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Car towed in Lauderhill
Lauderhill is in Broward County, Florida. 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 Lauderhill, call the Lauderhill Police Department non-emergency (954-764-HELP) to find out whether your car was towed and which company has it.
- Lauderhill Police Department non-emergency (954-764-HELP)954-764-4357
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 30 minutes, so call the police non-emergency line and ask where your car went.
Fla. Stat. 715.07(2)(a)2
No record of a tow anywhere? Report the car to police as possibly stolen.
What they can charge
| Charge | Maximum |
|---|---|
| Administrative fee | $55.00 |
These are Broward County maximums for October 1, 2026 to September 30, 2027. No storage may be charged if you collect the car within 6 hours, and no admin fee if the owner is identified within 24 hours. We have not confirmed whether your city sets its own rates. Research fee: actual costs incurred (only when research is actually performed). Admin fee may not be charged if owner identified within 24 hours of vehicle arriving at storage facility. $5.50 voluntary fee to expedite ownership verification. Class B private-property tow $210 (flatbed $234), storage $52/24h, admin $55. Class C $360 (flatbed $386), storage $60/24h. Class D $480, storage $60/24h. After-hours access fee $100 applies to government-directed tows only (not listed for private-property tows). No drop fee or gate fee listed for private-property tows in the table. See the official Broward County rates (opens in a new tab).
Statewide, the administrative fee to release a car from the tow company's lien cannot exceed $250.00.
What to bring
- The registered owner or an agent can pick up the car with one government photo ID and a document such as the title or a lease or loan contract. An agent needs a written agreement from the owner, and the company may require that agreement to be notarized.
- The company must accept at least two of three payment types: cash-type payments such as cash or a cashier's check, bank or credit cards, and mobile or digital wallets. It cannot demand more than one photo ID. Call ahead to ask which types the lot takes.
Paperwork locked inside the car? You can inspect the car and take back loose personal belongings within 1 hour of showing a qualifying document during normal business hours, even before you pay.
Fla. Stat. 713.78(10), (17); Fla. Stat. 713.78(19); Fla. Stat. 713.78(10)
Getting it back
- The storage lot must be open for pickups from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. on any day the company is towing. When it is closed, it must post a phone number answered at all times, and someone must arrive within 1 hour of your call.
- Your car must be released within 1 hour of your request.
- You may inspect the car before you accept it. The company cannot make you sign away damage claims to get your car back, and it must give you a detailed receipt with its legal name.
- Inspect the car before you drive away, and photograph any damage.
Before you sign anything: Write any damage on the release receipt before you sign. Under the lien law, damage you do not list at release may be treated as waived.
Fla. Stat. 715.07(2)(a)1; Fla. Stat. 715.07(2)(a)9; Fla. Stat. 715.07(2)(a)9; Fla. Stat. 713.78(5)
Was the tow legal?
Common problems with private tows in Florida include missing tow-away signs, refusing to release the car when you came back before it left, a storage lot too far away, storage charged in the first 6 hours, charges above the legal maximum, and refusing a payment type the law requires.
Check my towSale deadlinesEvidence checklistDispute letter
Tow-away sign rules in Florida
These apply to most private lots (not single-family homes; small businesses with 20 or fewer spaces may use a shorter "customers only" sign).
- Where: At each driveway entrance within 10 feet of the road; lots without curbs need at least one sign per 25 feet of frontage.
- Lettering at least 4 inches tall.
- Must show: a warning that unauthorized vehicles will be towed.
- Must show: the towing company's name.
- Must show: the towing company's phone number.
How to dispute a tow
- Collect evidence. Photograph the lot entrances and any signs, keep every receipt, and write down times and names.
- Ask for an itemized invoice. The company must post a rate sheet at its lot and give it to you on request. A fee that is not on its rate sheet is treated as unreasonable. You can get an itemized invoice within 1 business day.
- File a complaint.
- Broward County Consumer Protection311
- Your county or city towing complaint office
- Florida Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services
- Go to court if needed. You can get your car back before a court decides by posting a bond with the county court clerk for the charges claimed. You then have 45 days to file a case asking the court to decide whether the tow or the fees were wrongful.
- Consider small claims or a chargeback. Florida small claims court handles money claims up to $8,000, not counting costs, interest and attorney's fees. 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. An unclaimed car can be sold at public auction 35 days after it was stored if it is more than 3 model years old, or 57 days after if it is newer. Sale notice must be mailed at least 30 days before the sale.
The company must mail a notice of lien by certified mail to the registered owner, insurer and any lienholder within 5 business days of storing the car.
Florida deadlines, counted from the law
- Company must mail certified notice of lien within: 5 business days after the tow. Fla. Stat. 713.78(4) (opens in a new tab)
- Earliest public auction after car is stored: 35 days after the tow, if car more than 3 model years old. Fla. Stat. 713.78(4), (6) (opens in a new tab)
- Earliest public auction after car is stored: 57 days after the tow, if car 3 model years old or newer. Fla. Stat. 713.78(4), (6) (opens in a new tab)
Common questions
Where is my car if it was towed in Lauderhill?
In Lauderhill, call the Lauderhill Police Department non-emergency (954-764-HELP) 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 30 minutes, so the police non-emergency line can usually tell you where the car is.
How much can a tow company charge in Lauderhill?
For a standard passenger car towed from private property, the Broward County ceiling is $175.00 for the tow and $29.00 per day for storage. Lauderhill may set its own lower limits, so ask the tow company for its rate sheet.
How long before a towed car is sold in Florida?
An unclaimed car can be sold at public auction 35 days after it was stored if it is more than 3 model years old, or 57 days after if it is newer. Sale notice must be mailed at least 30 days before the sale.
Do I pay storage if I get my car back quickly?
No storage fee may be charged if your car was stored less than 6 hours.
Not verified yet for Lauderhill
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
- City-specific documents needed to pick up a car
- Local rules for someone else picking up your car
- Local auction schedules for unclaimed cars
Other cities in Broward County
Sources
Last checked 2026-10-17. These are the laws and official pages this page is based on.
- https://www.browardcdn.org/api/public/content/066b2f77d6594398b77fd19e77592f66?v=c1f95d04 (opens in a new tab)
- https://www.lauderhill-fl.gov/departments/police-department (opens in a new tab)
- https://www.broward.org/Consumer (opens in a new tab)
- https://edr.state.fl.us/Content/population-demographics/data/2025_Pop_Estimates.pdf (opens in a new tab)
- http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0715/Sections/0715.07.html (opens in a new tab)
- http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0700-0799/0713/Sections/0713.78.html (opens in a new tab)
- http://www.leg.state.fl.us/statutes/index.cfm?App_mode=Display_Statute&URL=0100-0199/0125/Sections/0125.0103.html (opens in a new tab)