Written by a towing company, not about one
Your Rights When Your Car Is Towed in Michigan
Most of what people believe about towing law in Michigan is wrong in one direction or the other. Here is what the statute actually says, with the section numbers, so you can check it yourself.
Why we are the ones writing this
A Tow Company Explaining the Rules That Bind Tow Companies
There is an obvious oddity in a towing business publishing this page, and it is worth addressing before anything else. The rules below constrain operators like us. Explaining them clearly makes it easier for people to push back on the parts of this trade that deserve pushing back on.
We publish it anyway, for a plain commercial reason as much as a principled one. Almost all of our work is people calling us directly because something has gone wrong — not vehicles taken from private lots against their owner’s wishes. The part of the industry that generates the complaints is not the part we operate in, so we lose very little by being straight about how it works, and we would rather you knew where you stood.
Two warnings before the detail. First, this is general information about what Michigan law says. It is not legal advice, we are not lawyers, and it cannot tell you what to do about a specific dispute over a specific vehicle — for that you need somebody qualified who has heard your facts. Second, statutes change. Everything here was checked against the current Michigan Legislature text, but if you are relying on it for something that matters, follow the section numbers and read the source.
The part most people get wrong
Michigan Does Not Cap What a Tow Can Cost
This is the single most consequential thing to understand, and it surprises nearly everybody. There is no statewide ceiling on towing or storage rates in Michigan. Not for consumer tows, not for private property impounds, and not for police rotation work. Each operator sets their own prices.
Some municipalities impose their own caps by local ordinance — Detroit is the best-known example — but that is a city-by-city matter rather than a protection you can assume exists wherever you happen to break down. In much of the state, including here in Kalamazoo County, the number you are quoted is simply the number that operator has decided to charge.
The practical consequence is that the spread between the cheapest and the most expensive quote for an identical tow can be very large. That is not a scandal in itself; it is what an unregulated market does. What it means for you is that the protection is not in the law, it is in asking for the number before anything is hooked, and in refusing to proceed if the number changes afterward. Any operator unwilling to give you a figure on the phone is telling you something useful about how the rest of the transaction will go.
Section by section
What the Statute Actually Requires
Signage before a private-property tow
Under MCL 257.252k, notice must be prominently displayed at each point of vehicular entry, in letters not less than 2 inches high on a contrasting background, stating that unauthorized vehicles are towed at the owner’s expense. It must name the towing service and give its telephone number.
How that sign must be installed
Permanently installed, with the bottom of the notice not less than 4 feet from the ground, and continuously maintained for at least 24 hours before any vehicle is towed. Where the property has no curbs or access barriers, at least one notice per 100 feet of road frontage.
Where the signage rule does not apply
MCL 257.252l carves out property appurtenant to and obviously part of a single- or dual-family residence. If someone parks in a private driveway, the signage requirements are not what governs it.
When a vehicle becomes abandoned
Under MCL 257.252a, a vehicle removed after a crash, or taken as stolen or to preserve evidence, is considered abandoned if the owner has not redeemed it within 20 days after law enforcement releases it.
The notification duty
Not less than 20 and not more than 30 days after release, the towing agency or custodian must notify the police agency to enter the vehicle as abandoned. The police agency then enters it into LEIN within 24 hours of receiving that notice.
Your window to contest it
A hearing is requested by filing a petition with the court within 20 days after the date of the notice. That deadline is the one people miss, and missing it is what turns a dispute into a settled matter.
A $40 abandoned vehicle fee may also apply. Storage charges are separate from all of this and accrue daily from the moment the vehicle is dropped, which is why the timeline above matters financially as well as legally — the clock that decides your rights and the clock that decides your bill are running at the same time.
If it has already happened
What to Do in the First Twenty-Four Hours
Speed matters more than argument. Every day a vehicle sits somewhere costs money, and several of the deadlines above start running immediately.
Find out where it is and what the daily rate is
Before anything else. If the vehicle was taken from private property, the sign at the entrance is required to carry the towing company’s name and phone number — that is the point of the requirement. Ask what accrues per day and from when.
Photograph the location it was taken from
Specifically the entrances, and specifically whether notice was posted, how large the lettering was, and how it was mounted. If you believe the signage was non-compliant, that evidence disappears the moment somebody puts up a better sign.
Get it out before you argue about it
Retrieving the vehicle does not stop you from disputing the charge afterward, and it does stop the storage meter. Leaving a car in a lot to make a point is the most expensive way to be right.
Note the deadline, in writing, on your phone
If you intend to contest anything, the petition window is 20 days from the date of the notice. Write the actual date down. This is the step people skip, and it is the one that cannot be recovered.
Straight answers
Michigan Towing Law Questions
Is there a legal maximum a tow company can charge in Michigan?
The lot had no sign. Does that make the tow illegal?
How long before my car is treated as abandoned?
Can I dispute a tow after I have already paid to get my car back?
Someone parked in my driveway. Do the signage rules apply to me?
Do you do private property impounds?
Need a Tow, Not a Legal Argument?
Price agreed on the phone before anything moves. That is the whole policy.
Related: What towing costs · Accident towing · Towing FAQ
Statutory references on this page are to the Michigan Vehicle Code, Act 300 of 1949, as published by the Michigan Legislature. This page is general information and not legal advice. For a specific dispute, consult a qualified attorney.