(1) (a) No motor vehicle may be towed except by request of the owner of the motor vehicle, at the direction of a law enforcement officer or by request of a real property owner or the real property owner’s designee or assignee upon whose property the motor vehicle has been left.(b) All towing companies shall record, upon receipt of any request to tow a motor vehicle, the name, phone number and/or email address of the person who made the request, and whether such request was made by the owner of the motor vehicle, a law enforcement officer, the owner of the real property or the real property owner’s designee or assignee from which the motor vehicle is being towed. Failure of a tow company to record the information required by this paragraph shall result in a waiver of all storage and towing fees described in this section, unless the company can prove that the request for towing was made by the owner of the motor vehicle. (c) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (1)(b) of this section, the owner of a motor vehicle that has been towed at his or her request, at the direction of a law enforcement officer, or upon request of a real property owner or the real property owner’s designee or assignee upon whose property a vehicle has been left, shall be liable for the reasonable price of towing and storage of such vehicle; and the towing company to whom the price of such labor and storage costs may be due shall have the right to retain possession of such motor vehicle until the price is paid.
(a) No motor vehicle may be towed except by request of the owner of the motor vehicle, at the direction of a law enforcement officer or by request of a real property owner or the real property owner’s designee or assignee upon whose property the motor vehicle has been left.
(b) All towing companies shall record, upon receipt of any request to tow a motor vehicle, the name, phone number and/or email address of the person who made the request, and whether such request was made by the owner of the motor vehicle, a law enforcement officer, the owner of the real property or the real property owner’s designee or assignee from which the motor vehicle is being towed. Failure of a tow company to record the information required by this paragraph shall result in a waiver of all storage and towing fees described in this section, unless the company can prove that the request for towing was made by the owner of the motor vehicle.
(c) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (1)(b) of this section, the owner of a motor vehicle that has been towed at his or her request, at the direction of a law enforcement officer, or upon request of a real property owner or the real property owner’s designee or assignee upon whose property a vehicle has been left, shall be liable for the reasonable price of towing and storage of such vehicle; and the towing company to whom the price of such labor and storage costs may be due shall have the right to retain possession of such motor vehicle until the price is paid.
(2) Within twenty-four (24) hours, the towing company shall report to the local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction any vehicle that has been towed and shall provide the information required by subsection (1)(b) of this section, unless the vehicle was towed at the request of the owner of the vehicle. If the owner of a towed vehicle has not contacted the towing company within two (2) business days of the initial tow, the towing company shall obtain from the appropriate authority the names and addresses of any owner and lienholder. If the information from the appropriate authority fails to disclose the owner or lienholder, a good faith effort shall be made by the towing company to locate ownership, including a check for tag information, a check of the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System, inspection sticker, or any papers in the vehicle that may indicate ownership. Upon location of the owner and lienholder, the towing company using a third-party vendor that meets the requirements of the department, shall notify them by certified mail of the amount due for towing, postmarked no later than the seventh day following the initial tow. If such amount shall not be paid within thirty (30) days from the initial tow, the towing company to whom such charges are payable shall using a third-party vendor that meets the requirements of the department, notify by certified mail any legal owner and holder of any lien, as disclosed by the motor vehicle title records or other investigation, of notice of sale of the property. For all notifications required to be sent to owners and lienholders, the third-party vendor must utilize the format and transmit the data required by the Department of Revenue. A third-party vendor shall maintain a publicly accessible website which shall provide owners, lienholders, insurance companies or their agents the ability to search for notices sent pursuant to this section. Such notices shall be publicly accessible for a minimum of two (2) consecutive weeks prior to the sale of the property at public auction. The Department of Revenue shall include on its website a link to any website maintained by a third-party vendor for posting notices. The website must exclude personal identifying information and provide a voluntary option for owners, lienholders, and insurance companies to receive notification of vehicles added to the website. If such property has not been redeemed within ten (10) days after the mailing of the second certified letter, the towing company may commence sale of the property at public auction. The towing company shall publish for two (2) consecutive weeks a notice of sale in the newspaper having circulation in the county where the vehicle was initially towed. The proceeds of the sale of such property in excess of the amount needed to pay the towing, reasonable storage and necessary expenses of the procedures required by this section shall be held by the towing company for a period of six (6) months, and, if not reclaimed by the owner thereof within such time, shall become the property of the county and be paid to the chancery clerk of the county in which the sale was held to be deposited into the county general fund, subject, however, to any rights of the recorded lienholder.
(3) The failure to make a good faith effort to comply with the requirements of this section shall prohibit the imposition of any storage charges or towing charges against the towed vehicle.
(4) Every towing company shall maintain accurate records for a period of three (3) years, which records shall identify the vehicles it has towed and stored the name, phone number and/or email address of the person who made the request, and whether the request was made by the owner of the motor vehicle, a law enforcement officer, the owner of the real property or the real property owner’s designee or assignee from which the motor vehicle was towed and all procedures that it has taken to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
(5) For the purposes of this section, the term “third-party vendor” means a qualified business entity that, upon a request submitted through a website by a towing company:(a) Accesses the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System records to obtain the last state of record of the vehicle and to verify the vehicle is not reported stolen;(b) Accesses the owner and lienholder information, as applicable, for a vehicle from the Department of Revenue;(c) Electronically generates the notices required of a towing company by this section through the website;(d) Prints and sends the notices required under this section to each owner and lienholder of record by certified mail;(e) Electronically returns tracking information or other proof of mailing and delivery of the notices to the towing-storage operator;(f) Electronically reports onto its website the following information related to the towing and storage notice:(i) The vehicle identification number;(ii) The license plate number, if available;(iii) The name and address of the towing-storage operator or lienor;(iv) The physical location of the vehicle;(v) The date on which the vehicle was towed;(vi) The amount of storage fees owed at the time of the notice;(vii) The date of assessment of storage charges;(viii) The dates on which the notice was mailed and delivered;(ix) Other information required by the Department of Revenue.
(a) Accesses the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System records to obtain the last state of record of the vehicle and to verify the vehicle is not reported stolen;
(b) Accesses the owner and lienholder information, as applicable, for a vehicle from the Department of Revenue;
(c) Electronically generates the notices required of a towing company by this section through the website;
(d) Prints and sends the notices required under this section to each owner and lienholder of record by certified mail;
(e) Electronically returns tracking information or other proof of mailing and delivery of the notices to the towing-storage operator;
(f) Electronically reports onto its website the following information related to the towing and storage notice:(i) The vehicle identification number;(ii) The license plate number, if available;(iii) The name and address of the towing-storage operator or lienor;(iv) The physical location of the vehicle;(v) The date on which the vehicle was towed;(vi) The amount of storage fees owed at the time of the notice;(vii) The date of assessment of storage charges;(viii) The dates on which the notice was mailed and delivered;(ix) Other information required by the Department of Revenue.
(i) The vehicle identification number;
(ii) The license plate number, if available;
(iii) The name and address of the towing-storage operator or lienor;
(iv) The physical location of the vehicle;
(v) The date on which the vehicle was towed;
(vi) The amount of storage fees owed at the time of the notice;
(vii) The date of assessment of storage charges;
(viii) The dates on which the notice was mailed and delivered;
(ix) Other information required by the Department of Revenue.
(6) A third-party vendor must apply to and be approved by the Department of Revenue. The Department of Revenue shall prescribe the format for the application. The Department of Revenue may approve the applicant as qualified if the applicant:(a) Provides the Department of Revenue with a bond of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00);(b) Submits an acceptable internal control and data security audit or its equivalent performed by a licensed certified public accountant to the Department of Revenue;(c) Successfully demonstrates the ability to electronically provide required data onto its website.
(a) Provides the Department of Revenue with a bond of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00);
(b) Submits an acceptable internal control and data security audit or its equivalent performed by a licensed certified public accountant to the Department of Revenue;
(c) Successfully demonstrates the ability to electronically provide required data onto its website.
(7) The Department of Revenue may deny, suspend, or revoke approval of a third-party vendor if the Department of Revenue determines that the third-party vendor has committed an act of fraud or misrepresentation related to a notice required by this section.
(8) A third-party vendor must maintain all records related to providing notices under this section for five (5) years and allow the Department of Revenue to inspect and copy such records upon request. The records may be maintained in an electronic format.
(9) A third-party vendor must annually provide the Department of Revenue with evidence that it maintains a bond of One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) and must annually submit an internal control and data security audit or its equivalent performed by a licensed certified public accountant to continue its approved status each year.