Virginia does regulate certain towing fees. The answer to “are towing fees regulated in Virginia” is yes for certain nonconsensual private-property tows. Virginia sets a statewide ceiling, while Richmond has its own lower hookup limit and local fee schedule.
That distinction matters when you’re trying to retrieve a car. The listed figures are maximum charges, not guaranteed totals. Each charge also has conditions that the towing operator must meet.
Are towing fees regulated in Virginia? Yes, for nonconsensual private-property tows
The fee ceilings discussed here cover a passenger vehicle removed from private property without the owner’s consent. Richmond’s schedule applies when a property owner requests that removal. It covers vehicles weighing less than 10,000 pounds.
These rules don’t turn every towing bill into one standard price. They control specific charges, including the initial hookup, storage, and certain after-hours fees. The operator must still apply each charge under the conditions written into the law.
Location also matters. Virginia lets localities adopt their own towing-fee limits. The ordinance of the locality where the vehicle was removed controls, even when the operator stores it somewhere else. Richmond’s schedule therefore applies to qualifying removals inside the City of Richmond. It isn’t a fee schedule for Henrico or Chesterfield.
Neither Henrico’s nor Chesterfield’s own fee schedule could be confirmed, so no county figure appears here. If your vehicle was removed in either county, confirm the current limit with that county before paying. Don’t apply Richmond’s numbers across the whole metro.
Our private-property towing guide explains how that kind of removal differs from a tow requested by a driver. Quick Tow Richmond also publishes a $105 standard light-duty hookup rate. That isn’t the legal cap, a total, or a promise about an independent operator’s final bill. Ask for the full amount, including mileage, before agreeing to a tow.
The statewide ceiling, and what changed in 2025
Virginia Code § 46.2-1233.1 sets the statewide ceiling for a qualifying nonconsensual private-property tow. The maximum initial towing or hookup fee for a passenger vehicle is $210.
That ceiling was previously $150. The increase appears in 2025 Acts of Assembly chapter 625, also identified as SB1332. The current statute’s enactment history includes the 2025 amendment. No effective date for the increase has been confirmed from the chaptered act, so don’t rely on an unsourced date.
The state law also permits an after-hours or weekend surcharge of up to $30. The after-hours period runs from 7:00 p.m. through 8:00 a.m. Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays can also qualify. The statute limits these additions to two such fees per vehicle.
Virginia also protects the first day of storage. An operator may not charge for storage or safekeeping when the vehicle has been held for 24 hours or less.
The statewide ceiling isn’t always the amount that controls. Virginia allows local governments to set their own, usually lower, limits by ordinance. A locality may also prevent storage charges from building while a towing business is closed and the owner can’t retrieve the vehicle.
Richmond has done both. Its $195 hookup ceiling is lower than Virginia’s $210 maximum. The city also bars storage charges for periods when a closed towing business prevented recovery.
Richmond’s own schedule, line by line
Richmond City Council adopted Ordinance 2025-222 on November 10, 2025. It took effect upon adoption and amended City Code § 27-302. The ordinance replaced several older limits for qualifying private-property removals.
Richmond caps the hookup fee at $195. The previous city ceiling was $135. This is the maximum initial towing charge under the ordinance, not a guaranteed bill or a price charged by Quick Tow Richmond.
The after-hours towing surcharge increased from $25 to $30. It applies to qualifying tows between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. Richmond also added a weekend or holiday surcharge of up to $30 for a tow on any Saturday, Sunday, or holiday. Each surcharge may be charged only once per occurrence, not once per day.
The storage ceiling increased from $45 to $50 for each 24-hour period. An administrative or notification fee increased from $50 to $75. That administrative charge isn’t allowed until the vehicle has remained in the lot for more than 72 hours.
Anyone accepting payment must provide an itemized receipt. Operators must accept cash, certified checks, money orders, or credit cards under the payment rule cited by the ordinance.
Read each charge separately. A permitted amount on the schedule isn’t automatically proper on every bill. Its timing and conditions still matter. Our guide to what a tow may cost in Richmond covers cost drivers without treating these ceilings as quoted prices.
The two charges nobody reported: the drop fee and the after-hours release
Richmond’s adopted ordinance confirmed two charges that hadn’t appeared in earlier reporting about the fee change. They cover very different moments, so don’t treat them as interchangeable.
The first is a drop fee of up to $40. It applies only after the operator has hooked up the vehicle but hasn’t removed it from the property. The owner or the owner’s agent must arrive, claim the vehicle, and pay before removal.
That timing is narrow. If the car has already left the property, this specific drop-fee provision doesn’t describe the situation. If it hasn’t been hooked up, the ordinance’s stated condition for the fee hasn’t been met.
The second charge is an after-hours release fee of up to $35. It applies when a vehicle is released between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. This is different from the after-hours surcharge tied to when the tow occurred.
The release-fee provision also contains a strong limit. When that after-hours release fee is charged, the ordinance says no other fees, liens, towing costs, storage costs, or administrative costs may be added on top of it.
Ask for an itemized receipt before leaving the lot. Compare the time of the tow, the time of release, and the conditions for each line. If a charge doesn’t match its stated condition, keep the receipt and any documents showing when the vehicle was removed or released. The paperwork gives you something specific to raise in a complaint.
Storage, and the first 24 hours nobody may bill you for
Both Virginia law and Richmond’s ordinance protect the first 24 hours. No storage or safekeeping charge is allowed when the vehicle has been held for 24 hours or less.
After that initial period, Richmond caps storage at $50 for each 24-hour period. The ordinance also bars a storage charge for any period when the towing business was closed and that closure prevented the owner from recovering the vehicle.
That closed-lot protection matters because storage is based on time. Write down when you first contacted the operator, when recovery was available, and when the vehicle was released. Keep any payment receipt and related messages. Anyone taking payment must give you an itemized receipt under Richmond’s ordinance.
Don’t confuse storage with the administrative or notification fee. Richmond permits that separate charge, capped at $75, only after the vehicle has remained in the lot for more than 72 hours. A short storage period doesn’t meet that condition.
The first 24-hour protection also doesn’t erase the permitted hookup charge. It addresses storage and safekeeping. That’s why one headline number can’t tell you the full amount needed for release.
Check when each line began and why it appears. If the car was held for no more than 24 hours, a storage charge conflicts with the stated state and city rules. If a closed business prevented recovery, identify that period when asking the operator to explain the bill.
Who enforces it, and what a violation is worth
Richmond’s ordinance makes violations of its hookup, surcharge, storage, drop-fee, administrative-fee, and after-hours-release provisions a Class 1 misdemeanor. That classification applies to violations of subsections (a) through (f) of City Code § 27-302.
Virginia also provides a consumer complaint route. Under § 46.2-119, a person harmed by a tow truck driver or towing and recovery operator may submit a complaint to the Division of Consumer Counsel within the Office of the Attorney General. A specific towing complaint form is available.
The Attorney General may bring a circuit-court case seeking an injunction, damages, restitution, costs, and fees for the consumer. That process is complaint intake followed by a possible lawsuit at the Attorney General’s discretion. Virginia doesn’t provide a formal towing hearing, and the statute sets no filing or resolution deadline.
Don’t calculate an assumed multiplier and treat it as a Richmond recovery amount. The heightened ten-times remedy sometimes discussed online doesn’t apply to the Richmond planning district.
Keep the itemized receipt, payment record, tow location, and relevant times. Virginia requires operators to retain towing records, including itemized fees, for one year. Our guide to Richmond towing rights explains the complaint route and other statewide protections. The full statutory framework appears in Title 46.2, Chapter 12.
Richmond’s Advisory Board for the Assessment of Towing Fees and the Storage of Vehicles also reviews the city’s schedule. The board includes three Richmond Police representatives, three towing and recovery operators, and one Council-appointed resident. City Council must direct it to review the limits periodically and recommend adjustments.
When to call us
Call when you need a consensual tow matched with an independent licensed operator, not help disputing an impound bill. Quick Tow Richmond’s recorded line takes calls 24/7, plays a recording notice, and routes messages for follow-up. Call us at (804) 701-6752.