Can Your Car Be Towed for Expired Tags in Illinois?

Yes, your car can be towed for expired tags in Illinois, though the authority usually comes from a city ordinance rather than state law. Chicago is the clearest example: leave a car on a public street with expired plates and it can be hauled off, with a $250 tow fee, $50 per day in storage, a $500 administrative penalty for missing registration, and the underlying ticket all stacking up fast.

What State Law Actually Says

Illinois law prohibits driving a vehicle with expired registration plates or stickers under 625 ILCS 5/3-413.¹ That statute governs what plates must display. It does not, on its own, authorize a tow.

The state’s towing authority sits in 625 ILCS 5/11-1302, which lists the specific situations where an officer can remove a vehicle. The list covers stolen vehicles, unattended vehicles blocking traffic, vehicles whose driver is being arrested, and vehicles with registration that has been suspended, cancelled, or revoked.² Expired is not the same as suspended, cancelled, or revoked. A registration that lapsed because you forgot to renew is in a different legal category from one the Secretary of State actively ended.

That distinction is narrower than it sounds in practice. If an officer stops you for expired tags and you can’t provide for the vehicle’s custody, that is itself an independent towing trigger in the same statute. And a car sitting on a public street with long-expired tags can be classified as abandoned under 625 ILCS 5/4-203, which allows towing of abandoned vehicles from urban streets after 10 hours and from other highways after 24 hours.³

Where the Real Towing Risk Comes From

Local ordinances are where expired tags turn into a tow more often than not. Chicago’s municipal code makes it unlawful to leave any vehicle on a public street without a valid registration plate or temporary permit, and vehicles in violation are subject to towing.⁴ Other Illinois cities have their own versions, and the specifics vary.

So the practical answer depends on where you park. In a small downstate town, an officer may write a ticket and move on. In Chicago, a car can be gone by the time you walk out of the store. Treat expired tags as a towing risk anywhere you’d park on a public street in a mid-sized or larger city.

What It Costs

Chicago sets its tow fees by ordinance: $250 for vehicles under 8,000 pounds and $350 for heavier vehicles. Storage is $50 per day for standard vehicles and $100 per day for anything over 8,000 pounds.⁵ Outside Chicago, fees are generally lower and vary by company. The Illinois Commerce Commission requires towing companies to post their rates and prohibits charging more than the posted amount, but it does not set a statewide cap.⁶

Then there’s the ticket. An expired-registration citation typically runs around $90, higher in some municipalities and higher still for repeat offenses or long-expired plates. When you go to renew, the Secretary of State adds a $20 late fee to the standard renewal cost.

If the tow comes through Chicago enforcement for a vehicle on a public road without any registration plate, the city adds a $500 administrative penalty on top of the tow, storage, and ticket.⁴ A towed Chicago vehicle can easily cross $500 in combined costs within a few days, and storage is where the number keeps growing. Even at $25 or $35 per day in a smaller city, two weeks in impound adds hundreds. Getting the car out quickly is the single biggest thing you control.

Getting the Car Back

Find the vehicle first. Call the agency that ordered the tow or the city’s towing information line. Chicago has an online vehicle lookup. Bring valid ID, proof of ownership such as the title or registration card, and proof of insurance. Many impound lots also require a police release form from the district station that authorized the tow.

You pay all outstanding tow and storage fees before the vehicle is released. Impound lots must be open during business hours and during any hours the towing company is open for towing purposes, so you can reclaim the car.³ The company must provide a detailed receipt.

Renew the registration before you drive out of the lot. Leaving on the same expired tags invites a second ticket, or a second tow.

Belongings You Can Take Without Paying

Under 625 ILCS 5/4-203, the towing company has a lien on the vehicle and most of its contents, but certain essential items are exempt from that lien and must be released to you even if you can’t yet pay to recover the car.³ Those include child car seats and booster seats; prescription medicine, medical devices, hearing aids, and eyeglasses; food and perishables; cash, credit cards, checks, and checkbooks; driver’s licenses, wallets, purses, and documents containing Social Security cards or similar identifying material; textbooks and higher-education study materials; and property belonging to someone else who can prove ownership. A close family member can claim these items for you with your authorization. Everything else, like electronics, tools, and recreational gear, stays with the vehicle until the bill is paid.

If You Don’t Pick It Up

The vehicle doesn’t just sit there indefinitely. Storage fees keep accruing, and eventually the lot can dispose of the car. In cities with a population over 500,000, meaning Chicago in practice, an unclaimed vehicle can be scrapped or sold to a recycler 18 days after the owner is notified. Elsewhere in the state, the waiting period is 30 days after notice for vehicles seven years old or newer.⁷

Once the vehicle is disposed of, the last registered owner is presumed to have abandoned it and faces a mandatory $200 fine plus liability for towing, storage, and processing costs. Storage-fee liability is capped at 30 days. You can rebut the presumption of abandonment if you filed a stolen-vehicle report or can prove you sold the car before the tow and identify the buyer.⁸

Fighting the Tow or the Fine

Illinois has no single statewide post-tow hearing process that applies uniformly across every city. Chicago runs an administrative hearing system where you can contest both the tow and the related fines, and you need to request a hearing promptly, because waiting too long can forfeit the right to contest. Outside Chicago, some municipalities use administrative hearings; others require you to challenge the tow by contesting the underlying citation in court.

The strongest argument is that your registration was actually current when the car was towed. Officers run plates against databases that aren’t always up to date, so a renewal receipt or Secretary of State confirmation showing the renewal date can knock out the basis for the tow. Procedural errors by the officer and vehicles parked on private property not covered by the municipal ordinance are other avenues worth raising.

Act fast. Storage fees don’t pause while a hearing is pending, so retrieve the vehicle first when you can and contest the charges from there. A successful challenge can produce a refund of towing and storage fees and dismissal of related fines, but only if the car isn’t still bleeding storage charges while you wait.

1
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 625 ILCS 5/3-413 – Display of Registration Plates, Registration Stickers, and Drive-Away Permits
2
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 625 ILCS 5/11-1302 – Officers Authorized to Remove Vehicles
3
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 625 ILCS 5/4-203 – Removal of Motor Vehicles or Other Vehicles; Towing or Hauling Away
4
City of Chicago. Chicago Municipal Code 9-76-160 – Registration Plates
5
City of Chicago. Common Towing Questions
6
Illinois Commerce Commission. Consumer’s Guide to Towing
7
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 625 ILCS 5/4-208 – Disposal of Abandoned, Lost, Stolen, or Unclaimed Vehicles
8
FindLaw. Illinois Code 625 ILCS 5/4-214 – Violations of Section 4-201