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Texas drop fee: do they have to release your car?

If you get back before your car is fully hooked up, the tower must let it go for free. If it is fully hooked up but still on the lot, you can pay a drop fee of up to $135 for a car and keep it. The driver must tell you that you can pay the drop fee and must take cash, credit, or debit. The most a tow company may charge for a drop fee on a car in Texas is $135.

Checked Nov 14, 2026 against the Texas statute and regulator pages.

What to do now

  1. Stay calm and tell the operator you want the car released.
  2. Ask what the drop fee is and pay it if it is within your state limit. Some states require them to take a card.
  3. Get a receipt with the company name, truck number and amount.
  4. If they refuse when your state requires release, call police non-emergency and note the time.

Texas rules that matter here

Drop fee release

If you get back before your car is fully hooked up, the tower must let it go for free. If it is fully hooked up but still on the lot, you can pay a drop fee of up to $135 for a car and keep it. The driver must tell you that you can pay the drop fee and must take cash, credit, or debit.312

Payment

Storage lots, including city lots, must take cash, credit cards, and debit cards and must post a sign saying so. A lot cannot refuse to release your car because its card machine is not working unless there is a power outage or equipment failure that is not its fault. Tow drivers must also take cash, credit, and debit for a drop fee.231011

Tow-away signs

A private lot may tow without other notice only if compliant signs were up at the time of the tow and for the 24 hours before. Each sign must face and be clearly visible to drivers entering, stand at the right or left of every driveway or curb cut (including alley entrances), or every 25 feet along an entrance over 35 feet wide with no defined driveways, and be permanently mounted on a pole, post, wall, or barrier on the property with its bottom edge 5 to 8 feet above the ground. Each sign must be weather-resistant and at least 18 inches wide by 24 inches tall. At the top it needs a bright red tow-truck symbol on white at least 4 inches tall. Below that, white letters at least 2 inches tall on red must say "Towing Enforced" (or "Towing and Booting Enforced" or "Booting Enforced"). The middle section, in red letters at least 1 inch tall on white, must say who may park and that all others are prohibited, the words "Unauthorized Vehicles Will Be Towed at Owner's or Operator's Expense" (or the towed or booted version), and the days and hours of enforcement. The bottom section, in white letters at least 1 inch tall on red, must give a phone number with area code answered 24 hours a day to locate a towed car. Reserved single spaces can use a sign or curb marking in front of the space with letters at least 2 inches tall and a top no higher than 7 feet. Fire lanes must be painted red and marked "FIRE LANE--TOW AWAY ZONE" in white letters at least 3 inches tall every 50 feet unless a local rule says otherwise. Apartment lots cannot tow a resident's car only for expired plates or registration unless the lease allows it and 10 days of written notice were given. Instead of signs, an owner can tow after putting a windshield notice on the car and then mailing a certified letter giving 15 days to move it.15

Related

Texas cities: Houston, San Antonio, Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, El Paso

Think the tow or the bill was wrong?

Ask the lot for an itemized receipt, compare it to the legal limits in Texas, and request a hearing before the deadline. Our step-by-step guide and calculator are free.

Questions

Do tow trucks have to release your car if you show up?

In many states the operator must release the car for a drop fee if you arrive before it leaves the property. In others it is up to the company or city ordinance. Check your state below.

Sources

Last checked Nov 14, 2026. Fees and rules change: confirm with the lot or agency before you go. Spot an error? Tell us.

  1. Texas Occupations Code ch. 2308, Vehicle Towing and Booting (Tex. Occ. Code §§ 2308.0575, 2308.202, 2308.2065, 2308.252-2308.258, 2308.301-2308.305, 2308.451-2308.458), Texas Legislature. Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  2. Texas Occupations Code ch. 2303, Vehicle Storage Facilities (Tex. Occ. Code §§ 2303.151-2303.160), Texas Legislature. Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  3. 16 TAC § 86.455, Private Property Tow Fees (16 Tex. Admin. Code § 86.455), TDLR (text via Cornell LII). Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  4. 16 TAC § 86.458, Fees for Nonconsent Tows, Refunds (16 Tex. Admin. Code § 86.458), TDLR (text via Cornell LII). Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  5. 16 TAC § 86.705, Towing Company Standards of Conduct (16 Tex. Admin. Code § 86.705), TDLR (text via Cornell LII). Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  6. 16 TAC § 85.722, VSF Storage Fees and Other Charges (16 Tex. Admin. Code § 85.722), TDLR (text via Cornell LII). Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  7. 16 TAC § 85.703, Notice to Vehicle Owner or Lienholder (16 Tex. Admin. Code § 85.703), TDLR (text via Cornell LII). Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  8. 16 TAC § 85.708, Access to Stored Vehicles and Personal Property (16 Tex. Admin. Code § 85.708), TDLR (text via Cornell LII). Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  9. 16 TAC § 85.710, Release of Vehicles (16 Tex. Admin. Code § 85.710), TDLR (text via Cornell LII). Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  10. 16 TAC § 85.1003, VSF Required Signs (16 Tex. Admin. Code § 85.1003), TDLR (text via Cornell LII). Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  11. VSF Fees and Other Charges, TDLR. Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  12. Consumer Information about Towing, TDLR. Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  13. City of Houston Tow Rates 2026 (letter to tow operators, November 25, 2025) (Houston Code of Ordinances § 8-123), City of Houston Administration and Regulatory Affairs. Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  14. Third-Party Website Notices (Tex. Occ. Code § 2303.152), TDLR. Checked Nov 14, 2026.