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What changed: towing updates in Seattle
New laws, rules and rates that affect people whose cars were towed, newest first. Each item is our own short summary with a link to the official source.
Proposed: a Seattle permit for people living in RVs, and a 2-hour limit for RVs without one
A package of six bills announced in the City Council on August 7, 2026 (the 'Vehicle Resident Assistance Program') would create a permit letting RV and trailer residents who work with outreach stay parked while waiting for housing, limit motorhomes and travel trailers without a permit to 2-hour street parking, fund safe lots and storage, and update the City's junk-vehicle rules. News reports describe impound without prior notice for violations and enforcement starting in 2027.
Proposed. A committee vote was expected in September 2026 and a full Council vote as early as October 20, 2026; the current status was not verified.
The 2-hour limit is from the City's release; the no-notice impound and 2027 dates are from news reports, not yet from the bill text.
From April 20, 2026, a tow company that impounds a car from private property in Seattle may charge at most $306.88 for the first hour, $54.75 for each 15 minutes after that, $42.98 for each 12 hours of storage, $100 for an after-hours release and the City's $15 impound fee. The towing and storage amounts rose 1.6% with the Seattle-area transportation price index. The maximums apply to upright, undamaged cars, not to accident tows.
In effect from April 20, 2026 until the next yearly adjustment.
For tows the police or City order from Seattle streets, the City's contractor may charge at most $297 (north zone) or $263 (south zone) for a class A impound, which includes the dolly and the first half hour of winching. Storage is $22 (north) or $19 (south) per 12 hours, with no storage charge for the first 12 hours. The City adds an administrative fee of $35, or $67 for suspended-license and scofflaw impounds.
In effect January 1 to December 31, 2026. The City's page says the current police-impound contract runs through December 31, 2026.
The City's rule for 2025 raised the private-impound maximums by 2.0%: $302.05 for the first hour, $53.89 per 15 minutes after that, $42.30 per 12 hours of storage and $75.51 per 15 minutes for an uncompleted tow. The after-hours release fee stayed at $100.
Effective April 21, 2025; replaced April 20, 2026.