Under Colorado impound laws, a vehicle can be towed after sitting 24 hours on private property without permission or 48 hours on public property, and once it’s in the lot you’re looking at roughly $250 to $286 for the tow plus about $48 per day in storage until you pay the bill or win a hearing. The deadlines to contest are short, the fees compound daily, and the towing company’s lien outranks your auto loan if the car ends up at auction.
When Colorado Allows a Vehicle to Be Impounded
State law treats three situations separately, and each has its own trigger.
On public property outside an incorporated city or town, a vehicle left unattended qualifies as abandoned after 48 hours. Inside city limits the timeframe follows the local ordinance, and where no ordinance exists the default is also 48 hours. The widely repeated 72-hour figure isn’t the abandonment rule; it’s a separate deadline that applies once a vehicle is already in an impound lot and the agency has told you it’s available for release. Miss that 72-hour pickup window and it gets reclassified as abandoned.1Justia. Colorado Code 42-4-1802 – Abandoned Motor Vehicle Definitions
On private property, the window shrinks to 24 hours. A vehicle left without the owner’s consent for 24 hours or more can be classified as abandoned, and the property owner or an authorized agent can call a towing carrier to remove it.2Justia. Colorado Code 42-4-2102 – Definitions The carrier has to be able to show the vehicle actually sat that long and may leave a warning notice on it to document the timeline.3Colorado Secretary of State. PUC Adopted Rules – Rule 6513 Private lots also have to post PUC-compliant signage before a nonconsensual tow is legal, and a carrier that violates the rules forfeits the right to charge fees and must return any money already collected.4Colorado General Assembly. HB22-1314 Towing Carrier Nonconsensual Tows If the lot where your car got towed had no signs, or signs that didn’t state the restriction and the tow carrier’s name and number, you have a real argument the tow was improper.
Law enforcement is the third path. When someone is arrested, the vehicle at the scene usually goes to a lot, because no one is legally able to drive it away. This is standard in DUI stops and any case where the driver can’t lawfully continue. The Colorado State Patrol also has statutory authority to impound for registration or inspection violations, and vehicles that obstruct traffic can be removed under general law enforcement authority.5Justia. Colorado Code 42-13-106 – Impounded Vehicles – Notice – Hearing
What You’ll Pay to Get Your Car Back
Colorado’s Public Utilities Commission caps towing rates statewide. For a standard passenger vehicle (10,000 lbs. or less), the schedule effective March 15, 2026 looks like this:
- Law enforcement tow: $286.15 per hour
- Private property impound base rate: $250.91
- Drop charge if the vehicle is released before it reaches the lot: $97.70
- Daily storage: $48.19 per 24-hour period, and any partial day counts as a full day
- After-hours release fee (outside roughly 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. weekdays): $106.06
Carriers can add charges for specialized equipment such as dollies ($25 to $75) or winching ($50 to $100). The bill runs up quickly. A car impounded Friday evening that you can’t reach until Monday morning already carries roughly $430 in storage and release fees on top of the tow. A week in the lot can push storage alone to $600 or $700. For an older vehicle, the bill can exceed what the car is worth in under a month.
Getting Your Vehicle or Your Belongings Out
You don’t necessarily need to pay the full bill to retrieve the car or what’s inside it. For nonconsensual tows, Colorado law gives you 30 days from the tow notice to demand access to the contents of the vehicle. The carrier must either hand over your belongings or let you get them yourself.4Colorado General Assembly. HB22-1314 Towing Carrier Nonconsensual Tows That matters for medications, work tools, child car seats, and anything else you can’t wait days to recover.
If the total fees are more than you can pay, a partial-payment rule applies. By paying 15 percent of the total or $60, whichever is less, and signing a form acknowledging the remaining debt, you can retrieve the vehicle or its contents.4Colorado General Assembly. HB22-1314 Towing Carrier Nonconsensual Tows The rule exists so people aren’t locked out of their own property while storage charges keep running.
For a DUI-related tow, releasing the car itself requires proof of insurance and a valid license. If your license has been revoked, someone else with a valid license and insurance generally has to retrieve the vehicle, or storage keeps compounding until your driving privileges are restored.
The Notice You Should Receive
How and when you get notified depends on who impounded the car.
If the State Patrol impounded your vehicle for a registration or inspection violation, the agency must send notice by certified mail within 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays. The notice has to include the storage location, a description of the vehicle, the reason for the hold, and your right to request a hearing.5Justia. Colorado Code 42-13-106 – Impounded Vehicles – Notice – Hearing
If a carrier towed the vehicle from private property, the operator has up to ten days to identify the owner and any lienholders, then send notice by certified mail with return receipt requested. That notice must identify the operator, describe the vehicle, and provide the tow report number and storage location.7Justia. Colorado Code 42-4-2103 – Abandonment and Nonconsensual Towing of Motor Vehicles – Private Property – Rules
Both notices have to go to the registered owner and any lienholders. If you never received the required notice, that failure weakens the legal basis for keeping the car and can be raised when you contest.
How to Contest an Impoundment
You can challenge an impoundment you believe was improper, but the windows are narrow.
For a State Patrol impoundment, request a hearing in writing in the county court where the vehicle was impounded within ten days of the date on the notice. Miss that deadline and you waive the right to contest. At the hearing, the State Patrol has the burden of proving probable cause for the impoundment, not the other way around.5Justia. Colorado Code 42-13-106 – Impounded Vehicles – Notice – Hearing Your job is to poke holes in that showing.
For an impoundment ordered by a local police department, the hearing process follows municipal rules rather than the State Patrol statute. Deadlines vary but tend to fall between ten and fifteen days. Read the notice for the specific deadline and the court where you file.
If you win, the vehicle should be released without additional storage charges, and you may be entitled to reimbursement for towing and storage already paid, though recovering that money can require a separate proceeding. The short deadlines and procedural requirements trip up a lot of people who try to handle this alone, so if the fees are substantial, getting legal help is worth the call.
What Happens If You Don’t Act
An unclaimed vehicle abandoned on private property can be sold at public or private sale. The sale must happen between 30 and 60 days after notice was mailed to the owner, and an independent third party must appraise the vehicle first.8Justia. Colorado Code 42-4-2104 – Appraisal of Abandoned Motor Vehicles – Sale
What happens next depends on the appraisal. If it comes in at $350 or less, the vehicle can only be sold for junking, scrapping, or dismantling, and the buyer does not receive a Colorado certificate of title. Above $350, the vehicle can be sold to a licensed dealer, at a wholesale auction, or through a classified newspaper ad, with the buyer receiving a title through a Department of Revenue process.8Justia. Colorado Code 42-4-2104 – Appraisal of Abandoned Motor Vehicles – Sale
For a State Patrol impoundment, the notice itself warns that failing to request a hearing or comply with the statute within 30 days can lead to sale.5Justia. Colorado Code 42-13-106 – Impounded Vehicles – Notice – Hearing
One detail catches many owners off guard: the towing operator’s lien for towing and storage is a first-priority lien on the vehicle. It gets paid before any other claim, including a bank’s auto loan.9Justia. Colorado Code 42-4-2105 – Liens Upon Towed Motor Vehicles If your car sells at auction and the proceeds don’t cover both the tow fees and the loan balance, you can still owe money on a car you no longer have. Lienholders receive notice of the sale, but if neither you nor the lienholder acts, the original title is gone.
You can stop the sale by paying the outstanding fees before the auction date. If the full amount isn’t in reach, ask the lot about a payment arrangement. The operator can continue charging storage for up to 120 days on a vehicle that doesn’t sell at the initial attempt.8Justia. Colorado Code 42-4-2104 – Appraisal of Abandoned Motor Vehicles – Sale Every day of delay adds roughly $48 at current rates, so acting fast is the single biggest thing you can do to limit what you owe.
If You’re Active-Duty Military
Federal law adds a layer of protection for servicemembers that overrides Colorado’s sale process. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, no one holding a storage lien on your property can foreclose on or sell it during your military service or for 90 days afterward without first obtaining a court order. The statute’s definition of “lien” explicitly includes storage, repair, and cleaning liens.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3958 – Enforcement of Storage Liens
If your ability to pay is materially affected by your service, a court can pause the proceedings or adjust the obligation. Anyone who knowingly sells a servicemember’s vehicle in violation of the statute faces criminal penalties, including up to one year in prison.10Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3958 – Enforcement of Storage Liens If you learn your vehicle has been impounded while you’re deployed, notify the lot of your status right away and provide a copy of your orders. Most operators will work with you once they understand the legal exposure for noncompliance.