Arkansas Towing Laws: Consent, Reclaim Window, and Fees

Under Arkansas towing laws, if your vehicle is towed without your consent, you have 30 days to formally contest whether the tow was legally justified and 45 days to reclaim the vehicle before the tow company can sell it at public auction. Those two deadlines are the heart of the statute, and the tow company has its own set of obligations around notice, fees, and the release of personal property that exist to make those rights meaningful.

When a Tow Without Your Consent Is Allowed

Arkansas permits nonconsensual towing in two situations: a law enforcement officer directs the tow, or a private property owner has an unauthorized or abandoned vehicle removed. Either way, the job must be handled by a company licensed through the Arkansas Towing and Recovery Board.¹

When a property owner requests a tow, the tow company has to get a signed statement first. That statement must identify the property owner, confirm the owner’s authority over the lot, state the reason for removal, describe the vehicle by make, model, and VIN, and name the storage destination. The tow company must keep its copy for three years, and a copy must be available to anyone claiming an interest in the vehicle.¹

A private lot also needs proper signage before tows from that lot are enforceable. The sign must list the tow company’s name, address, and phone number; the towing and storage charges; and which payment methods the company accepts. Missing or noncompliant signage can undermine a tow from a private lot.¹

There is one on-scene right worth knowing before the truck leaves. If your vehicle is disabled or inoperable and about to be towed without your consent, Arkansas gives you “owner preference.” You, your agent, or a competent occupant can choose a different tow company or even a friend to take the vehicle, provided the alternative is responsible and reasonable.²

What the Tow Company Must Do After Taking Your Vehicle

Within two hours of taking possession, the tow company must notify the local police department or sheriff’s office. Storage fees cannot be charged for time before that notification.¹

You then have to be notified in writing. The tow company must send a certified letter, return receipt requested, to the registered owner and any lienholders. That letter has to go out no sooner than two business days and no later than eight business days after the vehicle arrives at the storage lot.³

The notice has to contain specific information:

The vehicle’s year, make, model, and VIN
The name, address, and phone number of the storage facility
A statement that the vehicle is being held under a police order or other official hold, with a description of the circumstances
A statement that towing, storage, and administrative costs are accumulating as a legal liability of the owner
A statement that the owner has the right to contest the original tow within 30 days

If the tow company doesn’t get ownership information from law enforcement within 48 hours, it has to run its own search through the Office of Motor Vehicle, the Arkansas Crime Information Center, or the vehicle registration records of the state where the vehicle is registered.³ A notification fee may be charged, but it is capped at $25 total for all required notices combined.⁴

If the notice never arrives, or it arrives without the language telling you about the 30-day right to contest, that failure can undermine the tow company’s lien.

Getting Your Vehicle and Belongings Back

Once a licensed tow company takes possession, it automatically has a first-priority possessory lien covering all reasonable towing, recovery, and storage charges. First priority means the tow company’s claim gets paid before anyone else’s, including the bank holding a car loan. The lien also attaches to any trailer connected at the time of the tow and to the trailer’s contents, such as boats or other vehicles.³

The lien does not cover certain personal items, which must be released to you at no charge:

Personal or legal documents
Medications
Child-restraint seating
Wallets or purses and their contents
Prescription eyeglasses
Prosthetics
Cell phones
Photographs
Books

A tow company that refuses to hand over these items is violating the statute. You do not have to pay any fees to get them back.³

The 30-Day Right to Contest the Tow

If you believe your vehicle was towed without legal justification, you have 30 days from the date of the notice to formally contest it under Arkansas Code 27-50-1207.³ The tow company is required to tell you about this right in the certified notice, and the same challenge process applies whether the vehicle was unattended, abandoned, or impounded. Missing signage on a private lot, a defective owner statement, late notification to police, or a defective certified notice are all grounds a challenge might raise.

The 45-Day Reclaim Window

If neither you nor any lienholder reclaims the vehicle within 45 days after the tow company posts or publishes the required notice, all rights to the vehicle and its contents are forfeited. When a law enforcement hold prevents release, the clock extends 20 days past the point the hold is lifted.⁵

After that, the tow company has to sell the vehicle at a nonjudicial public sale for cash. The sale must occur within 90 days after the lien is perfected, or within 45 days after any law enforcement hold is released, whichever is later. Before selling, the company must confirm through the Arkansas Crime Information Center that the vehicle is not listed as stolen.⁵

If the sale brings in more than the total charges, the surplus is handled based on how the vehicle ended up at the lot. For vehicles towed at a law enforcement request, the impound lot operator holds the excess for one year, and unclaimed funds go to the lot operator. For vehicles removed from private property under a nonconsensual tow, the surplus goes to the county clerk and eventually falls under unclaimed property rules. If the sale falls short, the tow company can cancel the sale and take ownership, and it still has a claim against the original owner for the shortfall.⁶

Fees and Complaints About Overcharging

Arkansas does not set a specific dollar cap on towing or storage rates. The Arkansas Towing and Recovery Board investigates complaints from consumers who believe they were overcharged for nonconsensual towing, recovery, storage, or vehicle immobilization, and it can sanction companies that charge excessive or unnecessary fees.⁷

In deciding whether pricing is excessive, the Board weighs the size and number of tow vehicles used, total time for the job, number of employees, special equipment, location, hazardous materials, weather conditions, and how the charges compare to reasonable regional prices.⁴

Every licensed tow company has to keep a current maximum rate schedule posted in a visible location and available to the public, and it must provide itemized billing that shows how charges were calculated.⁷ Because there is no hard cap, the complaint process to the Board is the main enforcement tool if you believe you were overcharged. Ask for the itemized bill, compare it to the posted rate schedule, and preserve both.

Extra Protection for Active-Duty Service Members

Active-duty military personnel have an additional layer of protection under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. A towing or storage company cannot enforce a lien against a service member’s vehicle during active military service or within 90 days afterward without first obtaining a valid court order.⁸ That means the ordinary 45-day sale timeline does not automatically apply if the owner is deployed and cannot respond to the notice or reclaim the vehicle on the usual schedule.

1
Justia Law. Arkansas Code 27-50-1101 – Nonconsensual Towing of a Vehicle, Implement, or Piece of Machinery
2
Justia Law. Arkansas Code 27-50-1202 – Definitions
3
Justia Law. Arkansas Code 27-50-1208 – Possessory Lien and Notice to Owners and Lienholders
4
Arkansas Secretary of State. Administrative Rules of the Arkansas Towing and Recovery Board
5
Justia Law. Arkansas Code 27-50-1209 – Foreclosure of Liens
6
Justia Law. Arkansas Code 27-50-1210 – Nonjudicial Public Sale
7
Justia Law. Arkansas Code 27-50-1203 – Arkansas Towing and Recovery Board
8
Department of Justice. Know Your Rights: A Guide to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act