What to do if…
you receive a notice that your vehicle has been impounded or seized

What to do now

1. Verify where the vehicle is and who controls it.

   • Call the tow yard or storage facility and confirm the vehicle is there, the full address, hours, current charges, daily storage rate, and accepted payment types.
   • Ask who ordered the tow, impound, hold, or seizure: police, sheriff, parking enforcement, a court, a private-property tow, a lender, or another agency.
   • Ask for the tow number, case number, invoice number, or storage report number.

2. Independently check the notice if anything feels off.

   • Search for the ordering agency’s official website or main public contact number yourself.
   • Confirm the notice, case number, vehicle description, and tow yard before paying.
   • If the notice demands payment through gift cards, crypto, peer-to-peer payment apps, or urgent text links, pause and verify with the agency directly.

3. Find the deadline and request method now.

   • Look for words such as “hearing,” “post-storage hearing,” “tow hearing,” “impound hearing,” “review,” “claim,” “petition,” “lien sale,” “auction,” or “forfeiture.”
   • Write down the deadline, the time of day, the filing or request method, and where the request must go.
   • If the deadline is unclear, call the listed hearing office, court, agency, or tow yard and ask: “What action preserves my right to contest this, and when is the last moment to do it?”

4. Request the hearing, review, claim, or dispute exactly as the notice says.

   • Use the required route: online form, phone, email, mail, court filing, or in-person request.
   • Get proof you sent it, such as a confirmation number, screenshot, stamped copy, certified mail receipt, or email record.
   • Ask the hearing office or agency whether retrieving the vehicle affects your ability to challenge fees, storage, or the tow.

5. Separate ordinary impound from evidence hold or forfeiture.

   • If this is an ordinary tow or impound, release usually depends on the tow yard’s requirements and any agency release.
   • If there is an evidence hold, the storage facility may not be able to release the vehicle until the agency removes the hold.
   • If the notice mentions forfeiture, seizure for forfeiture, a prosecutor, a federal agency, a court case, or a claim deadline, treat it as a separate legal process and seek local legal help quickly.

6. Ask whether a hold blocks release.

   • Ask the tow yard: “Is there a police, agency, evidence, court, or finance hold?”
   • Ask which office can remove the hold, what they require, and whether you need an appointment.
   • Write down the name, title, office, phone number, date, and answer from each person you speak to.

7. Prepare the release packet before going in person.

   • Bring government photo ID.
   • Bring proof of ownership or authority to claim the vehicle, such as title, registration, bill of sale, rental agreement, company authorization, or owner authorization if accepted.
   • Bring proof of insurance if the lot or agency says it is required.
   • Bring the notice, tow number, case number, keys, and payment method the lot accepts.
   • If you are not the registered owner, ask before travelling whether the owner must appear or whether written authorization is enough.

8. Ask how to reduce new charges if money is the barrier.

   • Ask what fees are increasing daily and what action stops or slows additional storage.
   • Ask whether payment, agency release, a hearing request, a court filing, or another step is needed to stop a lien sale or auction process.
   • If there is a lienholder, lender, or finance company on the title, notify them today and send them a copy of the notice.

9. Save the strongest proof for a hearing or dispute.

   • Keep the notice envelope, photos of the vehicle location if you have them, parking receipts, meter app records, signs, curb markings, registration records, insurance records, sale documents, and any police report number.
   • Keep receipts and screenshots of payments, calls, emails, forms, and uploads.
   • Ask the hearing office or court what evidence format they accept and whether it must be submitted before the hearing.