We are not a law firm, and we are not your lawyer. This free website gives general information about towing law and self-help letters that you choose and fill in yourself; it does not give legal advice. You decide what applies to you and whether to send anything. Deadlines can end your rights.
What happens to unclaimed towed cars in Chicago
Most unclaimed cars in Chicago are not auctioned to the public. The City sells most of them to its pound contractor at scrap prices, and the debt for fines and fees can remain.
General information, not legal advice. The papers you got from the police, the tow company, the storage lot or a state agency control your dates. Agencies change phone numbers and steps, so check the agency's own page too.
1. City pounds
After the notice of impoundment, a car can be disposed of when it has been unclaimed for 18 days (one 15-day extension is available on request). In 2023 the City sold 12,260 unclaimed cars to its contractor for a share of scrap value and auctioned 132 higher-value cars.
- When a car is disposed of, only one day of storage may be charged, but the City says other fines and fees stay due.
Sources: Common Towing Questions (City of Chicago); OIG audit (PDF); Municipal Code sec. 9-92-080 (American Legal Publishing)
2. Private relocators
A relocator must report a car unclaimed for 15 days to the police within 5 more days. Disposal then follows the state unclaimed-vehicle law (18 days after notice in Chicago), and the relocator also has a storage lien under a separate state law that requires a 30-day notice and a 90-day wait before a lien sale.
Sources: 625 ILCS 5/4-208 (Illinois General Assembly); 770 ILCS 50/2; 770 ILCS 50/3; 92 Ill. Adm. Code Part 1710 (JCAR)
Check the notices you received
Last checked .