Tarrant County Vehicle Impound Guide

Where your car ends up depends on who towed it. A Fort Worth police tow goes to the City of Fort Worth Auto Pound at 2500 Brennan Avenue, dispatched through the city's contractor, AutoReturn. To locate it, call 817-349-4022; the pound's own office is 817-392-5950. That lot releases vehicles 24 hours a day, which matters because storage runs by the day. A tow by the Sheriff's Office in an unincorporated area, or many private-property tows, goes instead to the Tarrant County Vehicle Storage Facility at 6501 Hart Street, reachable at 817-918-9800.

What it costs

At the Fort Worth Auto Pound the base tow is $180, daily storage is $22.85 for a vehicle under 25 feet, and there's a $22.85 impound fee plus a $32 city admin fee. A $50 notification fee is added automatically if you don't claim the car within 48 hours, so day three costs more than an extra day of storage. If you retrieve the car within 12 hours of it arriving, you're only charged one day.

Bring cash or a credit card. Visa, MasterCard, Amex, and Discover are fine, but the cardholder has to be present with a photo ID matching the card. Personal checks aren't accepted.

What you need to get it out

A government photo ID: a driver's license, state ID, passport, or military ID. A Matrícula Consular is often accepted, but call first. You also need proof of ownership, meaning the title in your name or a current registration receipt. Keys don't count. A title signed over to you usually won't be accepted without a bill of sale. If your documents are locked in the car, ask for the Affidavit of Right of Possession.

You do not need insurance to get the car released. But you can't legally drive it off the lot uninsured, so without coverage you'll have to pay for a second tow to move it. You can always go into the car for essentials, medication, medical and financial records, clothing, childcare items, bank cards, ID, at no charge, even if you can't pay the impound bill. If the lot refuses, a Writ of Retrieval from a Justice of the Peace court forces access.

Fighting the tow

You have 14 business days from the day the car reached the lot to file a written request for a tow hearing, with weekends and holidays not counted. File it in the Justice of the Peace precinct where the car was towed from, not where you live and not where it's stored. Filing in the wrong precinct is the most common way people blow the deadline. The fee is $54, waivable with a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment. The court has to hold the hearing within 21 days, and the towing company carries the burden of proving there was probable cause for the tow.

If you can't pay

Storage keeps accruing. After 48 hours the $50 notice fee hits and the lot mails a certified letter; you then have 20 days to claim the car before the lot can foreclose its lien and sell it at auction. Losing the car doesn't erase the debt: if the auction brings less than what you owe, the company can still bill you for the difference.