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History of towing in Dallas–Fort Worth
How towing rules in Dallas–Fort Worth took shape: ordinances, contracts, court rulings and state laws, in date order. Every entry links to its source.
How to read this timeline. Entries are in date order. Most rest on a court opinion, a law or a government record. Entries marked "Not yet verified" rest on one secondary or self-reported source, and entries marked "From a news report" rest on news coverage. We leave out private people's names and accusations against companies that have no published outcome.
City pounds and the first fee schedules (1985 to 2006)
Dallas opens its Police Auto Pound on Vilbig Road, a 50-acre lot with more than 2,300 numbered spaces.
Source: 2016 Auto Pound briefing
Texas recodifies its abandoned-vehicle law as Transportation Code chapter 683, the law police agencies still use to notify owners and auction unclaimed cars.
Statewide: Texas
Bedford, in Tarrant County, ends its police-tow rotation and contracts with a single tow company, a choice later upheld in federal court.
Nearby city or county
The Fifth Circuit rules that a city choosing one company for police-ordered tows is acting as a buyer, not regulating in a way federal motor-carrier law forbids.
Dallas adopts Ordinance 24175, regulating nonconsent tows from private property (licensing, signs, reporting, inspection and rates) as a public-safety measure.
Read through the court opinion; the ordinance itself has not been found online.
Source: VRC LLC v. City of Dallas (quoting the ordinance's preamble)
Fort Worth's police-tow fee for a standard light or medium tow is set at $65.
The U.S. Supreme Court rules that states may let cities make safety rules for tow trucks.
Source: City of Columbus v. Ours Garage
Fort Worth raises the standard police-tow fee to $100.
Source: Fort Worth 2014 fee study
The Vehicle Storage Facility Act (Occupations Code chapter 2303), passed in 2001, takes effect. It sets the notice, fee and sale rules for licensed storage lots.
Statewide: Texas
Fort Worth raises the standard police-tow fee to $135 and heavy duty to $216 an hour; these stay in place for years.
Source: Fort Worth 2014 fee study
The Fifth Circuit upholds Dallas's private-tow sign rule as a safety regulation that federal law allows.
Audits, court rulings and fee studies (2007 to 2019)
A Fort Worth internal audit study finds a police-tow fee increase is not supported by the data.
Source: Fort Worth 2014 fee study
House Bill 2094 creates the Texas Towing and Booting Act (Occupations Code chapter 2308), moving earlier towing provisions out of the Transportation Code and putting tow companies, operators and booting under the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation.
Statewide: Texas
The Fort Worth Police Department starts using impound-management software for tow dispatch and impounds.
Source: Fort Worth 2016 Auto Pound audit
Dallas studies privatizing its Auto Pound, then suspends negotiations in August 2011 when the plan is projected to be revenue neutral.
Source: 2016 Auto Pound briefing
The Texas Supreme Court rules that a storage facility whose cars Dallas police seized as stolen had to use the state's court process to claim its interest instead of suing for a taking.
Source: City of Dallas v. VSC, LLC
Fort Worth's auditors find the $135 police-tow fee reasonable for light and medium tows.
Source: Fort Worth 2014 fee study
Dallas staff brief a Council committee on tow rules: 36 permitted police-scene wrecker companies in seven zones, 15 private-tow companies, and a $121 limit for a private tow of a car.
Source: 2015 committee briefing
DPD briefs the Council on the Auto Pound: about 35,600 impounds in fiscal year 2016 and auctions every other Monday.
Source: 2016 Auto Pound briefing
Fort Worth's audit of its Auto Pound finds inaccurate inventory records and abandoned cars waiting an average of 202 days before auction.
Source: Fort Worth 2016 Auto Pound audit
Fort Worth hires AutoReturn to dispatch police tows and changes its police-tow fee schedule.
From a news report The 2018 Council action has not been found; the year comes from the news report.
Contract managers and new fee limits (2020 to 2026)
The Texas Commission of Licensing and Regulation raises the statewide maximum for a private-property tow of a car from $255 to $272 (effective November 1, 2021), with higher drop, storage and impound maximums.
Statewide: Texas
Source: TDLR news, Oct. 21, 2021
Fort Worth approves a new police-tow fee schedule and a new contract with AutoReturn; the standard fee becomes $180 on October 1, 2023.
Council vote dates come from the news report; the fee list is official.
Source: Fort Worth Police Auto Pound page; Fort Worth Report
New statewide storage-lot maximums take effect: $22.85 a day (25 feet or shorter), $39.99 a day (longer) and a $22.85 impoundment fee.
Statewide: Texas TDLR's news item says January 1; the rule's source note says January 15.
Source: TDLR towing and storage news; 16 Tex. Admin. Code § 85.722
Denton adopts a new towing and booting article (Ordinance 24-2174), tying tow fees to the state maximum and adding a $15 local regulation fee.
Nearby city or county
Source: Denton City Code ch. 23, art. IV
Dallas Council members discuss complaints about apartment-complex towing and whether to lengthen the 24-hour abandoned-vehicle window.
From a news report
Source: FOX 4 report
Dallas County approves a five-year towing-management agreement for Sheriff's tows.
After passing the Texas House, House Bill 5499 is referred to the Senate Transportation Committee, its last recorded action. The bill would have required cities and counties that regulate nonconsent tow fees to study them at least every two years and then reset them.
Statewide: Texas
Source: HB 5499 bill history (Texas Legislature Online); HB 5499 committee bill analysis
Two 2025 state laws take effect: police may now remove a car being driven without a license or without insurance, even without an arrest (S.B. 857), and storage lots may publish required notices on an approved website instead of a newspaper (H.B. 3928).
Statewide: Texas
Dallas raises its private-tow limit for a car from $121 to $165 and its police-tow car rate from $150 to $165 (in effect September 20, 2025).
Source: Ordinance 33232
For the rates over the years, see tow and storage rates. Know a record that belongs here? Email corrections@towedhelp.org.
Last checked .