Towing Laws in Illinois: Your Rights, Costs & Impound Rules
If your car was just towed in Illinois - off a private lot, from a crash scene, or as part of a police-directed tow - 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 take a complaint. Every fact below comes directly from the Illinois Vehicle Code, each cited so you can verify it yourself.
Who regulates towing in Illinois
The Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC) issues relocator's licenses and dispatcher's and operator's employment permits for commercial vehicle relocators - the companies that perform nonconsensual private-property towing. If you file a verified written complaint, or on its own initiative, the Commission can investigate whether a relocator has violated the towing chapter of the Vehicle Code.
What a tow can cost
Illinois law directs the ICC to set reasonable rates for the commercial towing or removal of trespassing vehicles from private property, along with storage and other relocator services. For police-directed tows specifically, charges can't exceed the maximum the ICC has set under that same statutory provision - so both private-property and police-directed tows ultimately trace back to ICC-set rate ceilings, though the Commission determines the actual dollar figures.
Because the applicable cap comes from ICC rate-setting rather than a number printed directly in the statute, it's worth asking the relocator for its filed rate schedule and checking your invoice against it. Our towing cost calculator can help you organize that comparison.
Getting your car back from impound
Impounded vehicles in Illinois are subject to a possessor lien for towing and storage services, governed by the Labor and Storage Lien (Small Amount) Act. That lien is capped: it can't exceed $2,000 in its total amount. Certain items are exempt from the lien entirely and must be returned to you regardless of what's owed, including child restraint systems, eyeglasses, medicine, cash, credit cards, checks, and higher-education textbooks. If your vehicle was stolen or hijacked, the towing service is required to give you written notice by certified mail within 2 business days.
If you're towed from private property
Illinois regulates the commercial removal of trespassing vehicles from private property under Chapter 18a of the Vehicle Code. The ICC licenses the relocators who perform these tows and sets the reasonable rates they can charge, tying private-property towing back into the same statewide rate-setting framework that governs police-directed tows.
After an accident
Illinois requires a crash report when there's a death, bodily injury, or property damage over $1,500 - as long as all the drivers involved are insured. If any driver involved is uninsured, that reporting threshold drops to $500 in property damage.
The Move Over law
Illinois's Move Over statute, known as Scott's Law, requires drivers approaching a stationary authorized emergency vehicle to yield by changing into a lane that isn't adjacent to it, on highways with at least four lanes, whenever that can be done safely. If a lane change isn't possible, you must reduce speed to something reasonable and proper for the conditions. Penalties are steep: fines run from a minimum of $250 up to $10,000 for a first violation, and from a minimum of $750 up to $10,000 for any subsequent violation, with license suspensions possible where the violation causes damage, injury, or death.
FAQ
Is there a fixed statewide maximum for a private-property tow in Illinois? The Illinois Commerce Commission sets the reasonable rates that licensed relocators can charge for towing and storage from private property, rather than the statute listing a flat number itself - ask the relocator for its filed rate schedule to check a specific charge.
Is there a cap on what a towing company's lien can total in Illinois? Yes. The possessor lien for towing and storage services can't exceed $2,000, and certain personal items - like child restraint systems, medicine, and eyeglasses - are exempt from the lien and must be returned regardless.
What's the fine for violating Scott's Law in Illinois? A first violation carries a fine of at least $250 and up to $10,000; a subsequent violation carries a fine of at least $750 and up to $10,000, with possible license suspension if the violation causes damage, injury, or death.