Towed Car Help

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Car towed in Brookings

Brookings is in Brookings County, South Dakota. 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 Brookings, call the Brookings Police Department non-emergency to find out whether your car was towed and which company has it.

Apartment, store, or private lot

Look for a tow-away sign at the lot entrance. It often shows the tow company's name and phone number.

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

SDCL 32-30-3.1

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 Brookings yet. Ask the tow company for its rate sheet. It must give you one on request.

Estimate your bill

What to bring

  • The registered owner or a lienholder can reclaim the vehicle. They must tell the state Department of Revenue in writing within 30 days that they intend to reclaim it.
  • Payment. Call ahead to ask which types the lot takes.

Paperwork locked inside the car? The tow company has a possessory lien on the car and its contents for reasonable towing and storage costs. The lien on contents cannot exceed $500, and it cannot attach to tools used in your trade, clothing or food.

SDCL 32-36-9; SDCL 32-30-18

Getting it back

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

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. I found no statewide maximum rate for private-property tows in South Dakota law. The lien covers only the reasonable cost of taking custody and storing the car, so ask for an itemized bill.
  3. File a complaint.
  4. Go to court if needed. I found no special South Dakota hearing process to contest a private-property tow. The usual route is small claims court, which hears claims up to $12,000.
  5. Consider small claims or a chargeback. Small claims claims in South Dakota cannot exceed $12,000, not counting allowable costs or attorney 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. Title passes to the tow company 30 days after the notice was mailed if the owner has not claimed the car. After that you can no longer get it back.

Within 45 days of the removal, the tow company must mail written notice by certified mail to the registered owner and known lienholders. It must give the date and place of the tow, the vehicle details and where the car is held.

South Dakota deadlines, counted from the law

See the dates for your tow

Common questions

Where is my car if it was towed in Brookings?

In Brookings, call the Brookings Police Department non-emergency 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, so the police non-emergency line can usually tell you where the car is.

How much can a tow company charge in Brookings?

Local maximum rates for private-property tows in Brookings 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 South Dakota?

Title passes to the tow company 30 days after the notice was mailed if the owner has not claimed the car. After that you can no longer get it back.

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

Ask the tow company when storage charges begin.

Not verified yet for Brookings

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.