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Tow and storage rates in Houston
What could be charged for tows and storage in Houston, by year and by who set the amount. Each row names the record it comes from and links the source.
How to read these tables. Amounts are in dollars, as the source states them. Use the row that covers the date of the tow, and read the note for vehicle sizes and other details. Rows marked "Not found yet" are gaps we are still researching.
Police and other nonconsent tows (not from private property)
| Year or period | Tow not needing a heavy-duty wrecker | Heavy-duty wrecker, per hour (2-hour minimum) | Heavy-duty minimum hours | Record, source and status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2013 | Not listed | $243.50 | 2 | HPD heavy-duty tow agreement presentation, November 2013 (draft Motorist Bill of Rights) HPD Auto Dealers Detail: heavy-duty tow agreement presentation (Public Safety Committee, Nov. 21, 2013) Official source Heavy-duty rate only, as printed in HPD's draft heavy-duty Motorist Bill of Rights in November 2013. The regular tow rate for 2013 is not in it, and the City's rate notices before 2015 are not posted online. |
| 2014 | $160.00 | $242.50 | 2 | Worked back from the 2015 notice and the City's 2021 rate-history table City rate notice for 2015 (ARA, Dec. 1, 2014); ARA presentation: Proposed Non-Consent Tow Rates (Regulatory and Neighborhood Affairs Committee, Dec. 14, 2021) Not yet verified Not printed in any notice we found. The City's 2021 history table shows the 2015 rates went up $2.50 (regular) and $4.00 (heavy-duty), so 2014 would be $160.00 and $242.50. This does not match the $243.50 heavy-duty figure in HPD's November 2013 presentation, which may have been the 2013 rate. |
| 2015 | $162.50 | $246.50 | 2 | City of Houston ARA rate notice of Dec. 1, 2014 City rate notice for 2015 (ARA, Dec. 1, 2014); ARA presentation: Proposed Non-Consent Tow Rates (Regulatory and Neighborhood Affairs Committee, Dec. 14, 2021) Official source Change: +1.66% (CPI, Oct. 2013 to Oct. 2014). The 2015 notice is not linked from the City's rate page but is still posted at the same address pattern. |
| 2016 | $155.50 | $235.50 | 2 | City of Houston ARA rate notice of Nov. 24, 2015 City rate notice for 2016 (ARA, Nov. 24, 2015); ARA presentation: Proposed Non-Consent Tow Rates (Regulatory and Neighborhood Affairs Committee, Dec. 14, 2021) Official source Change: -4.43% (CPI, Oct. 2014 to Oct. 2015). |
| 2017 | $159.00 | $241.00 | 2 | City of Houston ARA rate notice of Dec. 1, 2016 City rate notice for 2017 (ARA, Dec. 1, 2016); ARA presentation: Proposed Non-Consent Tow Rates (Regulatory and Neighborhood Affairs Committee, Dec. 14, 2021) Official source Change: +2.33% (blended index, Oct. 2015 to Oct. 2016). |
| 2018 | $167.00 | $253.50 | 2 | City of Houston ARA rate notice of Dec. 1, 2017 City rate notice for 2018 (ARA, Dec. 1, 2017); ARA presentation: Proposed Non-Consent Tow Rates (Regulatory and Neighborhood Affairs Committee, Dec. 14, 2021) Official source Change: +5.15% (blended index, Oct. 2016 to Oct. 2017). |
| 2019 | $175.50 | $266.50 | 2 | City of Houston ARA rate notice of Nov. 26, 2018 City rate notice for 2019 (ARA, Nov. 26, 2018); ARA presentation: Proposed Non-Consent Tow Rates (Regulatory and Neighborhood Affairs Committee, Dec. 14, 2021) Official source Change: +5.10% (blended index, Oct. 2017 to Oct. 2018). |
| 2020 | $174.00 | $264.50 | 2 | City of Houston ARA rate notice of Nov. 25, 2019 City rate notice for 2020 (ARA, Nov. 25, 2019); ARA presentation: Proposed Non-Consent Tow Rates (Regulatory and Neighborhood Affairs Committee, Dec. 14, 2021) Official source Change: -0.77% (blended index, Oct. 2018 to Oct. 2019). |
| 2021 | $174.00 | $264.50 | 2 | City of Houston ARA rate notice of Dec. 22, 2020 City rate notice for 2021 (ARA, Dec. 22, 2020); ARA presentation: Proposed Non-Consent Tow Rates (Regulatory and Neighborhood Affairs Committee, Dec. 14, 2021) Official source Change: none: 2020 rates kept while a rate study was done. |
| 2022 | $190.00 | $289.00 | 2 | City of Houston ARA rate notice of Dec. 22, 2021 City rate notice for 2022 (ARA, Dec. 22, 2021); ARA presentation: Proposed Non-Consent Tow Rates (Regulatory and Neighborhood Affairs Committee, Dec. 14, 2021) Official source Change: none: set by City Council after the industry-requested rate study. |
| 2023 | $207.50 | $316.00 | 2 | City of Houston ARA rate notice of Dec. 6, 2022 City rate notice for 2023 (ARA, Dec. 6, 2022) Official source Change: +9.26% (blended index, Oct. 2021 to Oct. 2022). |
| 2024 | $220.00 | $335.50 | 2 | City of Houston ARA rate notice of Dec. 1, 2023 City rate notice for 2024 (ARA, Dec. 1, 2023) Official source Change: +6.11% (blended index, Oct. 2022 to Oct. 2023). |
| 2025 | $225.50 | $344.00 | 2 | City of Houston ARA rate notice of Nov. 22, 2024 City rate notice for 2025 (ARA, Nov. 22, 2024) Official source Change: +2.56% (blended index, Oct. 2023 to Oct. 2024). Same as the tool's fee-caps.json (rule hou-fee-police-nonconsent-tow-232-2026). |
| 2026 | $232.00 | $354.00 | 2 | City of Houston ARA rate notice of Nov. 25, 2025 City rate notice for 2026 (ARA, Nov. 25, 2025) Official source Change: +2.95% (blended index, Sept. 2024 to Sept. 2025). Same as the tool's fee-caps.json (rule hou-fee-police-nonconsent-tow-232-2026). |
Private-property tows
| Year or period | Tow not needing a heavy-duty wrecker | Record, source and status |
|---|---|---|
| 2015 to now | lesser of state maximum and City rate | Every City rate notice 2015-2026 City rate notice for 2026 (ARA, Nov. 25, 2025); 16 Tex. Admin. Code sec. 86.455 (TDLR consumer page) Official source Each notice says light-, medium- and heavy-duty private-property tows may not exceed the lesser of the TDLR maximum or the City's nonconsent rate. In 2026 that is $232 for a car (state: $272). |
Freeway tows
| Year or period | Tow not needing a heavy-duty wrecker | Record, source and status |
|---|---|---|
| 2005 to 2011 (SafeClear) | $0.00 | SafeClear: City-paid tow of a stalled car from a freeway shoulder Houston Professional Towing Ass'n v. City of Houston, No. 15-20117 (5th Cir. Feb. 3, 2016); SafeClear Performance Report 2014 (Texas A&M Transportation Institute and Rice University; City committee packet) Official source Under SafeClear the City paid for tows of stalled vehicles from the shoulder. Owners of vehicles blocking a traffic lane or wrecked already paid the regulated tow rate. |
| 2011 to 2018 (SafeClear) | $50.00 | Ord. No. 2011-324 and the SafeClear operator agreements Houston Professional Towing Ass'n v. City of Houston, No. 15-20117 (5th Cir. Feb. 3, 2016); SafeClear Performance Report 2014 (Texas A&M Transportation Institute and Rice University; City committee packet) Official source Owners paid $50 for a shoulder tow ($30 for roadside service, per the 2014 report). If they could not pay, the car went to a storage lot with no storage charge for the first 48 hours. The 2014 report dates these changes to 2010; the court opinion and the Code's history give Ord. No. 2011-324 (May 4, 2011). |
| 2018 to now (Tow and Go) | $0.00 | Tow and Go: free tow to a safe place off the freeway City of Houston: Tow and Go page; HPD Motorist Rights and Guidelines (rev. Jan. 31, 2025) Official source A vehicle stalled by a breakdown on a covered freeway is towed free to a safe place within about a mile. Crashes, abandoned vehicles and law-enforcement incidents are not free; the City nonconsent rate applies, as it does if you ask to go farther. The July 9, 2018 start date is from the regional council's announcement as reported by a local district; we could not open the council's own release. |
County law-enforcement tows (unincorporated areas)
| Year or period | Tow not needing a heavy-duty wrecker | Record, source and status |
|---|---|---|
| June 2011 to now | $145.50 | Harris County Commissioners Court order of June 7, 2011 (as described in the county's 2026 budget memo) Harris County OMB memo: Nonconsent Tow Rate Options (June 23, 2026), item 26-4520; Harris County Commissioners Court, July 9, 2026, item 26-4520 (Legistar) Official source Light-duty police-ordered tow in unincorporated Harris County. The county budget office's June 23, 2026 memo lists $145.50 as the current rate and says the rates had not changed since 2011. On July 9, 2026 Commissioners Court voted to update them; the new amounts are not yet found, so the tool shows no Harris County amount (rule harr-county-tow-ordinance-law-enforcement-rates). |
Rate notices by year
- 2015: City rate notice for 2015 (ARA, Dec. 1, 2014)
- 2016: City rate notice for 2016 (ARA, Nov. 24, 2015)
- 2017: City rate notice for 2017 (ARA, Dec. 1, 2016)
- 2018: City rate notice for 2018 (ARA, Dec. 1, 2017)
- 2019: City rate notice for 2019 (ARA, Nov. 26, 2018)
- 2020: City rate notice for 2020 (ARA, Nov. 25, 2019)
- 2021: City rate notice for 2021 (ARA, Dec. 22, 2020)
- 2022: City rate notice for 2022 (ARA, Dec. 22, 2021)
- 2023: City rate notice for 2023 (ARA, Dec. 6, 2022)
- 2024: City rate notice for 2024 (ARA, Dec. 1, 2023)
- 2025: City rate notice for 2025 (ARA, Nov. 22, 2024)
- 2026: City rate notice for 2026 (ARA, Nov. 25, 2025)
Last checked .