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Audits, reports, rules and contracts about towing in Seattle, each with a short summary in plain words and a link to the agency's own copy.
These are government documents. We link to the official copies. Summaries are ours; read the record itself before you rely on it.
Where to contest a tow: Seattle Municipal Court hears City and police impounds; King County District Court hears private and other impounds on the tow company's hearing request form, within 10 days, with an $83 fee.
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Announces six pieces of legislation for people living in vehicles: $5 million of existing funds for safe lots, shelter storage and outreach; a permit for engaged RV and trailer residents; a 2-hour street-parking limit for unpermitted motorhomes and travel trailers; and an update of the City's junk-vehicle rules. It went to the Public Safety Committee on August 11, 2026.
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A proposal, not law. Whether it passed was not verified on 2026-10-08.
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Each spring the FAS Director raises the private-impound maximums by the prior year's change in the Seattle-area transportation price index: 2.7% (2019), 1.7% (2021), 19.2% (2022), 9.4% (2023), 4.0% (2024), 2.0% (2025) and 1.6% (2026). The after-hours release fee has stayed at $100.
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The final 2026 rule (Clerk File 323777) and the 2015-2018 and 2020 rules were not opened; the Clerk's search pages show a bot check.
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The City's page lists the maximum prices its police-impound contractor may charge in 2026, and the contract's map splits the city into a north and a south zone at Mercer Street. The impound location sets the tow price; the storage lot sets the storage price. The City's page says the contract runs through December 31, 2026.
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The contract itself was not found online.
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Sets the City's administrative fee charged when someone redeems a police-impounded vehicle: $35 for most impounds and $67 for scofflaw, suspended-license and DUI-arrest impounds. The tow contractor collects it for the City. A public hearing on this and two related rules drew no written comments.
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The Council passed this bill 9-0 on November 24, 2014. It raised the maximum storage fee for privately impounded vehicles in SMC 6.214.220.
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After the Council asked in October 2013, the City Auditor reviewed how the City chose a single citywide police-impound contractor. Search-engine copies of the report say it found the bid process complied with state and City law, noted that state licensing rules were open to interpretation, and found a drop in work done by women- and minority-owned firms.
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Not verified: the official PDF returned 404 again on 2026-10-08 (both URL spellings), the Auditor's 2014 annual report link also returned 404, and archive copies could not be opened. Search-engine copies give the date and findings. Re-check before publishing.
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The Council's releases on the 2012 ordinance: the proposal (July 30), the committee's 3-0 vote (September 19), and the move to the full Council (September 21). They describe the first caps on involuntary tows from private property, background checks and operating standards for tow companies, and a start date in January 2013.
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Seattle's own rules for private-property tows: City tow-company licenses, maximum fees adjusted every year, the conditions for towing without the driver's consent (contract, signs, authorization, nearby lot, dated photos), itemized receipts, records, unlawful acts, and the complaint process run by the Department of Finance and Administrative Services.
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The City's boot program for vehicles with unpaid parking tickets on the scofflaw list, and how to ask Seattle Municipal Court to review a boot. Private booting is not allowed under state law.
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The rules for vehicles the City and police impound: when the City may impound, the owner notice, the hearing in Seattle Municipal Court within 10 days, what happens if the impound was improper, no standby fee, and the City's police-impound contract.
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