Wisconsin Administrative Code › Department of Transportation › Chapter Trans 319 - Towing of Unauthorized Vehicles on Private Property › Section Trans 319.03 - Charges for towing and storage

Current through June 24, 2024
(1) TOWING SERVICE
			 FEES. A towing service may charge a vehicle owner ordinary and reasonable fees
			 related to removal and storage of the vehicle from private property under s.
			 349.13(3m),
			 Stats., except that no charges may exceed the following individual total
			 amounts:
(a) $150 for a vehicle removed using
			 a flatbed, hook and chain, wheel-lift, boom, or any other method.
(b) $25 for each period of 24 consecutive
			 hours that the vehicle is stored at an outdoor storage facility.
(c) $35 for each period of 24 consecutive
			 hours that the vehicle is stored at an indoor storage facility.
Note:
The daily storage charge under par. (b) or
				(c) can be collected by a towing service the first minute after notice of the
				tow is given to a law enforcement agency by the towing service. A second daily
				storage charge cannot be collected until 24 hours after the time at which
				notice is given to law enforcement, subject to the limits for closed storage
				facilities specified in s. Trans 319.03(4).
(d) $150 for any other necessary and
			 commercially reasonable charges relating to the use of special equipment in the
			 removal or storage, or both, of the vehicle, and for any expenses incurred by
			 the towing service relating to travel exceeding twenty miles. Administrative
			 fees, gate fees, lien processing fees, or any other fees for equipment or
			 procedures ordinarily required for the removal or storage of a vehicle may not
			 be charged under this paragraph. A towing service may collect charges under
			 this paragraph only if any of the following applies:
1. The removed vehicle possesses unusual
			 characteristics, such as size or mechanical condition that make the maximum
			 removal charge under par. (a) unreasonably low, or has a gross vehicle weight
			 rating or registered weight of 10,001 pounds or more.
2. The location in which the removed vehicle
			 was parked contains certain spatial constraints or limited access to the parked
			 vehicle impeding the tow that make the maximum removal charge under par. (a)
			 unreasonably low.
3. The roundtrip
			 travel by the towing service exceeds 20 miles. A towing service may charge a
			 surcharge of $3.00 per mile under this subdivision for miles in excess of
			 twenty miles. Mileage is based on roundtrip mileage from the storage facility
			 to return thereto. The towing service shall establish the mileage from the tow
			 truck odometer and shall include on the tow slip the beginning and ending
			 odometer readings to the 1/10 per mile. If the tow truck is dispatched from a
			 location other than the storage facility, the one-way mileage between the
			 location from which the vehicle is removed and the storage facility shall be
			 multiplied by two. Mileage fractions less than 5/10 shall be omitted, and
			 mileage fractions of 5/10 or more shall be rounded up to the nearest whole
			 number.
Note:
Pursuant to s.
				349.13(3m)
				(dr)2, Stats., a towing service is prohibited
				from collecting any charges for the removal or storage of an illegally parked
				vehicle towed under s.
				349.13(3m),
				Stats., if the towing service has not complied with the requirement under s.
				349.13(3m)
				(d)2, Stats., to notify law enforcement prior
				to removing the vehicle.