Yes. In most cases, your car does get impounded for a DUI, because once you’re under arrest you can’t legally drive it away and the officer has to do something with the vehicle. How long it stays in the lot and what it costs to get it back depend on your state, your record, and the circumstances of the arrest. A first offense in a state without a mandatory hold can mean picking the car up the next day; a repeat offense in a state with a 30-day hold can mean a four-figure bill before you touch the steering wheel.
When Police Tow the Car and When They Don’t
The usual reason for impoundment is practical. You’re going to jail, and the car can’t stay where it is, especially if it’s on a highway shoulder, in a travel lane, or otherwise blocking traffic. Even when the car is parked legally, many departments treat towing as standard procedure after a DUI arrest.
Officers sometimes have discretion to release the vehicle at the scene to a sober, licensed passenger. A few jurisdictions encourage this when it’s safe, but the call belongs entirely to the arresting officer, and department policy often overrides individual discretion. Don’t plan around it.
Some circumstances make impoundment close to automatic and can trigger a longer mandatory hold: a repeat DUI, driving on a suspended or revoked license, a blood alcohol concentration well above the legal limit, a crash, or a child in the vehicle. In those situations the tow isn’t just logistics. It functions as an added penalty.
How Long the Car Is Held
Two clocks run at once. The practical hold is however long it takes you to post bail, gather paperwork, and pay fees. The mandatory hold is a legally required minimum during which no one can retrieve the vehicle, no matter how quickly you show up with cash.
For a first-time DUI, mandatory holds typically range from a few days to 30 days, depending on the state. Repeat offenders face longer holds. A second offense can trigger a 90-day impoundment in some jurisdictions, and third or subsequent offenses can bring even longer holds or permanent forfeiture. Most states reserve the harshest vehicle sanctions for repeat offenders, though some also apply them to first-time offenders with a BAC at or above .15.
Not every state imposes a mandatory hold. Roughly 13 states and the District of Columbia have laws allowing vehicle impoundment as a DUI sanction, and some use it extensively while others cap impoundment at 48 hours or less.1National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Vehicle and License Plate Sanctions Where there’s no mandatory hold, you can usually pick the car up as soon as you’re out of custody and can produce the right paperwork and payment.
How to Get Your Car Back
Start with the arresting police department. They’ll tell you which towing company took the vehicle and where it’s stored. Ask whether you need a vehicle release form from the department before the lot will hand the car over. Many jurisdictions require one, and showing up at the lot without it means a wasted trip while storage fees keep climbing.
At the impound lot, you’ll need to prove you own the vehicle and that whoever drives it off can legally do so. Bring:
- A government-issued photo ID. A valid driver’s license is best. If your license was confiscated or suspended at arrest, bring another form of photo ID and a licensed driver to operate the vehicle.
- Proof of ownership, meaning the current registration or title.
- Proof of insurance on the specific vehicle being released.
- The vehicle release form from the police department, if your jurisdiction requires one. Obtaining it may involve a separate administrative fee.
If your license was suspended as part of the arrest, most jurisdictions will still let you pick the car up. You just can’t drive it away yourself. Bring someone with a valid license to handle that part. Some lots will also release the vehicle to someone you’ve formally authorized in writing.
What It Costs
Every day the car sits in the lot, the bill grows. None of the charges are negotiable.
Towing is the first charge. Rates vary by jurisdiction, but most fall between $100 and $300 for a standard passenger vehicle. After-hours tows, weekends, and holidays often carry a surcharge, and larger vehicles cost more.
Daily storage begins as soon as the car reaches the lot. NHTSA has documented storage fees ranging from $18 to $95 per day depending on the jurisdiction, with most falling between $30 and $60.1National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Vehicle and License Plate Sanctions Some states prohibit charging for the first 24 hours, but most don’t.
Administrative fees pile on top. The police department may charge for the release form, and the impound lot may charge its own processing fee. Together these can add $50 to $400 to the total.
The math turns painful under a mandatory hold. Thirty days of storage plus towing plus administrative fees, at even moderate rates, lands somewhere between $1,000 and $2,500, before any fines, legal fees, or insurance increases. NHTSA has noted that these costs are high enough that some owners of lower-value vehicles simply abandon them rather than pay to get them back.1National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Vehicle and License Plate Sanctions
Challenging the Impoundment
Many jurisdictions let vehicle owners request a hearing to challenge whether the impoundment was legally justified. The deadline is tight, often 10 days from the impoundment. Miss it and you typically lose the right.
A hearing won’t help if the tow followed proper procedure and your state mandates impoundment for DUI arrests. It can matter if the officer lacked probable cause for the stop, if the impoundment violated department policy, or if the vehicle was towed from private property where it was legally parked. Winning can get the car released and fees waived or refunded. A DUI attorney can usually tell you quickly whether a challenge is worth pursuing.
What Happens If You Don’t Pick It Up
Storage fees accumulate whether or not you plan to retrieve the car. After a set number of days, typically 30 to 90 depending on the jurisdiction, the impound lot gains the right to sell the vehicle through a lien sale or auction to recover what it’s owed.
Before the sale, the lot must send written notice, usually by certified mail to the registered owner’s address on file with the DMV. That notice is your last window to pay and reclaim the car. If the sale price doesn’t cover the balance, some states let the towing company send the remainder to collections or sue for the difference. A DUI impoundment you tried to walk away from can end up as a collections account on your credit report.
If the car has an outstanding loan, it gets worse. Most auto loan agreements treat a law enforcement seizure as a default, letting the lender repossess and sell the vehicle. You’d still owe any balance left after the sale.
When the Car Belongs to Someone Else
A DUI arrest in someone else’s car creates problems for both people. The owner can generally retrieve the vehicle by showing up with ID, proof of ownership, and the required release paperwork. Because the owner didn’t commit the offense, some states either waive the mandatory hold or shorten it.
If the case is serious enough for forfeiture to be on the table, the owner has a stronger shield. Most states that allow vehicle forfeiture include an innocent-owner defense: if you can show you had no reason to know the driver would operate the vehicle impaired, you can usually prevent permanent seizure. NHTSA has recommended that states require owners in these situations to sign an affidavit promising not to let the offender drive during a license suspension.1National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Vehicle and License Plate Sanctions
Regularly lending your car to someone with a DUI history is a real financial risk. You could end up paying towing and storage fees, or in extreme cases fighting a forfeiture action in court.
Immobilization and Forfeiture
Impoundment isn’t the only vehicle sanction. About 12 states allow immobilization instead, where a court orders a device such as a steering wheel lock or wheel boot installed on the vehicle while it stays at the owner’s home.1National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Vehicle and License Plate Sanctions The car doesn’t move for the length of the sanction, but you skip the daily storage bill. Courts generally reserve immobilization for hardship cases and have discretion over whether to order it.
Forfeiture is a different consequence entirely. With impoundment, you pay and get the car back. With forfeiture, the state permanently takes ownership and typically sells the vehicle at auction. It’s reserved for the most serious repeat offenders. Most states that allow it require at least a third DUI conviction, and some set the bar at a fourth offense within a specific number of years. Forfeiture is a separate civil action filed by the prosecutor and requires court approval. First-time offenders don’t face it.