Colorado Towing Bill of Rights: Fees, Retrieval, and Complaints

The Colorado Towing Bill of Rights, passed as House Bill 22-1314, limits what a towing company can charge when it takes your car from private property without your consent, requires 24 hours of written notice before most tows, and lets you drive away after paying just 15 percent of the bill or $60, whichever is less.¹ The Colorado Public Utilities Commission enforces the rules and takes complaints against carriers.²

When a Nonconsensual Tow Is Legal

Before removing your car from a parking space or common lot, a towing company or property owner has to leave written notice on your windshield at least 24 hours in advance. Move the car during those 24 hours and the tow cannot happen.³

Three situations let a carrier skip the 24-hour notice and tow immediately:

Your vehicle is blocking a driveway or roadway.
Your vehicle is in or blocking a designated and marked fire zone.
Your vehicle is parked in a specific resident’s designated, rented, or purchased space without permission.

One rule people miss: a Colorado carrier cannot tow your car just because your registration is expired. The only exception is a tow specifically ordered by a peace officer. A tow based on nothing more than an expired tag or plate record violates the law.³

A tow from private property is also only valid if the property has proper signage. Lots with designated resident spaces need signs at each entryway telling drivers that spaces are assigned and unauthorized vehicles will be towed.¹ Any property where nonconsensual tows happen needs adequate signs communicating the parking rules that can trigger one. Missing or inadequate signs make a tow illegal, so if you can get back to the lot, photograph every entrance.

Getting Your Car Back Without Paying the Full Bill

You do not have to pay the whole bill to pick up your car. The carrier has to release your vehicle once you pay 15 percent of the total fees or $60, whichever is less, and sign a form acknowledging the remaining balance.³ They cannot refuse the arrangement or demand full payment. On a $350 bill, you owe $52.50 up front.

Carriers also cannot charge a drop fee for tows from residential private property. If you walk up to your car in an apartment lot while a truck is hooking up, the driver cannot demand a fee to unhook.⁴

Payment Methods the Carrier Must Accept

Towing carriers have to accept cash and major credit cards, which PUC rules define as Visa and MasterCard.⁵ A cash-only policy, or a card reader that is suddenly broken, is a violation. Document the refusal.

Getting Your Belongings Out of the Car

The stuff inside your car is treated separately from the car itself. A carrier has no lien on the contents of a nonconsensually towed vehicle, so they cannot hold your belongings to force payment of the tow or storage charges.¹ Ask for your property and they must let you retrieve it immediately, at no charge.

You have 30 days from the date the carrier sends notice of the tow to demand the return of your belongings.¹ If you need medication, work tools, or a child’s car seat but cannot cover the full bill yet, get those items first. The carrier cannot charge you for the time it takes to collect them.

Maximum Fees and Storage Rules

The PUC sets caps on what a carrier can charge, adjusted periodically. As of March 15, 2026, the maximums for a standard passenger vehicle (10,000 pounds or under) are:

Base tow fee: $250.91
Mileage: $3.80 per mile
Daily storage: $48.19 per 24-hour period, or any portion of one

Heavier vehicles carry higher rates, and mileage is capped by distance rules tied to proximity to I-25.⁶

You are entitled to an itemized bill showing each charge and the rate behind it. Refusing to provide one on request is a violation.³ Every carrier has to post its PUC-approved maximum rates at its place of business and on its website, along with information on how to file a PUC complaint.¹ Compare every line item on your receipt to those posted rates. Overcharges are common and a padded receipt is strong evidence.

Storage fees have their own limits. A carrier cannot bill you for a day it did not actually store the car, so a weekend when the lot was closed and unable to release the vehicle cannot be charged.¹ Beyond the first 24 hours, storage cannot accrue at all until the carrier has completed the required notification to you and any lienholder. This is where many bills balloon illegitimately, because the company drags on notice while the meter runs.

The Notification Clock After a Tow

Once your car is hauled off, the carrier has 10 days to notify the Colorado Department of Revenue, you as the owner, and any lienholder.¹ Miss that deadline and two things happen. Daily storage beyond the first 24 hours cannot accrue until notice goes out, and the carrier’s mechanic’s lien on the vehicle does not attach until 30 days after that notice reaches you or your lienholder. Late notice pushes back the day the company could ever sell the car, and it wipes out storage charges the company might try to bill you. If notice was late or never came, make that the centerpiece of any complaint.

Photos the Carrier Must Take

Before hooking up your vehicle, the carrier is required to photograph it: at minimum front, rear, driver side, and passenger side, plus at least one additional photo showing the specific reason for the tow and any relevant signage.⁷ Ask for copies when you pick up your car. A carrier that cannot produce the photos has a much weaker position in any dispute over whether the tow was justified.

Filing a Complaint With the PUC

If any of these rules were broken, file a formal complaint with the Colorado Public Utilities Commission. Gather these first:

The towing invoice, which carries the company’s PUC license number, itemized charges, and date and time of the tow.
Photos of the parking area, capturing required signage at each entrance or documenting its absence.
Photos of your car’s condition when you retrieve it, to show any tow damage.
The truck number or driver’s name, usually on the truck or the invoice.

The PUC accepts complaints through an online portal from its consumer information page, where you can upload photos and receipts directly and receive a tracking number.⁸ Paper filings by mail work too.

After the Consumer Affairs team reviews your submission, the PUC can resolve the matter directly or send it to the Transportation Investigations Unit for a deeper look. Outcomes range from an order to release your car at no charge or refund overcharges, to Violation Warning Letters, Civil Penalty Assessment Notices with monetary fines, permit revocation, and in severe cases criminal referral.⁸

When to Go to Small Claims Court

A PUC complaint is an administrative process. It is not a lawsuit and it does not automatically get you a refund. If the carrier damaged your car, overcharged you, or the PUC route does not produce the money back, Colorado county court handles claims up to $25,000 without a lawyer.⁹

Send a written demand letter first. Itemize the charges you are disputing, explain which rules the tow or fees violated, and state the refund you want. Keep a copy. It shows the court you tried to resolve the matter, and judges notice when a business ignores a reasonable demand. Bring the towing invoice, your photos, the PUC complaint file if you have one, and the PUC rate schedule showing the maximums.

If You Are on Active Military Duty

Federal law adds a layer of protection that overrides the state rules for servicemembers. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a towing company holding your vehicle cannot foreclose on or enforce a storage lien during your military service or for 90 days after it ends, unless it first gets a court order.¹⁰ Selling or auctioning a servicemember’s vehicle without that order is a federal misdemeanor punishable by up to a year in prison, and the U.S. Department of Justice has sued towing companies that auctioned deployed servicemembers’ cars.¹¹ If you are on active duty and your car is at risk of auction, contact your installation’s legal assistance office right away.

1
Colorado General Assembly. HB22-1314 Towing Carrier Nonconsensual Tows
2
Public Utilities Commission. Towing – Industry Info
3
Justia. Colorado Code 40-10.1-405 – Nonconsensual Tows – Rights of Owners, Operators, and Lienholders – Rules
4
Public Utilities Commission. PUC Towing Rates
5
Legal Information Institute. 4 CCR 723-6-6512 – Release of Motor Vehicle and Personal Property
6
Public Utilities Commission. PUC Approved Fees – Effective March 15, 2026
7
Colorado Secretary of State. Adopted Rules – PUC Towing Carrier Regulations
8
Public Utilities Commission. Towing – Consumer Info
9
Colorado Judicial Branch. Cases for $25,000 or Less
10
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3958 – Enforcement of Storage Liens
11
United States Department of Justice. DOJ Sues California Towing Company for Illegally Auctioning Servicemembers’ Vehicles