TOWING REGULATIONS AND FEES

El Paso City Code tit. 12, ch. 12.54

in effect

El Paso City Code § 12.54.010 Definitions.

12.54.010 - Definitions. The following definitions shall apply in this section: "Consent tow" has the same meaning as defined by V.T.C.A. Occupations Code § 2308.002. "Incident management tow" has the same meaning as defined by V.T.C.A. Occupations Code § 2308.002. "Nonconsent tow" has the same meaning as defined by V.T.C.A. Occupations Code § 2308.002, including an incident management tow. "Police ordered tow" means any tow initiated or requested at the direction of a police officer who orders the removal of a vehicle that is unlawfully stopped in accordance with V.T.C.A. Transportation Code § 545.305 or incident management tow. "Tow truck" has the same meaning as defined by V.T.C.A. Occupations Code § 2308.002. "Tow company" has the same meaning as defined by V.T.C.A. Occupations Code § 2308.002. "Vehicle owner or operator" has the same meaning as defined by V.T.C.A. Occupations Code § 2308.002. (Ord. 16957 § 1, 2008: Ord. 15076 § 2, 2002) (Ord. No. 18137, § 1, 3-4-2014)

El Paso City Code § 12.54.020 Maximum fee schedule.

12.54.020 - Maximum fee schedule. A. The maximum fee that a tow company may charge for nonconsent tow service including the cost of the clean-up of debris left by the vehicle, regardless of the type of truck used is: 1. Light duty tows—$100.00 for towage of a vehicle with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of not more than 10,000 pounds and the clean-up of debris and cargos; or 2. Medium duty tows—$350.00 for towage of a vehicle with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of more than ten thousand pounds but less than twenty-five thousand pounds and the clean-up of debris and cargos. 3. Heavy duty tows—$450.00 for towage of a vehicle with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of more than twenty-five thousand pounds and the clean-up of debris and cargos. B. An additional fee in an amount not to exceed twenty-five dollars may be charged for the use of dollies or go-jacks in connection with the tow. C. If a tow truck operator tows a vehicle with a manufacturer's gross vehicle weight rating of more than ten thousand pounds and the tow takes longer than two hours, beginning from the time when the tow truck reports to the scene to the time when the actual towing, lifting or transporting job is completed, the tow truck operator may charge an additional fee in an amount not to exceed fifty-five dollars per hour for each hour over two hours. If the tow truck operator is required to manually move cargo from such a vehicle, the tow truck operator may charge an additional fee not to exceed the operator's actual cost for such manual cargo movement. D. If the vehicle owner or operator is at or comes upon the scene where a tow company is attempting to tow a vehicle, and the vehicle owner or operator does not desire the vehicle to be towed, no charge shall be made and the vehicle owner or operator shall be allowed to take possession of the vehicle if the vehicle has not been hooked up by the tow truck. If the vehicle has been hooked up to the tow truck, but not towed from the scene, the vehicle shall be released to the vehicle owner or operator upon payment of one-half the regular tow fee established in Section 12.54.020(A). (Ord. 15076 § 3, 2002) (Ord. No. 18137, § 2, 3-4-2014; Ord. No. 18669, § 2, 5-2-2017; Ord. No. 18774, § 2, 4-17-2018)

El Paso City Code § 12.54.030 Removal of debris.

12.54.030 - Removal of debris. A. Any tow company who tows a vehicle as a nonconsent tow shall completely remove from and near the site of the towed vehicle any and all wreckage or debris left from the vehicle, including all broken glass, debris and truck and vehicle cargos before leaving the site of the vehicle, as part of the fee to be charged for the nonconsent tow. B. Any person whose vehicle becomes damaged, disabled or otherwise reaches a condition of dilapidation so as to drop debris while upon any street or roadway or upon the property of another shall remove or cause to be removed all debris left from the vehicle, including all broken glass, debris and truck and vehicle cargos, at the time that the vehicle is moved from the location where it was operated, damaged, disabled or otherwise parked. C. It shall be an affirmative defense to prosecution under this section that the debris was located in or upon a lane of travel of a roadway at such time as when traffic was present on the roadway and no law enforcement officer was at the site to provide traffic direction and control to allow for the safe removal of the debris or that the debris was located upon property posted as no trespassing. (Ord. 15076 § 4, 2002) (Ord. No. 18137, § 3, 3-4-2014)

El Paso City Code § 12.54.040 Penalty.

12.54.040 - Penalty. Any person violating any provision of Sections 12.54.020, 12.54.030, or 12.54.070 of this chapter commits an offense punishable by a fine not to exceed five hundred dollars pursuant to Section 12.84.010. (Ord. 16957 § 2, 2008: Ord. 15076 § 5, 2002) (Ord. No. 019867, § 1, 4-28-2026)

El Paso City Code § 12.54.050 Towing fee studies.

12.54.050 - Towing fee studies. A. In the event that a towing company desires to request that the city conduct a study of the towing fees established under this chapter, the towing company shall send a written request to the chief of police, with a copy to the city attorney. B. The towing company shall include with their request copies of pertinent information relating to the costs associated with performing the tows addressed by this chapter including but not limited to an explanation as to how the current fees do not adequately allow the towing company to cover their costs and a reasonable profit. C. Upon receipt of the request for a towing fee study, the chief of police shall direct his department to gather information as may be available regarding the costs for performing various types of tows addressed by this chapter and survey Texas cities regarding any maximum fees that they have imposed for nonconsensual tows. D. Not less than thirty days nor more than sixty days after the receipt of the towing company request, related information from a towing company as provided in Subsection A, and considering the information gathered by the police department, the chief of police or designee shall make a recommendation to city council regarding the appropriate fees for tows performed under this chapter. City council may act as deemed appropriate. E. Towing fee studies may not be requested more than once every three years, unless the towing fee company assumes all costs associated with the study. (Ord. 15528 § 1, 2003) (Ord. No. 18137, § 4, 3-4-2014; Ord. No. 18774, § 2, 4-17-2018)

El Paso City Code § 12.54.060 Fees for police ordered towing services—Impoundment.

12.54.060 - Fees for police ordered towing services—Impoundment. The following definitions shall apply in this section. A. In any case where a vehicle other than a vehicle owned by the City of El Paso is released from a licensed vehicle storage facility or a vehicle storage facility owned by the city after being towed to the facility pursuant to a police ordered tow, and fees are collected from the vehicle owner, an additional twenty-dollar fee shall be collected and remitted to the police department on behalf of the city to defray the costs associated with the police ordered towing of the vehicle. B. In any case where a vehicle other than a vehicle owned by the City of El Paso is towed to a vehicle storage facility owned by the city, an impoundment fee of twenty dollars shall be collected from the vehicle owner prior to release. C. The fees collected by a licensed vehicle storage facility shall be remitted on a quarterly basis, on or before the fifteenth day of months of January, April, July and September of each year and provide the vehicle identification number (VIN) of each vehicle for which the fee required under this section is being remitted. D. Each licensed vehicle storage facility shall include the documentation required under this section for the collection and remittance of the city's fee with the documentation required to be made available to a police officer in the city under Title 43, Chapter 18 of the Texas Administrative Code. (Ord. 16957 § 3, 2008) (Ord. No. 17700, § 1, 12-20-2011)

El Paso City Code § 12.54.070 Violations.

12.54.070 - Violations. In the interest of public safety, soliciting towing services business on public streets, public way, other public property, or city sidewalk is prohibited; presence at scene of traffic accident or incident management scene is prima facie evidence of a violation. A. A person commits an offense if: 1. The person arrives at the scene of a traffic accident or an incident management scene to perform a nonconsent or incident management tow of a motor vehicle, or motorcycle without first being contacted by the police department, vehicle owner, vehicle driver, or an insurance company for the vehicle; 2. The person directly or indirectly solicits, on public streets, public way, other public property, or city sidewalk, located in the city, towing services, including towing, removing, repairing, wrecking, storing, trading, selling, or purchasing related to a vehicle that has been damaged in an accident; 3. The person enters the scene of a traffic accident, an incident management scene, or other area under the control of a peace officer or public safety employee without the permission of the peace officer or public safety employee; or 4. The person uses a third party to approach a traffic accident or incident management scene to solicit for a towing business as prohibited under this chapter. B. The presence of any auto tow company vehicle or employee, car dolly, towing equipment, trailer, business card, flyer, electronic picture or message, or any form of soliciting and making reference to a business, towing service, or body shop being presented to individuals at the scene of a traffic accident, or any similar service. Any employee or third party acting for the towing service that was not dispatched by the police department or requested by the vehicle owner, vehicle driver, or insurance company at the scene of a traffic accident or incident management scene in the city after the traffic accident or prior to the removal of all disabled vehicles shall be prima facie evidence of solicitation in violation of this section. (Ord. No. 019867, § 2, 4-28-2026)

Source: City of El Paso, City Code and City Charter (Municode Library, library.municode.com)URL: https://library.municode.com/tx/el_paso/codes/code_of_ordinances?nodeId=TIT12VETR_CH12.54TOREFEFetched: 10/28/2026