Towing Laws in Florida: Your Rights, Costs & Impound Rules

If your car was just towed in Florida - from a private lot, a crash scene, or anywhere in between - this page explains what state law says about the fees you can be charged, how to get your vehicle and belongings back, and where to file a complaint. Every fact below comes directly from Florida statutes and regulator pages, each cited so you can verify it yourself.

Who regulates towing in Florida

Florida splits regulation between state and local government. The Division of the Florida Highway Patrol sets maximum tow and storage rates for any area where local government hasn't set its own - and it's required to publish those rates and investigate complaints about excess fees. In practice, most of the day-to-day rate-setting happens locally: counties are required to establish maximum rates for non-consent towing and storage, and where a municipality has set its own maximum, that municipal rate controls inside city limits. The Florida Highway Patrol's statewide maximum only kicks in where no local maximum exists.

What a tow can cost

Because Florida's rate caps are set locally by default, there's no single statewide dollar figure to check your bill against - the applicable maximum depends on whether your county or city has adopted one, with the state's Highway Patrol rate as the fallback. What is set at the state level is a limit on certain fees regardless of location: a pre-removal release fee - what you pay to stop a tow before it happens - can't exceed more than half of the posted towing rate, and towing companies are required to file their current towing and storage rates and display them.

Since the specific cap depends on your county or city, ask the towing company for their filed rate sheet and check with your local government for its published maximum. Our towing cost calculator can help you compare an itemized bill against these rules.

Getting your car back from impound

Florida law puts some real limits on how storage fees are calculated and how long a company must hold your car before selling it. Storage can't be charged for less than 6 hours, even if your car was there for less time. If you have qualifying documents, personal property in the vehicle that isn't affixed to it must be released to you within 1 hour, during the facility's normal business hours. For the vehicle itself, an unclaimed older model can be sold after 35 days, while a newer model can be held - and then sold - for 57 days before disposal.

If you're towed from private property

Florida allows removal from private property without the vehicle owner's consent once specific statutory notice conditions are met, and generally requires posted tow-away notices at the property. A towing company must notify local law enforcement within 30 minutes after removing a vehicle. Once your car is in storage, current rates need to be filed with local law enforcement and posted at the storage facility, and - under the statute governing private-property tows - you're generally entitled to have your vehicle released within 1 hour of requesting it. In smaller counties (population under 500,000), the storage site itself must also be within 15 miles of where the vehicle was towed, and open for redemption from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. whenever the towing company is open.

After an accident

Florida requires that any crash involving injury, death, or apparent property damage of at least $500 be reported immediately - to local police, the sheriff, or the nearest Florida Highway Patrol office. If you need an official copy of the crash report afterward, it can be purchased through the state's Crash Portal for $10 per report, plus a $2 convenience fee per transaction.

The Move Over law

On multilane roads, Florida requires drivers to vacate the lane closest to a stopped vehicle - which includes tow trucks, along with emergency, sanitation, utility, and road-work vehicles - when it's safe to do so, or to slow to 20 mph below the posted speed limit if changing lanes isn't possible. On roads posted at 20 mph or lower, drivers must slow to 5 mph. Violations of Florida's Move Over law are treated as noncriminal moving infractions.

FAQ

Is there a statewide maximum for what a Florida tow can cost? Not a single one. Counties and cities set their own maximum rates for non-consent towing, and the Florida Highway Patrol's rate only applies as a fallback where no local maximum has been adopted.

How long does Florida give me before a towed car can be sold? It depends on the vehicle: an unclaimed older model can be sold after 35 days, while a newer model can be held for 57 days before it's sold.

Who do I report to after a crash in Florida? Any crash with injury, death, or at least $500 in apparent damage must be reported immediately to local police, the sheriff, or the nearest Florida Highway Patrol office.

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