stricter local limit for passenger vehicles: $100 for the tow itself during the 5 p.m. to 8 a.m. window, weekends, and holidays, plus a flat $20 daily storage fee and a $20 impound fee. A vehicle held by a lot outside city limits, or run by an operator applying the wrong schedule, may not get that lower rate.

JN Wrecker, at 901 East US 82 in Bonham, is one of the primary facilities used for law enforcement impounds, open 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Law enforcement rotates through a list of approved non-consent tow operators, though, so a specific vehicle isn't guaranteed to land there. The rotation list itself isn't published. Calling the arresting agency's non-emergency line, the Fannin County Sheriff's Office at 903-640-4171 or Bonham PD at 903-583-2141, and asking which wrecker service was dispatched is the fastest way to find out where a car actually went.

Bonham's 12-hour rule can save a full day's fee. Under the municipal code, a lot can't charge for two calendar days of storage if the vehicle's actual time there totals less than 12 hours, even if that stretch crosses midnight. A car towed at 11 p.m. Friday and retrieved by 9 a.m. Saturday should be billed for one day, not two.

There's also a narrow window to stop a tow before it starts. If the owner reaches the vehicle while it's fully hooked up but hasn't yet left the property, paying a drop fee on the spot keeps it from being towed at all. If it's only partially hooked up, the operator has to release it without charging anything.

Getting a vehicle released takes the right paperwork. A valid photo ID plus proof of ownership, a title, a current registration paired with a tax receipt, or a lease agreement, covers most cases. If the driver wasn't the registered owner, or the owner is still in custody, a notarized power-of-attorney is required before anyone else can claim the car. If the needed documents are locked inside the vehicle itself, the owner or an authorized representative has the right to retrieve just those papers, and any unattached personal property, without paying an access fee first.

Anyone who believes the tow was illegal, or that the fees exceeded Bonham's caps, has 14 calendar days from the tow to request a hearing at the Fannin County Justice of the Peace court covering the precinct where it happened. The court has to hold that hearing within 21 days, and if it finds the tow improper or the charges excessive, it can order a refund.

Out-of-state vehicles get one more protection. The facility has to request the motor vehicle record from the origin state within 5 days of the tow. If it doesn't, state law caps what it can charge at 5 days of storage total, no matter how long the car actually sits on the lot.