How to Find Your Towed Car in NYC (NYPD Tow Pounds)

If your car is gone in New York City, do not panic, it was very likely towed, not stolen. Here is how to find your towed vehicle in NYC, which borough pound it is in, and exactly what you need to get it back.

Step 1: Look it up on the NYC Towed Vehicle Locator

The fastest way to find a towed car in NYC is the city’s official Towed Vehicle Locator on nyc.gov. Enter your license plate number and state, and it tells you whether the car was towed, which pound it is in, and what to do next. You can also call 311 for the same information.

Why cars get towed in NYC

• Illegal parking, towed to the NYPD pound in the same borough
• NYPD action, for investigations, arrests, or safety
• Private towing, if parked on private property (a different lot, not a city pound)

Which borough pound has your car

NYC operates NYPD tow pounds in Manhattan, the Bronx, Brooklyn, Queens, and Staten Island. A car towed for illegal parking usually goes to the pound in the borough it was towed from. The locator will confirm the exact pound and current address, always check it there, since pound locations and hours can change.

The rule that surprises people: outstanding judgments

Here is what many New Yorkers do not know: if your car was illegally parked and your unpaid parking tickets in judgment total more than $101, you must pay the NYC Department of Finance all of that judgment debt and penalties before the pound will release your car, on top of the towing and storage fees.

What to bring to get it back

• Proof of ownership (title or registration in your name)
• A valid, unexpired photo ID
• Proof of insurance
• Payment for towing, storage, and any judgment debt

For the full breakdown, see what to bring to pick up a towed car.

Cannot get there yourself? Send someone with a notarized letter

If you cannot get to the pound, you can send someone, but they will need a notarized authorization letter from you naming them and describing the vehicle, plus a copy of your ID. Without it, the pound will not release the car to anyone but the owner.

Frequently asked questions

How do I know if my car was towed or stolen in NYC?

Check the NYC Towed Vehicle Locator with your plate first. If it does not show as towed, report it to the NYPD as possibly stolen.

Can someone else pick it up for me?

Yes, with a notarized letter, see can someone else pick up my towed car?

How fast should I retrieve it?

Quickly, storage fees add up daily. See the full impound retrieval steps.

Towed car guides

• Bronx Tow Pound: How to Find & Retrieve Your Car
• How to Get Your Car Out of Impound
• Free Vehicle Release Authorization Letter

This article is general information, not legal advice. Confirm current pound locations, hours, and fees on the official NYC Department of Finance and NYPD websites or by calling 311.

More: Car got towed? The full guide · What it costs to get it out of impound

Rule out the other explanations first

Before you assume a tow, walk the block. Cars get moved a short distance for a film shoot, a street fair, emergency work or a parade, and they are frequently left legally parked around the corner rather than taken to a pound.

Then consider the other three possibilities. The vehicle may have been relocated by the city, booted rather than towed, towed by a private operator from private property, or stolen. Each has a different phone number and a different outcome, and calling the wrong one wastes the hours that matter.

If the car was on private property, a shopping center lot, an apartment building lot, a hydrant adjacent private driveway, it was probably a private tow and the pound will have no record of it. Look for the posted signage at the lot entrance, which is required to name the towing company.

What you need before you go

Bring more than you think you need. At minimum: valid unexpired photo identification, the registration, and proof of current insurance. Payment, and be ready for the possibility that a personal check is not accepted.

If the registration is not in your name, or the registered owner is not the person collecting the car, that is where a notarized authorization letter to release a vehicle becomes necessary. This is the single most common reason somebody arrives at the pound and leaves without the car.

The costs stack by the day

The tow fee is the smaller number. What hurts is storage, which accrues per day, and the outstanding tickets or judgments that may have to be cleared before the vehicle is released at all.

That is the argument for moving quickly rather than waiting until the weekend. Every day the car sits, the total goes up, and there is a point at which the accumulated charges exceed what the vehicle is worth.

Company cars, leases and borrowed vehicles

These are the situations where people get stuck. A vehicle registered to a business needs authorization from the business, usually on letterhead, signed by somebody with authority and notarized. A leased vehicle may need documentation from the leasing company. A car borrowed from a relative needs written, notarized permission from the registered owner.

None of these can be solved by a phone call from the owner while you stand at the counter. Get the letter notarized before you go.

If the registered owner has died, this becomes an estate question rather than a paperwork question, and what the pound will accept depends on how the estate is being handled.

Getting the authorization notarized fast

This is the part we can compress. The owner does not have to be in New York and does not have to travel. We notarize vehicle release authorizations online, so an owner in another state can be on a video call within minutes and you can walk into the pound with a notarized letter the same afternoon.

The owner needs valid unexpired photo identification and should not sign the letter beforehand, since the notary has to witness the signature. Our free template is on the vehicle release page.

Before you leave the lot

Photograph the vehicle from every side before you drive away, and check the interior. Damage caused during towing or storage is far easier to raise before you leave than after, and a receipt with the date and time on it is what any later claim rests on.

Then deal with the ticket that caused the tow rather than filing it in the glove box, because unpaid judgments are how a second tow happens.

If the car is not at any pound

When the city has no record and no private operator claims it, treat it as stolen and report it. Do that promptly rather than after another two days of calling around, because an insurance claim generally depends on a police report and the date on that report matters.

Bring the plate number, the vehicle identification number, the registration and your identification. Then notify your insurer the same day.

Also worth reading: How long can your car stay in an NYC impound? and what to do if you cannot afford to get it out.

See also: vehicle power of attorney · transferring a car after the owner dies