Your Car Was Towed in Idaho: How to Find It and Get It Back

You come out of the store, the apartment, or the game, and your car isn’t where you left it. Before panic sets in, take a breath. Towed vehicles are found quickly almost every time, and the process for getting one back in Idaho is straightforward once you know it.

Step 1: Find out whether it was towed, and by whom

• Read the signs where you parked. In Idaho, private property tows require a clearly visible sign naming the towing company (Idaho Code 49-1806). The company’s name and phone number are usually right on it.
• Ask the property manager or business if there’s someone on site.
• Call the police non-emergency line. Police know about tows they ordered, and many tow companies notify them of private-property tows as well.
• Check with your lender if you’re behind on payments. It may have been a repossession rather than a tow. See After a Repossession.

Only report the vehicle stolen once you’ve ruled out a tow or a repossession.

Step 2: Call the tow company

Have your license plate, the year, make and model, and the time and place you parked. Ask:

• Do you have my vehicle, and where is it stored?
• What’s the total right now, and what is the daily storage rate?
• When can I pick it up, and what forms of payment do you take?
• Is there a police hold on it? (If police ordered the tow for an investigation, you may need a release from that agency first.)

Step 3: Gather what you need

• A valid photo ID
• Proof of ownership: the title or current registration in your name
• Payment for the tow and storage charges
• A power of attorney from the owner, if someone else is picking it up. Idaho’s towing law refers to an owner’s “authorized agent with a power of attorney” throughout.
• A way to drive it legally: current registration and insurance. If the plates are expired or the vehicle won’t run, arrange a tow to take it home.

Under Idaho Code 49-1811, the owner or lienholder can take possession of the vehicle any time before it’s disposed of by proving ownership and paying the towing and storage costs. The exception is a vehicle impounded for investigation or suspected stolen.

Step 4: Pick it up and check it over

Walk around the vehicle before you drive away. Look for new damage and make sure your belongings are there. If something looks wrong, point it out and take photos right then.

When the vehicle is released, Idaho law requires the tow company to give you an itemized statement showing where it was towed from and stored, the company’s contact information, your vehicle’s year, make, model and plate, the itemized tow and recovery charges, and the daily storage rate and number of days stored (Idaho Code 49-1811). Keep it.

What it costs

You’ll typically pay a towing fee plus storage for each day the vehicle is held. Two Idaho rules from Idaho Code 49-1814 are worth knowing:

• Storage start date. Storage fees can run from the day of the tow only if the tow company reported the tow in the Idaho Transportation Department’s portal within one business day. If it reported late, storage starts when it reports.
• 60-day maximum. Storage can’t exceed 60 days from the date of the tow.

For law-enforcement-directed tows, the tow company must also have its rate sheet on file with ITD and posted at its place of business, and its fees can’t vary based on the value of the vehicle. See What Goes Into a Towing Bill.

Can’t pay right away? Get your things anyway

Even if you can’t pay the full bill today, you can collect your personal property. Under Idaho Code 49-1814, there’s no lien on personal property in a towed vehicle (except one held for a law-enforcement investigation). The registered owner, or an agent with a valid power of attorney, can collect it during reasonable business hours at no additional charge. You can also inspect the vehicle during business hours for free.

The official notices, and the deadlines

Idaho rewrote its towing law in 2025, and tows now run through a statewide system. The tow company must report the tow in the Idaho Transportation Department’s towed-vehicle portal within one business day. ITD then notifies the vehicle’s owners and lienholders on record (Idaho Code 49-1807):

• If you’ve signed up for ITD’s electronic notifications: an electronic notice within one business day, then mailed notices if the vehicle isn’t claimed within 5 and 15 business days.
• If you haven’t: a mailed notice within one business day, and a second one if the vehicle isn’t claimed within 10 business days.

The notice lists the vehicle, the tow company, the reason for the tow, the storage location, the amount owed, the daily storage rate, and your rights to claim your property, to request a hearing (for police tows) and to file a declaration of opposition.

Here’s the deadline that matters most: if the vehicle isn’t claimed and no dispute is pending, the tow company can apply for a title or junk certificate 30 days after the first notice.

Sold the car recently?

If a vehicle you already sold gets towed in your name, the release of liability you filed with ITD when you sold it matters. If you haven’t filed one, do it now. Idaho Code 49-1802 refers to it specifically when deciding who’s responsible for an abandoned vehicle.

If we towed your vehicle

Call or text C.A.R.S. of Idaho any time at (208) 964-3081. We’ll confirm we have your vehicle, tell you the total, and set a time to meet you. Think the tow was a mistake? Call us first, and read your rights when your vehicle is impounded in Idaho.

This article is general information about how things usually work in Idaho, not legal advice. Laws change, and your contract or situation may differ. Where we cite the Idaho Code, the official text is at legislature.idaho.gov.