New Jersey Abandoned Vehicle Laws: Towing, Fees, and Penalties

Under New Jersey abandoned vehicle laws, a car left on a public road or private property for more than 48 hours without the property owner’s consent is presumed abandoned, the window shrinks to four hours on limited-access highways like the Parkway and Turnpike, and a vehicle without current plates can be flagged immediately regardless of how long it has sat.¹ Once that presumption kicks in, the vehicle can be towed, stored at the owner’s expense, and eventually sold at auction or issued a junk title. Fines for the person who abandoned it run from $100 up to $1,000 for repeat offenders.

When a Vehicle Is Legally Abandoned

N.J.S.A. 39:4-56.5 sets the thresholds. On any public road, public property, or private property without the owner’s consent, 48 hours is the trigger. On limited-access highways, four hours is enough, because a disabled car in high-speed traffic is a safety problem the state doesn’t want sitting overnight.¹

The plate rule catches people off guard. A car missing its current registration plates is presumed abandoned no matter how briefly it has been parked. Local police and municipal officials make the initial call based on what they can see, how long the vehicle has been there, and reports from neighbors or property owners.

Reporting an Abandoned Vehicle

If a vehicle looks abandoned on a public street, call your local police department’s non-emergency line. Give them the location, a description covering make, model, and color, and the plate number if you can read one. Flat tires, broken windows, expired tags, and missing plates are the details officers want to know about.

If the car is sitting on property you own, don’t call a tow truck yourself. Local police have to get involved first so the municipality can document the vehicle and start the formal removal process. For paperwork or questions about private-property abandonment, the MVC’s Abandoned Title Unit can be reached at 609-341-5771 or MVC.SpecialTitle@mvc.nj.gov.²

What Happens After Towing From a Public Road

Once a public agency takes possession, it has to report the vehicle to the Chief Administrator of the Motor Vehicle Commission for an ownership check and to the National Insurance Crime Bureau.³ Vehicles that are an immediate hazard can be towed on the spot.

After the MVC returns ownership information, the agency has three business days to notify the registered owner and any lienholder. The notice can go out by phone, mail, fax, or electronic communication, and the actual cost of that notice can be billed to the owner.³

Removing an Abandoned Vehicle From Private Property

Getting a car off private property takes longer and involves more paperwork. N.J.S.A. 39:4-56.6 lays out the sequence. The property owner first notifies local police by certified mail. Then the property owner sends a 90-day notice, also by certified mail, to the registered owner and any lienholder, stating that the vehicle will be sold if it isn’t claimed within 90 days and all towing and storage costs paid.⁴

If the certified letter comes back undeliverable, a follow-up goes out by regular mail. The property owner also has to publish a notice in a local newspaper for two consecutive weeks, running three total insertions, saying they’ve applied to the MVC for authority to sell the vehicle at auction. Anyone who wants to contest the sale has 10 days from the newspaper ad to contact the Chief Administrator.⁴

Before the auction itself, a 5-day notice goes by certified mail to the owner and lienholder, and a newspaper ad has to run at least five days ahead listing the date, time, and place. From first police report to auction, the whole process typically runs several months. If the auction can’t be completed for some reason, the property owner can apply to the MVC for a title in their own name.²

Signage Requirements for Parking Lots

The state’s Predatory Towing Prevention Act adds rules for tows out of private parking lots. Without proper signage at the lot, the tow is likely illegal even if the vehicle wasn’t authorized to park there. Every vehicular entrance needs a sign at least 36 inches by 36 inches showing what parking is allowed, when it’s allowed, the tow company’s name and contact information, the storage facility address, and the towing and storage charges.⁵ The Division of Consumer Affairs phone number (1-800-242-5846) also has to appear on the sign.

Towing and Storage Fees

New Jersey doesn’t set one statewide rate. Each municipality adopts its own fee schedule by ordinance for both removal and daily storage, and those schedules have to be available to the public during normal business hours.⁶

There are still guardrails. Under the Division of Consumer Affairs’ rules, a fee is presumed unreasonable if it exceeds the maximum in the local ordinance.⁷ For non-consensual tows from private property, the Predatory Towing Prevention Act caps the charge at no more than 25% above what the same company charges for a consensual tow of the same type, or no more than 50% above the going community rate for non-consensual towing, whichever applies.⁵

Storage fees start the day the car arrives at the lot and accumulate every day after. A vehicle left for weeks can rack up charges that exceed its value. Ask for an itemized receipt and compare the charges against the municipality’s published fee schedule before paying.

Getting Your Impounded Vehicle Back

Move fast. Every day the car sits in impound adds to the bill. To reclaim it, you’ll generally need valid ID, proof of ownership such as a title or registration, and payment for all outstanding towing and storage charges. Some municipalities also want proof of current insurance and registration before releasing the vehicle.

If the total is more than you can pay in one visit, ask whether the impound facility or municipality will set up a payment arrangement. Not every jurisdiction offers one. If you neither pay nor work out an agreement, the vehicle moves toward auction or a junk title, and at that point you lose it.

Auctions and Junk Titles

When nobody claims the vehicle and the notice process is complete, the public agency or property owner can sell it at public auction. For public-road cases under N.J.S.A. 39:10A-1, a newspaper notice has to run at least five days before the sale, listing the date, time, location, and vehicle description.⁴

Cars that don’t run or would cost more to fix than they’re worth can be issued a junk title by the MVC instead of going to auction.² A junk title permanently brands the vehicle so it can’t be fraudulently re-registered as roadworthy.

Vehicles Left at Repair Shops

Body shops and repair facilities have their own track under N.J.S.A. 39:10A-9 when a customer drops off a car and never comes back. The facility can store the vehicle, sell it at public or private sale, or apply for a junk title.⁸

One important limit: if the car is still sitting there because of a billing dispute between the shop and the owner, the facility cannot sell the vehicle or get a junk title until that dispute is resolved.⁸ The abandonment process can’t be used as a lever in a price disagreement.

Penalties for Abandoning a Vehicle

The fines under N.J.S.A. 39:4-56.5 start at $100 to $500 for a first offense. A second or subsequent offense runs $500 to $1,000.¹ These fall on the person who abandoned the vehicle, not the property owner dealing with the result.

On top of the fine, an owner who never reclaims an impounded car can face a civil judgment for unpaid towing and storage. Tow operators who violate state rules risk penalties from the Division of Consumer Affairs, including administrative fines and possible license revocation. Individual municipalities may add their own penalties by ordinance.

Protections for Active-Duty Servicemembers

Federal law adds a shield for people on active duty. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, anyone holding a storage lien cannot foreclose on or seize a servicemember’s property during military service or for 90 days afterward without first getting a court order. The statute’s definition of a lien specifically covers storage, repair, and cleaning of property.⁹

In practice, an impound lot or tow company can’t auction off a deployed servicemember’s vehicle simply because storage fees went unpaid. Violating the protection is a federal misdemeanor carrying up to a year in prison, a fine, or both.⁹ Complaints go to the Department of Justice’s Servicemembers and Veterans Initiative.¹⁰

1
Justia Law. New Jersey Revised Statutes Section 39-4-56.5 – Abandonment of Motor Vehicle
2
New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. Abandoned Vehicles
3
Justia Law. New Jersey Revised Statutes Section 39-10A-1 – Public Auction of Abandoned Motor Vehicles; Notices Required
4
New Jersey Motor Vehicle Commission. Vehicles Abandoned on Private Property – Procedures
5
New Jersey Division of Consumer Affairs. What You Should Know About Getting Towed
6
New Jersey Department of Community Affairs. Local Government Towing Regulatory Statutes
7
Legal Information Institute. New Jersey Administrative Code 13-45A-31.5 – Unreasonable Fees
8
Justia Law. New Jersey Revised Statutes Section 39-10A-9 – Removal and Storage, Sale or Obtaining Junk Title Certificate
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3958 – Enforcement of Storage Liens
10
U.S. Department of Justice. Know Your Rights: A Guide to the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act