If your rental car has been impounded by police, call the law enforcement agency that ordered the tow and the rental company immediately, then move fast to gather your paperwork and retrieve the vehicle. Every day it sits in the lot adds storage fees, possible continued rental charges, and administrative costs that the renter — you — is almost always contractually required to pay. Speed is the single biggest factor in how much this ends up costing.
Make Two Phone Calls First
Start with the police department that ordered the tow. You need three specific pieces of information: why the vehicle was impounded, which lot it was taken to, and whether a police release form is required before the lot will hand it over. That last question is the one people skip and regret. Many jurisdictions won’t release a vehicle without written police authorization, especially when the car was held as evidence or tied to a felony arrest. Showing up at the lot without that form means a wasted trip and another day of storage fees.
Call the rental company next. Give them the impound lot’s name and location, the reason for the tow, and the case or incident number from the police. Some companies have their own retrieval procedures and will coordinate directly with the lot. Reporting the situation promptly also creates a record that you acted in good faith, which matters if there’s any later dispute about charges or liability.
While you have the rental company on the line, ask directly what you’ll be charged. Most rental agreements make the renter liable for towing, storage, administrative processing, and often continued rental or loss-of-use fees. Getting the full picture now is better than finding out from a credit card statement weeks later.
Documents to Bring to the Lot
Before you drive to the impound facility, make sure you have all of the following. Missing any one usually means they’ll send you away.
- A valid government-issued photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport.
- The rental agreement, original or printed. A digital copy on your phone may or may not be accepted.
- Proof of insurance that applies to the rental, whether through your personal auto policy, the rental company’s coverage, or a credit card benefit.
- A police release form, if the department told you one is required. These forms are often only issued during weekday business hours.
That business-hours limitation is worth planning around. Many police departments process release forms only Monday through Friday during the day, and impound lots themselves often have reduced weekend hours or close on Sundays and holidays. A car impounded Friday night may not be retrievable until Monday or Tuesday, adding two or three days of storage you can’t avoid.
Also confirm what forms of payment the lot accepts before you leave the house. Some facilities take only cash or certified funds. Finding that out at the counter means another trip and another day of fees.
If You’re in Jail or Someone Else Has to Retrieve It
If you’ve been arrested, the car is accumulating fees while you sit in a holding cell. Call the rental company from jail if you can. Some companies will retrieve their own vehicle, though they’ll bill you for every associated cost.
If a friend or family member is going to pick up the car on your behalf, the requirements are strict. Most impound facilities require that person to show a valid government-issued ID along with either a notarized power of attorney or written authorization from the registered owner. Because the rental company owns the car, that authorization typically has to come from them, not from you. Coordinate with both the rental company and the impound lot in advance to confirm exactly what paperwork each one will accept.
When police hold the car as evidence in a criminal investigation, the timeline gets much worse. The vehicle can sit for weeks or months while storage fees accrue, and there is often nothing you or the rental company can do to speed up release. These situations can easily produce thousands of dollars in charges.
Inspect the Car Before You Drive Off
Once you’ve paid and the lot releases the vehicle, walk around it carefully before leaving. Vehicles can be damaged during towing or while parked in a crowded impound yard. Photograph any new dents, scratches, broken mirrors, or interior damage, and compare what you see against the condition listed on your rental agreement. If something is new, document it on the spot with dated photos and report it to both the lot staff and the rental company. Once you drive off, proving damage happened during impoundment becomes much harder.
What It Costs
Impoundment costs come from three places and compound quickly.
Police-directed tow fees are set by local regulation and vary by jurisdiction. For a standard passenger vehicle, tows typically run from around $150 to $300 or more. Daily storage usually runs between $20 and $70 per day, and in some major cities the tow alone can exceed $200 with storage over $60 daily.
On top of that, the rental company will typically charge its own administrative or processing fee, often $50 to $150 or more. Many companies also charge loss-of-use fees, calculated as a daily rate multiplied by the days the vehicle was out of service, and that rate can match or exceed your rental rate. Whether your regular daily rental charges keep running during impoundment depends on the company and your specific agreement. Read the contract. Most agreements make the renter liable for all costs resulting from impoundment, which gives the company wide latitude.
Put realistic numbers to it: a $200 tow, five days of storage at $50 per day, a $100 rental company administrative fee, and continued rental or loss-of-use charges can easily reach $700 to $1,000 for a situation resolved in under a week. Longer holds push totals much higher. This is why retrieving the car quickly is the single most important financial move you can make.
Who Actually Pays
In almost every case, you do. The common assumptions about what covers these costs don’t hold up:
Standard personal auto insurance does not cover impound or storage fees. These aren’t vehicle damage, so neither collision nor comprehensive applies. Roadside assistance add-ons generally cover breakdowns, not police-ordered tows.
Credit card rental car benefits also don’t cover this. Those products protect against physical damage to the vehicle, not administrative costs like towing, storage, or impound fees.
The rental company’s own optional products, including the collision damage waiver sold at the counter, exclude impoundment too. They cover accidents and theft, not costs arising from law enforcement actions.
In practice, the rental company charges the card on file for everything, sometimes up to 60 days after the rental ends.
What Happens If You Delay
Storage fees keep accumulating every day. At some point the rental company will decide to retrieve the vehicle itself and bill you for the full cost, including tow fees, storage, administrative charges, and potentially the cost of sending an employee to handle the pickup. The company may also terminate your rental agreement and charge early-termination penalties on top of the impound-related costs.
If an impounded vehicle goes unclaimed long enough, the lot can begin proceedings to sell it at auction. The timeline varies by jurisdiction and can be as short as 30 days. For a rental, the company will almost certainly step in before that point because they own the car, but any shortfall between the auction price and what was owed remains their legal claim against you.
The Longer-Term Hit
Beyond the immediate bill, an impoundment can affect your ability to rent cars later. Every major rental company maintains a do-not-rent list, and getting a rental impounded — particularly after a DUI arrest or other criminal activity — can land you on it permanently. Because several large rental brands share parent companies, a ban from one can effectively close off several.
Most rental agreements prohibit driving under the influence and require you to report incidents, including arrests, to the company. Violating those terms can be treated as a breach of contract, giving the company grounds to terminate the agreement, refuse future rentals, and pursue additional damages.