Towed Car Help

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Car towed in Fort Smith

Fort Smith is in Sebastian County, Arkansas. Here is how to find your car, what you can be charged, and what to do if the tow looks wrong. Last checked 2026-10-17.

Storage fees grow every day. Get your car back as soon as you can, even if you plan to dispute the tow. Pay, keep every receipt, and fight the charges afterward.

Find who towed your car

Street parking or a police tow

In Fort Smith, call the Fort Smith Police Department non-emergency line to find out whether your car was towed and which company has it.

Apartment, store, or private lot

Read the tow-away sign at the lot entrance. It must show the tow company's name and phone number.

No sign, or you can't find it? The company must report the tow to police within 2 hours, so call the police non-emergency line and ask where your car went.

Ark. Code 27-50-1101(a)(2)(A), (C)

No record of a tow anywhere? Report the car to police as possibly stolen.

What they can charge

We have not verified local maximum rates for Fort Smith yet. Ask the tow company for its rate sheet. It must give you one on request.

Estimate your bill

What to bring

  • You may use any other licensed towing company to reclaim your car from storage. The Board requires licensed storage firms to allow this.
  • Arkansas law does not require every tow company to take cards, but a city or county may require companies that tow from its private lots to accept cash, credit and debit cards. Ask what payment types are accepted before you go. Call ahead to ask which types the lot takes.

Paperwork locked inside the car? The tow company cannot hold certain items for payment, including personal and legal documents, medications, child car seats, wallets and purses, prescription glasses, prosthetics, cell phones, photographs and books. It must release them free of charge.

Ark. Code 27-50-1203(e)(1)(H); Ark. Code 27-50-1101(a)(1)(B)(i)(a)(3); Ark. Code 27-50-1208(a)(2)(B)-(C)

Getting it back

  • Inspect the car before you drive away, and photograph any damage.

Before you sign anything: When you pick up the car, inspect it first and, if you see loss or damage, put it in writing on your receipt. The statute describes this receipt for vehicles released on a bond after a challenge.

Ark. Code 27-50-1207(f)(3)

How to dispute a tow

  1. Collect evidence. Photograph the lot entrances and any signs, keep every receipt, and write down times and names.
  2. Ask for an itemized invoice. Every licensed towing company must post its current maximum rate schedule in a conspicuous place where the public can see it.
  3. File a complaint.
  4. Go to court if needed. If a car was removed at the direction of police or another agency, you have 30 days to seek review and may get the car out by posting a bond for the tow and storage charges. This procedure is written for official tows, so ask a court clerk or attorney whether it fits a private-lot tow.
  5. Consider small claims or a chargeback. Each Arkansas district court has a small claims division for claims up to $5,000, not counting costs or interest. Attorneys are not allowed in small claims. You can sue for a wrongful tow or overcharge there, or file a Board complaint instead. If you paid by credit card, you can dispute the charge with your card issuer. For billing errors, your written dispute generally must reach the issuer within 60 days of the first bill showing the charge. Whether a tow charge qualifies is up to the issuer.

Deadlines to watch

Your car can be sold. If you do not reclaim the car within 45 days after the notice is posted or published, you lose rights to it. The sale must be a public sale for cash, at least 15 days after written notice and with a newspaper ad at least 10 days before, and no later than 90 days after the lien is perfected.

The tow company gets a lien on the car and must send certified-mail notice to the registered owner and lienholders. The notice must be mailed no sooner than 2 and no later than 8 business days after it receives the car.

Arkansas deadlines, counted from the law

See the dates for your tow

Common questions

Where is my car if it was towed in Fort Smith?

In Fort Smith, call the Fort Smith Police Department non-emergency line to find out whether your car was towed and which company has it. For a private tow, the tow company must report it to police within 2 hours, so the police non-emergency line can usually tell you where the car is.

How much can a tow company charge in Fort Smith?

Local maximum rates for private-property tows in Fort Smith are not verified on this site yet. Ask the tow company for its posted rate sheet, which it must give you on request.

How long before a towed car is sold in Arkansas?

If you do not reclaim the car within 45 days after the notice is posted or published, you lose rights to it. The sale must be a public sale for cash, at least 15 days after written notice and with a newspaper ad at least 10 days before, and no later than 90 days after the lien is perfected.

Do I pay storage if I get my car back quickly?

Ask the tow company when storage charges begin.

Not verified yet for Fort Smith

We only publish details we could confirm from an official source. These are still missing, so ask the agencies above:

  • Addresses and hours of the tow lots that hold police tows
  • An official online lookup for towed cars
  • Local maximum rates for private-property tows
  • City-specific documents needed to pick up a car
  • Local rules for someone else picking up your car
  • Local auction schedules for unclaimed cars

Sources

Last checked 2026-10-17. These are the laws and official pages this page is based on.