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

If you are there and move your car before it is actually towed, it may not be towed. You can be charged a reasonable fee of no more than $25, unless your locality sets a different limit. The most a tow company may charge for a drop fee on a car in Virginia is $25.

Checked Nov 14, 2026 against the Virginia 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.

Virginia rules that matter here

Drop fee release

If you are there and move your car before it is actually towed, it may not be towed. You can be charged a reasonable fee of no more than $25, unless your locality sets a different limit.3

Payment

For police-requested tows, the tower must release the car when you pay in full by cash, insurance company check, certified check, money order, or at least one of two major credit cards. If it refuses, further storage charges stop. State law sets no payment rule for private-property tows, but some localities do.713

Tow-away signs

A lot owner may have a car towed or booted only if signs are posted at all entrances that clearly and conspicuously say cars parked without permission will be removed, towed, or immobilized. At a minimum the signs must give the local police non-emergency number or the tow company's number for finding towed cars. In a locality with its own towing ordinance, the local sign rules apply instead, and many Northern Virginia counties have them. At apartment lots, the tower must post a dated 48-hour warning on a resident's car before towing for expired registration or inspection and send a copy to the landlord.3413

Related

Think the tow or the bill was wrong?

Ask the lot for an itemized receipt, compare it to the legal limits in Virginia, 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. Limitation on charges for towing and storage of certain vehicles (Va. Code § 46.2-1233.1), Virginia General Assembly. Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  2. Localities may regulate towing fees (Va. Code § 46.2-1233), Virginia General Assembly. Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  3. Ticketing, removal, or immobilization of trespassing vehicles (Va. Code § 46.2-1231), Virginia General Assembly. Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  4. Localities may regulate removal or immobilization of trespassing vehicles (Va. Code § 46.2-1232), Virginia General Assembly. Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  5. Towing advisory board (Va. Code § 46.2-1233.2), Virginia General Assembly. Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  6. Improper towing, penalty (Va. Code § 46.2-1233.3), Virginia General Assembly. Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  7. Local governing body may regulate certain towing (Va. Code § 46.2-1217), Virginia General Assembly. Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  8. Unattended or immobile vehicles, generally (Va. Code § 46.2-1209), Virginia General Assembly. Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  9. Removal and disposition of unattended or immobile vehicles, local ordinances (Va. Code § 46.2-1213), Virginia General Assembly. Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  10. Search for owner and secured party, notice (abandoned vehicles) (Va. Code § 46.2-1202), Virginia General Assembly. Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  11. Lien of keeper of vehicles (Va. Code § 46.2-644.01), Virginia General Assembly. Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  12. Enforcement of liens acquired under §§ 46.2-644.01 and 46.2-644.02 (Va. Code § 46.2-644.03), Virginia General Assembly. Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  13. Trespass Towing (fees under Fairfax County Code § 82-5-32) (Fairfax County Code § 82-5-32), Fairfax County Department of Cable and Consumer Services. Checked Nov 14, 2026.
  14. Towing Advisory Board: City's Towing Fee Analysis (March 19, 2026), City of Alexandria. Checked Nov 14, 2026.