Towed Car Help

Home / Virginia / Alexandria

Car towed in Alexandria

Alexandria is in Alexandria city County, Virginia. 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 Alexandria, call the Alexandria 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, so call the police non-emergency line and ask where your car went.

Va. Code 46.2-1231(B)

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

What they can charge

$210.00
Ceiling to tow a standard car from private property under Virginia (state default; localities may set different limits) rates; your city may set its own
Not published
Virginia (state default; localities may set different limits) ceiling per day of storage, starting after 24 hours

These rates may have changed since this schedule was published. Schedules are often updated once a year, so check the official source before relying on them.

Other Virginia (state default; localities may set different limits) maximums
ChargeMaximum
After-hours or gate fee$30.00
Drop fee (car removed before towing)$25.00
Immobilization device removal$25.00

Unless your city or county sets different limits, hookup and initial towing is capped at $210, with up to two after-hours/weekend/holiday add-ons of $30 each. No storage can be charged for the first 24 hours; the state sets no dollar cap on storage after that. See the official Virginia (state default; localities may set different limits) rates (opens in a new tab).

Estimate your bill

What to bring

  • The statute says the car is held until called for by the owner or the owner's agent. Bring ID and proof of ownership or authorization.
  • Payment. Call ahead to ask which types the lot takes.

Paperwork locked inside the car? Virginia's private-property towing statutes do not say whether you may retrieve personal belongings from a towed car. Ask the tow lot and check your local ordinance.

Va. Code 46.2-1231(A); Va. Code 46.2-1231 (no provision found)

Getting it back

  • Virginia's state statutes do not say whether you may inspect the car before paying or whether the lot can make you sign a damage waiver. Take photos and note any damage before leaving, and keep your receipt.
  • Inspect the car before you drive away, and photograph any damage.

Va. Code 46.2-1231, 46.2-1233.1 (no provision found)

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. Tow companies must post a full list of their towing, recovery and storage fees at their main office and any place where cars are picked up (or hand you the list when you reclaim). Charges above the posted fees cannot be collected.
  3. File a complaint.
  4. Go to court if needed. Virginia's tow statutes give no special hearing to get the car released early. The usual route is to pay, then sue the property owner or tow company in general district court (or small claims for $5,000 or less) to get money back.
  5. Consider small claims or a chargeback. Virginia small claims court (part of general district court) hears claims up to $5,000, excluding interest. Larger claims go to general district court proper (up to $50,000 concurrently with circuit court). 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. For a stored car, a lienholder generally may sell it at public auction only if the debt is unpaid 10 days after it is due, after advertising the sale and sending written notice to the owner at least 10 days before. This general lien statute is not specific to towing, so a lot's right to rely on it for towed cars is unverified.

Separately, if a car sits on private land for more than 48 hours without the owner's consent, it may be treated as abandoned. The holder must then ask DMV to search for the owner and lienholders, who are told by certified mail to reclaim it within 15 days.

Virginia deadlines, counted from the law

  • Public auction allowed if debt unpaid after due date: 10 days (see the law for when the count starts), if general lien statute; text says its use for towed cars is unverified. Va. Code 43-34 (opens in a new tab)
  • Owner and lienholders told to reclaim within: 15 days after the tow company's notice, if car on private land more than 48 hours without consent treated as abandoned. Va. Code 46.2-1200; 46.2-1202 (opens in a new tab)

See the dates for your tow

Common questions

Where is my car if it was towed in Alexandria?

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

How much can a tow company charge in Alexandria?

For a standard passenger car towed from private property, the Virginia (state default; localities may set different limits) ceiling is $210.00 for the tow. Alexandria may set its own lower limits, so ask the tow company for its rate sheet.

How long before a towed car is sold in Virginia?

For a stored car, a lienholder generally may sell it at public auction only if the debt is unpaid 10 days after it is due, after advertising the sale and sending written notice to the owner at least 10 days before. This general lien statute is not specific to towing, so a lot's right to rely on it for towed cars is unverified.

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

No storage fee may be charged if your car was stored less than 24 hours.

Not verified yet for Alexandria

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

Sources

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