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Towing rules for property managers in Texas

Before you have a car towed from your property in Texas, check these rules. They are a summary of state law; your city or county may add more.

Printable checklist

Placement: Facing drivers entering the lot, bottom edge 5 to 8 feet off the ground, at each driveway entrance
Sign size: at least 18 inches by 24 inches
A sign at each entrance
The hours parking is enforced
A warning that unauthorized vehicles will be towed
Who may park there
Tow company reports the tow to police within 2 hours
Release the car if the owner returns before it leaves the property

Check your sign

What the sign law says

Applies to: Lots using signs as the basis for a tow (a sign is one of several ways to authorize a tow)

A tow-away sign must face drivers entering the lot, be mounted on a permanent pole or wall with its bottom edge 5 to 8 feet off the ground, and stand at each driveway entrance. The sign must be at least 18 by 24 inches, show the international towing symbol, say who may park there, state the days and hours of towing, and include the words "Unauthorized Vehicles Will Be Towed at Owner's or Operator's Expense". It must also list a phone number, answered 24 hours a day, for finding a towed car.

Tex. Occ. Code 2308.301(a) (opens in a new tab)

The phone number is for finding a towed car, not necessarily the towing company's. Wide entrances without defined driveways need a sign so no spot is more than 25 feet from one. Dimensions are given as 'X by Y inches' without naming which is width and which is height; they are listed in the stated order. Additional quoted text comes from: Tex. Occ. Code 2308.301(b) <https://texas.public.law/statutes/tex._occ._code_section_2308.301>.

Tow-away signs and warnings

A tow-away sign must face drivers entering the lot, be mounted on a permanent pole or wall with its bottom edge 5 to 8 feet off the ground, and stand at each driveway entrance. Wide entrances without defined driveways need a sign so that no spot along the entrance is more than 25 feet from one. Tex. Occ. Code 2308.301(a) (opens in a new tab)
The sign must be at least 18 by 24 inches, show the international towing symbol, say who may park there, state the days and hours of towing, and include the words "Unauthorized Vehicles Will Be Towed at Owner's or Operator's Expense". It must also list a phone number, answered 24 hours a day, for finding a towed car. Tex. Occ. Code 2308.301(b) (opens in a new tab)
A lot owner may tow without a sign only if you were told in person that you would be towed, or a notice was put on your windshield and then mailed by certified mail with a 15-day warning. Otherwise the signs must have been up for the 24 hours before the tow. Tex. Occ. Code 2308.252(a)-(c) (opens in a new tab)
If the lot has a compliant sign, you must be able to find your towed car by calling the phone number on the sign. Tex. Occ. Code 2308.303 (opens in a new tab)

If you get back before the tow leaves

If your car is not yet fully hooked up, the driver must release it free. If it is fully hooked up but still on the lot, you can pay a drop fee of no more than $135 for a car of 10,000 lb or less, and the driver must accept cash, debit and credit cards. TDLR consumer information; 16 TAC 86.455 (opens in a new tab)
You do not have to prove ownership to stop a tow in either case. Once the truck is on the public road, the driver may continue to a storage lot. TDLR Towing at a Glance (opens in a new tab)

Where your car can be taken

A private-property tow must go to a state-licensed vehicle storage facility, unless the tow company agrees to take it somewhere you choose. Texas law sets no maximum distance for the storage lot. Tex. Occ. Code 2308.205(a) (opens in a new tab)
The storage facility must report the car to city police, or the county sheriff outside a city with police, within 2 hours of receiving it. The report includes the plate, VIN, tow location and where the car is stored, so a non-emergency call can find it. Tex. Occ. Code 2308.2565(a); 2303.1511 (opens in a new tab)

Drivers' rights in Texas