Car towed after an accident
After a crash, police usually call a rotation or contract tow company. Your insurer may pay the tow and storage, but storage keeps adding up until someone moves the car.
What to do now
- Get the tow company name and lot address from the police report or the officer.
- Call your insurer right away and give them the lot details. Ask whether they will move the car to a body shop.
- Get personal items out early. Most states let you do this without paying.
- Ask the lot for an itemized bill and check it against your state or city limits.
Personal belongings: all 50 states and DC
| State | Rule |
|---|---|
| Alabama No | State law does not give a right to take belongings out before paying. If the car is sold as abandoned, items left inside can be disposed of by whoever runs the sale. |
| Alaska No | State law does not give a right to take belongings out before paying. In Anchorage, the tow operator must let you get personal items out at the scene for free if you do not get a curb release. |
| Arizona Partly | For tows after a crash, you can remove personal items from the car free during business hours. There is no general state rule for other tows, but in Tucson a private-lot tower must let you get your ID, and other property once you prove ownership, at no charge. |
| Arkansas Yes | Some items must be returned free, including documents, medicine, child car seats, wallets and purses, glasses, prosthetics, cell phones, photos, and books. Ask within 45 days and bring proof you own the car. Since April 2025 you can also take the rest of the contents out by paying a fee of no more than 5 percent of the tow and storage bill and giving written assurance you will pay the rest, and the fee counts toward your bill. |
| California Yes | Before paying anything, you can get your personal belongings out free during normal business hours, which are Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. except state holidays. The lot has no lien on items inside the car. For police-towed cars, the lot can charge a gate fee to return items after hours, capped at half its hourly tow rate. |
| Colorado Yes | You can ask for your belongings any time from the tow until 30 days after the notice. It is free for residential tows and up to 102.28 dollars an hour for commercial or police tows (PUC rate effective March 15, 2026). Medicine, medical devices, child car seats, ID, phones, cash and credit cards must be handed over free. |
| Connecticut Yes | The tow company must let you get your personal property within 4 hours of your request and may not hold your belongings for any reason. |
| Delaware Yes | You can get personal items out of the car for free during the storage lot's business hours by showing valid ID. Charging for this is unlawful. |
| District of Columbia Not verified | Not verified yet. |
| Florida Yes | The storage operator must let the owner inspect the car and release personal property not attached to the car within 1 hour during business hours after you show proof of interest, such as a title. |
| Georgia Yes | The tow company has to let you take personal property out of the stored car for up to 30 days from the date the notice letter was sent. After that, items left inside count as abandoned. Parts attached to the car don't count as personal property. The tariff lists no charge for getting items, and the rules ban fees the tariff doesn't allow. |
| Hawaii Not verified | Not verified yet. |
| Idaho Yes | No lien may be placed on personal property in the car. The lot must hand it over to the registered owner on demand during business hours at no charge. |
| Illinois Yes | Certain items are exempt from the tow lien and can be taken out without paying, including child car seats, eyeglasses, food, medicine, medical devices, driver's licenses, wallets and purses, cash and cards, and school textbooks. After a crash, an owner with insurance that covers towing can claim all personal property. |
| Indiana Partly | The lot may not charge a fee to inspect the car or take items out of it. We have not confirmed whether personal items must be released before you pay. |
| Iowa No | State law lets you reclaim the car or the personal property in it, but only after paying the towing, storage and notice charges. |
| Kansas Partly | Where a city or county allows private-property towing, the owner must get access to personal property for 48 hours after the tow and it must be released. Otherwise belongings can be held until charges are paid, except personal medical supplies, which must be released on request. |
| Kentucky Partly | Certain items must be given back on request within 45 days of the tow, even if you have not paid. These include prescription medicine, medical supplies, school materials, documents and electronic devices, child car seats, checks and cards, and firearms. Other contents are covered by the lot's lien. |
| Louisiana Yes | A tow or storage company cannot charge you to get your belongings out of the car during normal business hours. Outside business hours it may charge up to 64.50 dollars. |
| Maine Yes | The lot may hold the car until reasonable charges are paid, but not the owner's personal effects. These include medications, medical equipment, clothing, mail and child car seats. Items attached to the car and business tools do not count. |
| Maryland Yes | The storage lot must let the owner, the owner's agent, the insurer or a lender inspect the car and take out personal belongings that are not attached to it, under the lot's supervision. |
| Massachusetts Not verified | Not verified yet. |
| Michigan Yes | The lot must let the owner inspect the car and take out personal property during regular business hours, with no fee for the first visit. Later visits can cost up to 25 dollars each. |
| Minnesota Partly | Every owner can get proof of ID, prescription medicine, and medical equipment such as wheelchairs out of an impounded car. Owners who are homeless, receive need-based benefits, or qualify for legal aid can take all contents for free by showing photo ID and proof, whether or not they pay the fees. |
| Mississippi Not verified | Not verified yet. |
| Missouri Partly | For police-ordered tows, prescription medicine must be given back on request. Other belongings can be held until charges are paid, but the lot must either release them or let you inspect them and give you an itemized receipt. |
| Montana Partly | If the owner was uninsured or no insurance claim was filed, the tow lien can cover belongings in the car. It never covers food, prescriptions, original IDs and documents, cash, cards and checkbooks, personal or business records, child safety items, wallets or purses. |
| Nebraska Partly | The towing and storage lien does not cover the contents of the vehicle. The tower and storage lot are liable for foreseeable damage to the car and its contents. |
| Nevada Yes | The tow company may not hold personal property from the car as security for its bill or for any reason other than a police direction. It must give the owner access to the car during normal business hours. |
| New Hampshire Yes | The storage company may hold most items found in the car until fees are paid, but not wallets, purses, essential clothing, mail, legal documents, car seats, eyeglasses, medicine, medical equipment, or house keys. Unclaimed items may be disposed of after 20 days of unpaid fees, rising to 30 days on January 1, 2027. |
| New Jersey Partly | There is no written right to retrieve belongings, but the state lists every fee a tow company may charge. A fee for trips to the car in storage is allowed only after the third trip, and fees not on the list are banned. |
| New Mexico Yes | Unless police ordered a hold, the owner can inspect the car and remove personal property for free during normal business hours by showing proof of ownership. |
| New York Partly | No statewide rule was found. At New York City police tow pounds you can ask for a property release to take personal items such as luggage or a car seat, but not car parts. Someone other than the owner needs a notarized letter from the owner. |
| North Carolina No | No state law gives you a right to get belongings out of a towed car without paying. Charlotte once banned fees for getting property out, but police stopped enforcing that after the 2014 King v. Chapel Hill ruling. |
| North Dakota Not verified | Not verified yet. |
| Ohio Yes | With proof of ownership you can take personal items out of the car without paying any fee and without taking the car. Items attached to the car do not count. |
| Oklahoma Yes | With proper documentation the company must release personal property from the car without first being paid for the tow and storage. No fee is allowed during normal business hours. |
| Oregon Yes | You can get emergency items such as medicine, glasses, ID, wallet, clothing and child car seats, plus the license plates, without paying. Only a gate fee may apply at night, on weekends and on holidays. |
| Pennsylvania No | No state law lets you take belongings out of a towed car without paying. For a car processed as abandoned, the notice says you may reclaim the car and its contents within 30 days after paying the charges, and unclaimed contents can be disposed of with the car. |
| Rhode Island Yes | The tow company must hand over personal items to the owner or driver right away on request, even if the tow bill has not been paid. A pet in the car must be released at once if the owner is there. |
| South Carolina Partly | After a police-ordered tow, the owner can remove unattached personal property once by showing the registration. Highway Patrol rotation companies must release medicine, keys, clothing, child seats, work tools and perishables right away when asked. |
| South Dakota Partly | The tow company has a lien on the car's contents, but it cannot exceed $500. No lien applies to clothing, food or the tools a person uses for work. |
| Tennessee Partly | For tows ordered by the Tennessee Highway Patrol, the tow company must hand over personal property and cargo to the owner on request, and may not charge for it during normal business hours. You must show photo ID. State law sets no such rule for private-property tows. |
| Texas Yes | Once you show you own the car or have the right to it, the lot must let you take your personal belongings out, with no fee. You can also get into the glove box or console for papers that prove who you are or that you own the car. |
| Utah Partly | Once the towing fee is paid, the owner may enter the car during normal business hours and remove personal property not attached to it, unless it is held as evidence. |
| Vermont No | No state law gives you the right to get your belongings out of a towed car. The Attorney General found that tow operators decide whether to allow access. |
| Virginia Partly | A tower's lien does not cover personal property that is not part of the car. The tower must let you get your belongings out, but you must claim them at least two business days before any auction date. State law does not say the access must be free, and it does not set hours. |
| Washington Yes | Personal belongings must be kept intact for 20 days and returned on request during business hours with ID, without charge. You can also sign a form to have the tower store them free for 30 days. |
| West Virginia Yes | During normal business hours you can get personal items that are not attached to the car without paying any part of the tow bill, unless police have a hold on the car. |
| Wisconsin Yes | The lot must release personal property not attached to the car during regular office hours, free of charge, when you show ID. You will be told that the car is then treated as abandoned unless you sign an agreement to pay the full charges. |
| Wyoming Yes | When a car is towed or stored at police request, the lot must release your personal belongings during regular office hours when you show proper identification. It may not charge for removing or releasing them. |
Think the tow or the bill was wrong?
Ask the lot for an itemized receipt, compare it to the legal limits, and request a hearing before the deadline. Our step-by-step guide and calculator are free.
More: other situations · find a towed car · what to bring · fee calculator
Questions
Does insurance pay for towing after an accident?
Often, if you have collision or towing coverage, or if the other driver is at fault and their insurer accepts the claim. Storage fees past what the insurer approves may be yours, so move fast.