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Guides and research: how towing works in Seattle
Plain-language guides for people who were towed, and the audits, reports and court rulings behind them. Each summary is ours; follow the link to read the original.
Newest first. Government reports are public records; the others belong to their authors, so we link to them and do not post copies.
Seattle's private-impound maximums, 2018-2026 (from the City's yearly rules)
Bill analysis · Towed in Seattle, from Seattle FAS Director's rules · · Covers: City of Seattle
Reading the City's yearly rules side by side: the first-hour maximum rose from $203.96 (2018) to $306.88 (2026), about 50%, and the 12-hour storage maximum from $30.38 to $42.98. The largest single step was 19.2% in May 2022, tied to the Seattle-area transportation price index.
Why it matters: Shows which maximum applied on the date of a past tow.
Our own arithmetic on official figures; 2018 and 2020 come from prior-year columns in later rules.
Ruling helps protect homeless people from having cars towed
Law journal article · Associated Press, via FOX 13 Seattle · · Covers: Washington (Seattle case)
News report on the unanimous City of Seattle v. Long decision: impounding a man's truck he lived in and charging nearly $550 in tow and storage costs was an excessive fine, and a vehicle home can be a homestead.
Why it matters: A plain news account of the case that started in a Seattle lot.
Seattle spending hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to dispose of unwanted RVs
Law journal article · KOMO News · · Covers: City of Seattle
Using City records, KOMO reported that after the police-impound contract was amended on February 17, 2017 to cover RV disposal, the City paid $398,764.92 to tow and scrap 265 RVs through August 2018, about $1,505 each. Unclaimed RVs were held at the contractor's north Seattle lot and, after 21 days, could be declared junk and sent for recycling.
Why it matters: One of the few published accounts of what happens to impounded RVs in Seattle and what it costs the City.
News reporting from City records we have not seen ourselves.
Review of the Vehicle Impound Management Services (VIMS) procurement
Audit · Seattle Office of City Auditor · · Covers: City of Seattle
Reviewed how the City replaced several zone contractors with one citywide police-impound contractor, awarded in June 2013 after a first request for proposals (August 2012) was canceled. As indexed by search engines, it found the bid process followed state and City law, flagged that state licensing law was open to interpretation, reported that the share of impounds handled by women- and minority-owned firms fell, and suggested tracking complaints about access to the south-end lot.
Why it matters: The only City audit we found of how Seattle's police-impound contract was awarded.
Not verified: the official PDF returned 'not found' on 2026-10-07.
Law journal article · PubliCola (Seattle Met) · · Covers: City of Seattle
Reported that the Council's budget committee asked the City Auditor to review the new single police-impound contract: why the first request for proposals was dropped and redone, and why the final contract allowed pickups at a second lot.
Why it matters: Background to the City Auditor's review of the contract.
Seattle to watchdog tow trucks, cap fees, hire tow-truck tsar
Law journal article · KNKX Public Radio · · Covers: City of Seattle
Reported the City's 2012 proposal after an $800 private-tow charge drew attention: an impound cap near $157 an hour plus storage, a City towing inspector, background checks and complaint procedures. The state tow operators' association opposed it, saying there was no independent cost study.
Why it matters: Contemporary reporting on why Seattle started capping private-tow fees.
$240 for a car tow? Companies aren't pulling your leg, just your vehicle
Law journal article · The Seattle Times · · Covers: Seattle and Washington
A 1991 look at private-impound charges in Seattle, which ranged from about $35 to $240. Companies filed their rates with the Department of Licensing, but nothing capped them; by contrast the State Patrol had capped its own tows at $75 an hour after a cost study, and the City's bid contracts ran about $34.50 to $48.50.
Why it matters: Shows the gap between police and private tow prices that led to Seattle's 2012 caps and the 2013 state law.
Court rulings about towing in Seattle. A case decides the dispute in front of the court; whether it applies to a tow depends on the facts.
City of Seattle v. Long, 493 P.3d 94 (Wash. 2021) () (official copy). Seattle towed a truck a man lived in on October 12, 2016, after a 72-hour parking violation (SMC 11.72.440(B)); the magistrate cut the charges from $946.61 to $547.12. The state Supreme Court held the costs were an excessive fine; see the statewide library for more.