Illinois Towing Laws: Fees, Retrieval, and Complaints

Illinois towing laws come from two statutes working together: the Illinois Vehicle Code at 625 ILCS 5/4-203, which governs when and how a vehicle can be towed from public roads or private property, and the Commercial Relocation of Trespassing Vehicles Law at 625 ILCS 5/18a-100, which regulates commercial towing companies in counties that have opted into Illinois Commerce Commission oversight. Together they control when your car can be hooked up, what you’ll owe, what you can take out of it, and what you can recover if the tow was improper.¹

When a Vehicle Can Legally Be Towed

The rules vary by where the car was parked and for how long. On a toll highway, interstate, or expressway, law enforcement can authorize removal after your vehicle sits unattended for two hours. On a highway in an urban area, the wait is ten hours. On a highway outside an urban area (excluding toll roads and interstates), it’s 24 hours.¹

No waiting period applies if the vehicle is creating an immediate traffic hazard, is wrecked, burned, or partially dismantled, or is blocking a fire lane or driveway. Those can go right away.¹

A DUI arrest triggers an impoundment of at least 12 hours. A second DUI-related arrest raises the minimum to 24 hours, and a third or later offense to 48 hours.¹

Private property owners, or anyone they authorize, can also have a vehicle towed. But only if signage and notification rules are met.

Signage Rules for Private Property Tows

Before a car can be towed from most private lots, the property owner has to post warning signs meeting state specifications. The letters must be reflective and at least two inches high on a contrasting background, the sign must be permanently installed with the bottom at least four feet off the ground, and it must have been continuously displayed for at least 24 hours before any tow.¹

The sign has to state that unauthorized vehicles will be towed at the vehicle owner’s expense and give the current name and phone number of the towing company. Placement matters. Signs go at each driveway access or curb cut within five feet of the public right-of-way, or at least every 100 feet of lot frontage where there are no curbs. Smaller residential properties with two to four units in municipalities under 250,000 residents can instead post a sign at the parking lot perimeter where drivers entering can see it.¹

Single-family homes are exempt from the signage requirement; you’re presumed to know that parking on someone’s residential property without permission risks a tow. Local governments can add requirements on top of state minimums.²

Where the ICC’s Commercial Relocation of Trespassing Vehicles Law applies, the sign must be at least 24 by 36 inches, positioned between four and eight feet above the ground, and either illuminated or painted with reflective paint. It also has to display the towing charges you could face.²

If the signs weren’t right, the tow may have been unlawful. That matters for the remedies discussed below.

If You Catch the Tow in Progress

This is the protection most drivers don’t know about. If you return to your vehicle before the tow truck has actually left with it, the operator must disconnect your car and release it. You’ll owe a service fee, but it cannot exceed half the towing company’s posted rate, and the operator must give you a receipt.¹

The line is “prior to actual removal.” Hooked up but not yet driven off? You keep your car at the reduced rate. Once the truck pulls away, that window closes and full towing and storage charges apply.

Personal Items You Can Retrieve Without Paying

Even if you can’t cover the fees yet, Illinois law bars towing companies from holding certain personal property against payment. The following items are exempt from the tow operator’s lien:

Child restraint systems and booster seats
Eyeglasses, medicine, hearing aids, and other personal medical or health care devices
Cash, credit cards, checks, checkbooks, wallets, and purses
Driver’s licenses, Social Security cards, and other identification documents
Food and other perishable property
Higher education textbooks and study materials
Property inside the vehicle that belongs to someone other than the vehicle owner, if that person proves ownership

A spouse, child, parent, or sibling can claim these items on your behalf with your authorization.¹

If the tow followed a crash, the exemption is broader: all personal property inside the vehicle is exempt from the lien, provided you show the towing company proof that your insurance covers towing and storage.¹

What You’ll Owe and How Rates Are Set

Towing companies that plan to charge you before releasing your vehicle must file a complete rate schedule with the local law enforcement agency and post an identical schedule at the storage site. Any written contract with a property owner authorizing tows must also be posted. Towing and storage charges cannot exceed the maximum rates set by the Illinois Commerce Commission.¹

Ask to see the posted rate schedule before you pay. If the charges on your bill don’t match, that’s a basis for a complaint.

One quick check on whether the tow was even valid: after towing a vehicle from private property, the towing company has to notify local law enforcement within 30 minutes with your make, model, color, and license plate. If you call the police and they have no record of your vehicle being towed, the tow may not have been properly reported.¹

When a Tow Is Improper: What You Can Recover

When someone improperly causes your vehicle to be towed, that person is liable for the cost of removal, transportation, and storage, plus any damage to your vehicle, your attorney’s fees, and court costs. This applies whether the improper order came from a property owner, a property manager, or anyone else who authorized the tow without a legal basis.¹

Small claims court is usually the practical route for recovering these amounts without hiring a lawyer.

Illinois law also prohibits kickbacks. A towing service cannot pay money or anything of value to a property owner or operator in exchange for the privilege of towing from that property. Violation is a Class A misdemeanor, punishable by up to a year in jail. Failing to comply with other Section 4-203 requirements, such as the signage rules or law enforcement notification, is a Class C misdemeanor with a fine of $100 to $500.¹

Deadlines Before Your Car Is Sold or Scrapped

Storage fees run every day the car sits in the lot, and the timeline to lose the vehicle entirely is short.

In Chicago and other cities with populations over 500,000, an unclaimed vehicle can be disposed of 18 days after notice is sent to the registered owner and lienholder. The law enforcement agency or towing service must mail notice by first-class mail during the initial holding period. If the vehicle remains unclaimed, it goes to a licensed automotive parts recycler or scrap processor.³

Outside those large cities, the timeline is 30 days after notice for vehicles seven years old or newer, after which the vehicle is sold at public auction. Notice of the auction must be posted at the impound site and sent by certified mail to the owner and lienholder at least 10 days before the sale.³

Acting within the first day or two saves the most money and prevents storage fees from exceeding the vehicle’s value.

If Your Vehicle Was Damaged During Towing

Damage caused by the towing operator is the company’s responsibility. Document everything before leaving the storage lot: photos from multiple angles, the date and time, and repair estimates from at least two shops.

Contact the towing company directly first. Many will negotiate rather than face a formal claim, particularly with clear evidence. If the company refuses, send a written demand letter itemizing the damage; that letter becomes evidence in small claims court.

Notify your own auto insurance company too. Depending on your policy, your insurer may cover the damage and then pursue the towing company through subrogation. The towing company’s obligation to compensate you exists regardless of whether you file an insurance claim.

How to File a Complaint

If you believe the tow was illegal or the charges were inflated, the Illinois Commerce Commission oversees licensed commercial relocators and takes complaints by phone at 217-782-6171 or through its website.⁴

For tows that didn’t involve an ICC-licensed relocator, or for broader consumer protection concerns, the Illinois Attorney General’s office maintains a consumer fraud hotline at 1-800-243-5377 and can investigate patterns of unfair business practices.⁵

1
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 625 ILCS 5/4-203 – Removal of Motor Vehicles or Other Vehicles; Towing or Hauling Away
2
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 625 ILCS 5/18a-302 – Owner or Other Person in Lawful Possession or Control of Private Property
3
Illinois General Assembly. Illinois Code 625 ILCS 5/4-208 – Disposal of Abandoned, Lost, Stolen, or Unclaimed Vehicles
4
Illinois Commerce Commission. Relocation Towing
5
Illinois Attorney General. Resource Directory