Atlanta Emergency Services

Source checked July 3, 2026

If a private lot towed your car without asking: rights, fees, and complaints

Start with Georgia Attorney General and Georgia DPS sources. Sort fee questions, permits, and complaints by the page that owns each one.

The Georgia Attorney General towing and booting page says it is not responsible for enforcing towing and booting laws. This guide sends you back to the agency, tariff, ordinance, or complaint form named in the sources below.

Short Answer

If a private property had your car towed without your OK, start with Georgia DPS non-consensual towing resources and the Georgia Attorney General towing guide. For fees, check the DPS maximum-rate tariff and the ordinance where the tow happened. For complaints, call the towing company first, then send DPS regulation problems to DPS and local-ordinance problems to local law enforcement.

Does this fit?

Does this page apply to your tow?

  • Use this page when a private property had the car removed without the owner's OK.
  • Use the main towed-car guide for Atlanta Police impounds, ATL311, and release paperwork questions.
  • If the car was towed from a public right-of-way or government property, use the city, county, or state ordinance for that place.
  • Do not use this page for repossession, booting, a tow you called yourself after a breakdown, or legal advice.

Sort the tow first

Which source owns the question?

1

Private lot tow without your OK

Georgia Attorney General guidance says DPS regulates non-consensual towing and booting from private property.

Open Georgia AG towing guidance
2

Permit or carrier-list question

DPS publishes non-consensual towing resources, permit information, and links to permitted carrier lists.

Open DPS non-consensual towing
3

Fee or storage question

Use the DPS maximum-rate tariff and the local ordinance where the tow happened. The AG guide says some cities may set a lower maximum fee inside city limits.

Open DPS tariff
4

Complaint question

The AG guide says to contact the towing company first. DPS regulation problems and local ordinance problems use different complaint paths.

Open DPS complaint form

What to do

Read these before checking fees or filing a complaint

  1. Figure out who authorized the tow. Georgia Attorney General guidance separates non-consensual towing (someone else authorized it) from owner-requested towing (you authorized it).
  2. Figure out where the car was taken from. The AG guide separates private property from government property and says government-property towing should be checked against the city, county, or state ordinance for that place.
  3. For private-lot tows without your OK, use DPS. The AG guide says DPS regulates non-consensual towing and booting from private property.
  4. For fee questions, check the current DPS maximum-rate tariff. The AG guide says state law caps towing-company fees and that cities may set lower maximum fees inside city limits.
  5. For posted-sign questions, check whether the official source requires a warning, recovery location, towing and storage fees, hours, and payment methods.
  6. For release questions, use the DPS rule text for paperwork, payment, receipt, and attendant requirements instead of trusting a yard attendant's summary.
  7. For complaints, start with the towing company. The AG guide says DPS regulation violations go to DPS, and city or county code violations go to the local law-enforcement office that owns that code.

What this site can verify

  • The Georgia AG towing and booting guide says the AG Consumer Protection Division is not responsible for enforcing towing and booting laws.
  • The AG guide says DPS regulates non-consensual towing and booting from private property.
  • The DPS FAQ defines non-consensual towing as private-property trespass towing at the property owner's or authorized agent's request.
  • The DPS FAQ says storage fees cannot be charged for the first 24-hour period beginning when the vehicle is removed from the property.
  • Rule 570-38-7 says no fee may be charged if the vehicle has not been hooked or loaded and the owner or operator returns with the ignition key and immediately removes it from the property.
  • The DPS FAQ says posted signs must list towing fees, daily storage fees, hours of operation, and payment method, and that the payment method cannot be cash only.
  • Rule 570-38-7 says a person seeking release of a vehicle must produce a valid driver's license, an ignition key or ability to operate the vehicle, evidence of ownership or right of possession, and payment of charges that comply with the rules.
  • The DPS non-consensual towing page links the current maximum-rate tariff, carrier lists, permit information, and complaint form.

What this site cannot verify yet

  • whether a specific tow violated state law or a local ordinance
  • the exact dollar amount owed for a specific vehicle, lot, date, or city
  • whether a specific company is currently permitted, insured, or in good standing
  • whether a private company is best, fastest, cheapest, 24/7, or officially approved
  • legal advice, court strategy, or a guaranteed complaint outcome
  • copied carrier lists that go stale the day someone pastes them off the DPS site

FAQ

Common private-lot towing questions

Answers below stick to Georgia AG, DPS, and Rule 570-38-7 sources we checked.

Is this page legal advice?

No. This page points you to Georgia Attorney General and Georgia DPS towing resources. It is not legal advice, a regulator, a towing company, or a complaint desk.

What does Georgia DPS call non-consensual towing?

The Georgia DPS FAQ says non-consensual towing is private-property trespass towing. That means a property owner or their agent had a vehicle towed from private property without the vehicle owner's prior OK.

Who handles private-property non-consensual towing rules in Georgia?

The Georgia Attorney General towing and booting guidance says the Georgia Department of Public Safety regulates non-consensual towing and booting from private property.

Where should fee questions start?

Start with the Georgia DPS maximum-rate tariff, then check the local ordinance where the tow happened. Georgia Attorney General guidance says state law caps towing-company fees, DPS sets those rates, and some cities may set a lower maximum fee inside city limits.

Where should towing complaints start?

Georgia Attorney General guidance says to contact the towing company first. If that does not fix it, report DPS regulation problems to DPS, and report city or county ordinance problems to the local law-enforcement office that owns that code.

Where this comes from

Sources checked July 3, 2026

Use these links for current forms, lists, tariffs, and complaint routing. This page explains the map. It does not replace the official pages.

Georgia Attorney General towing guidance Where to complain, private vs government property, fee-cap warning, and DPS vs local routing. Georgia DPS non-consensual towing Hub for permit, tariff, carrier-list, complaint, and rule links. Georgia DPS non-consensual towing FAQ Definitions, permits, storage-fee timing, posted-sign rules, and release-office details. Georgia Rule 570-38-7 State rule text for permits, rate boundaries, signs, authorizations, releases, receipts, and records. DPS maximum-rate tariff Current tariff linked from the DPS non-consensual towing page as valid from June 17, 2024. DPS complaint form Official complaint form linked from the DPS non-consensual towing page.