Travis County Vehicle Impound Guide

Your car is not at a police lot, and it may not be anywhere near where you were arrested. Austin uses a dispatch system called AutoReturn that sends each police tow to whichever private company is next on the rotation, so a downtown DWI arrest can land your car at a storage yard in far South Austin, Manor, or Pflugerville. Find it at search.autoreturn.com using the plate or VIN, or call 3-1-1. A tow by the Sheriff's Office in an unincorporated area goes through the TCSO Wrecker Enforcement and Impound Unit at 512-854-7430.

What it costs

The tow itself is $272 for an Austin police tow and $275 for a Sheriff's tow, both fixed at the state cap for a standard vehicle. Storage is $22.85 a day. There's a one-time impound fee of about $22.85, a $25 city administrative fee on Austin tows, and a $50 notification fee once the car has been there 24 hours and the certified letter goes out. If you get to the car while it's hooked up but still on the property, a $50 drop fee gets it released on the spot. Storage under 12 hours across midnight can't be billed as two days.

Getting it out

Bring a government photo ID, any state or country, and proof of ownership, meaning the title or a current Texas registration. If you're picking it up for the owner, you need a notarized Affidavit of Right of Possession. The lot has to take cash, debit, or credit; a cash-only demand on a non-consent tow is a violation you can report to TDLR at 800-803-9202. Ask for an itemized receipt.

You don't need insurance to reclaim the car, but you can't drive it off the lot without coverage. Uninsured, you pay the fees, sign a form saying it won't be driven on public roads, and hire a second wrecker to haul it to a driveway or shop.

You can always retrieve personal property and your ownership papers for free, medication, car seats, clothing, work tools. A lot that blocks that until you pay is breaking state law.

Fighting the tow

You have 14 business days from the day the car reached the lot, weekends and holidays not counted, to file a written request for a tow hearing. File it with the Justice of the Peace for the precinct covering the storage lot; Precinct 5 at 1000 Guadalupe Street, 512-854-9049, handles most downtown tows. The fee runs $54 to $85 because it includes serving the towing company, and a Statement of Inability to Afford Payment waives it. If the judge finds there was no probable cause for the tow, they can order your fees reimbursed.

If you can't pay

Storage keeps running at $22.85 a day. The lot sends a second certified notice after about 10 to 14 days, and 30 days after that it can foreclose its lien and sell the car at auction. If the sale doesn't cover the bill, the company can sue you for the rest. Surrendering the title in exchange for the lot dropping the balance is one way to avoid that deficiency judgment.