Washington tool

Washington Towing Fee and Impound Review

Walk your Washington tow through Chapter 46.55 RCW in two minutes. The tool flags authorization defects under , signage defects under , notice defects under , redemption and hearing posture under , fee math against the 135-percent caps under , and abandoned-vehicle sale issues under . The output is a triage memo, a document checklist, a risk score, and a pre-filled email to send the matter to me for a $125 written email evaluation.

1Tow type

What type of tow was this?

Private-property and police-directed tows have different statutory tracks. Accident, abandoned, and repo tows have their own rules layered on top.

2When and where

Date and time of the tow

Location (city, lot)

3Who authorized the tow

Who signed the impound authorization at the time and place of the tow?

Per RCW 46.55.080, the authorization must be signed by the property owner or authorized agent (private) or by a law enforcement officer or other public official (public), at the time and place of the impound. The tow operator's own driver cannot serve as the property owner's agent.

4Signage at the lot

Were the tow-zone signs posted at every entrance and at conspicuous interior locations?

RCW 46.55.070 requires signage at every entrance and at conspicuous interior locations for nonresidential private property tows of less than 24-hour parking violations.

5Notice received

Did you receive the first-class mail impound notice, and when?

Per RCW 46.55.110, the operator must mail notice to the last known registered and legal owners within 24 hours of impoundment (next business day if weekend or postal holiday).

6Redemption

When did you try to redeem the vehicle?

Per RCW 46.55.120, the vehicle is released on presentation of commercially reasonable tender (cash, major bank credit cards, or in-state personal checks with two pieces of valid ID). Refusal to accept tender that meets the statute is itself a defect.

7Itemized charges

Towing fee charged

$

Daily storage fee charged (per day)

$

Number of days storage billed

#

After-hours release fee

$

Gate / admin / DOL search fee

$

Operator's filed Class A hourly rate, if known

$

Per RCW 46.55.118, towing is capped at 135% of the maximum hourly Class A rate, storage at 135% of the maximum daily storage rate, and after-hours release at 100%. The tool only computes possible overage if you enter the operator's filed rate.

8Sale notice received

Did the operator send you written notice of auction or sale?

Per RCW 46.55.130, the operator must publish auction notice in a newspaper not less than 3 nor more than 10 days before the auction. The vehicle must remain unclaimed for 15 days after notice mailing before sale. No auction may be held more than 90 days after the impound except under police or judicial hold.

9Vehicle status

Where is the vehicle now?

10Documents you can produce

Which of these do you have?

How the score is calculated

The score adds points for each Chapter 46.55 RCW defect the answers identify, then subtracts points where the operator's conduct looks compliant. Maximum 100. The thresholds are 80-100 Strong, 60-79 Moderate, 40-59 Weak, 0-39 Poor.

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