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Is my car being sold? Lien sales and auctions in Washington
If a tow company or storage lot keeps a car and the bill is not paid, the car can be sold after the notices and waiting periods the law sets. The notice you get tells you which rules apply and how much time you have.
General information, not legal advice. Check your notice: the dates printed on it are the ones that count. Count calendar days unless the rule says business days.
How a towed car can be sold
From the tow to the sale, step by step
Within 24 hours of the impound.
The owner letter (within 24 hours)
The tow company mails the registered and legal owners a notice by first-class mail within 24 hours of an impound. It names who authorized the tow, where the car is, and the right to redeem it and ask for a hearing.
Source: RCW 46.55.110(1)
Right after 120 hours in custody.
The abandoned vehicle report (after 120 hours)
If the car is still at the yard after the 120-hour abandonment period, the tow company sends an abandoned vehicle report to the Department of Licensing, which gives it owner information within 72 hours. No report is sent while a writ, court order or police hold (other than a suspended-license impound) is in effect.
Source: RCW 46.55.100(2), (3)
Within 24 hours of receiving owner information from the Department of Licensing.
The notice of custody and sale
Within 24 hours after it gets the owner information, the tow company mails the owners a notice of custody and sale, with a certificate of mailing from the Postal Service. The notice also says belongings can be stored free if the owner signs a storage request before the auction.
Source: RCW 46.55.110(3), (4)
Auction no sooner than 15 days after the notice is mailed; redemption possible until the auction starts.
Fifteen days, then the auction
If the car is not redeemed within 15 days of the mailing of the notice of custody and sale, it is sold at public auction. The owner can redeem it at any time before the auction starts by paying the towing and storage fees.
Source: RCW 46.55.120(4); RCW 46.55.130(1)
Published 3 to 10 days before the auction.
The newspaper notice and viewing period
The tow company publishes the date, place and time of the auction, and a way to contact it, in a newspaper of general circulation in the county 3 to 10 days before the sale. The auction is held in daylight on a normal business day, after a public viewing period of 1, 2 or 3 hours depending on how many vehicles are sold.
Source: RCW 46.55.130(1), (2)
10 days from the notice and form, and more than 5 days before the auction.
A hearing request can stop the sale
A written hearing request on the form the tow company gives out must reach the court within 10 days of the date the notice and form were given, and more than 5 days before the auction date. While a timely request is pending, the vehicle may not be sold at auction until the court decides.
Source: RCW 46.55.120(2)(b); WAC 308-61-168
Storage charges stop growing
Storage added to the lien at auction is limited to 15 days after the tow company gets the owner information, plus storage before that. If the tow company misses the chapter's time limits, storage is limited to 5 days unless the delay could not be avoided. An owner who redeems before the sale pays all storage up to redemption.
Source: RCW 46.55.130(4)
Claim leftover money within one year of the auction.
After the sale: leftover money and the $500 limit
Money left after the tow company's lien is paid goes to the Department of Licensing within 30 days; the registered owner can claim it within one year of the auction. For a private impound, the tow company can collect at most $500 more from the registered owner after the auction ($1,000 for vehicles over 10,000 pounds), and nothing if the impound was invalid. The cost of the auction or a buyer's fee may not be added.
Source: RCW 46.55.130(2)(h); RCW 46.55.140(1)
Service members on active duty
Under the federal Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a tow company needs a court order before it sells an active-duty service member's vehicle to enforce its lien. The Washington Attorney General's Office has obtained court orders against tow companies that skipped this step.
Source: Attorney General news release, May 4, 2020; Attorney General news release, Aug. 3, 2022
Sources: Chapter 46.55 RCW (towing and impoundment); Chapter 308-61 WAC
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