Georgia Private Parking Enforcement Laws: Booting Ordinances, Towing, and Citations

Georgia regulates towing and booting statewide and leaves the private parking ticket itself unregulated. Towing from private property runs through O.C.G.A. 44-1-13 and the Georgia Department of Public Safety (DPS). State law limits booting to places where a city or county has authorized it by ordinance, and since January 1, 2026, HB 551 and a DPS tariff cap the boot fee at $75 per day for passenger vehicles, require DPS licensing, ban cash-only operations and kickbacks to property owners, and set entrance-sign rules. We found no Georgia statute that authorizes or regulates private parking citations.

Summary

We found no Georgia statute on private parking bills, which rest on posted terms and contract law. For towing, O.C.G.A. 44-1-13 requires posted notice and a permitted tow firm. For booting, the statute and DPS tariff require local authorization by the city or county, a DPS-licensed boot operator, compliant signs, and fees within the $75 cap. Local ordinances still apply, but since 2026 the statute lets them lower state maximums, not raise them.

Private parking citations and invoices

Georgia has no statute like Florida's that defines a private parking charge, and we found none that prohibits one. A private invoice is generally framed under the contract theory explained in can private companies issue parking tickets, which looks at the posted terms, evidence of the violation, and the amount.

In practice, Georgia's private lot enforcement has leaned on boots rather than invoices, which is why the legislature focused there. The 2026 rules cap the boot fee at $75, bar boot operators from patrolling, and bar boot companies from paying property owners. For lots that issue invoices without a boot, the invoice process itself, including photo evidence, an appeal path, and payment options, is covered in parking citation appeals.

What signs must say

O.C.G.A. 44-1-13(a.1) gives the person entitled to possess private property the right to remove or immobilize a trespassing vehicle only if a notice is "conspicuously posted" saying that unauthorized vehicles may be immobilized or removed at the owner's expense. As amended by HB 551, according to the Senate floor amendment adopted in 2025, the notice must also include:

• contact information for removing a boot;
• the full legal names of the boot company and the property owner;
• the boot removal fee;
• where a towed vehicle can be recovered and what recovery costs; and
• the accepted forms of payment.

Owners of residential property with four or fewer units are exempt from the posting rule. For boot lots, the DPS tariff adds that signs must conform to DPS standards, state "Immobilization Enforced," list the maximum fee, give a 24-hour contact number, and stand at each entrance, visible at night. DPS gave operators until February 15, 2026 to post signs listing the company name, the 24-hour number, accepted payment methods, and flat rates by vehicle weight. General sign advice is in parking lot signage for enforcement.

Towing from private property

Towing is regulated statewide. Under 44-1-13 as amended, only towing and storage firms holding a permit or license from the local government or DPS, and having a secure impound facility, may remove trespassing vehicles at a property owner's request. DPS has authority to regulate nonconsensual towing from private property, including setting "just and reasonable rates." No storage fee may be charged for the first 24 hours after the vehicle leaves the property, and no fees are allowed when the tow violates the Code section.

The statute also contains two prohibitions. A tow or boot company may not agree to provide "automatic or systematic surveillance" of a property; it must be called for each individual case. And no firm may pay a property owner any fee or emolument for the right to remove or immobilize vehicles. Each violation carries a $1,000 fine.

Cities add procedure. Savannah, for example, requires owners to submit a towing request with a lot diagram showing sign placement, pass a city inspection, have someone from an authorized list sign each tow authorization, and remove signs within fourteen days of stopping towing or changing wrecker services.

Booting

Booting in Georgia was for years a matter of city and county ordinance. In December 2021 the Supreme Court of Georgia ruled that cars can be booted only where an ordinance allows it, rejecting a DeKalb County shopping center's argument that common law let it hold trespassing vehicles. The driver in that case had paid $650 to have a boot removed in 2018.

HB 551 (2025) turned that into statute. The Senate adopted a floor amendment in 2025 that adds a definition of "immobilization device" to 44-1-13, gives DPS authority to regulate boot operators, and limits booting to "persons issued a permit by the department and operating in a jurisdiction which has authorized the immobilization of trespassing vehicles by ordinance or resolution." In January 2026, Atlanta News First reported that HB 551 had been signed into law and was in effect.

DPS Vehicle Immobilization Maximum Rate Tariff No. 1, issued December 11, 2025 and effective January 1, 2026, sets the working rules:

• boot operators must be licensed by DPS and carry at least $500,000 in liability insurance and a $10,000 performance bond;
• operators must accept cash, at least one major credit card, and at least one major debit card, with no card surcharge;
• the operator must arrive within 60 minutes of a removal request;
• if the driver returns before the boot is fully on, the vehicle must be released without charge; and
• operators may not patrol or boot without being contacted by the property owner or agent first.

DPS adopted a Tariff No. 2 on February 12, 2026, effective February 16, 2026; its announcement does not say how it differs from the first, so the numbers here reflect Tariff No. 1 and may have changed. A further bill, SB 541, was announced in February 2026 to ban booting of trespassing vehicles entirely, according to WALB; as of October 2026 we could not confirm that it advanced. The tradeoffs between booting and towing are covered in booting vs. towing.

Fees, caps, and driver remedies

The DPS tariff caps the boot fee at $75 per day for passenger vehicles, motorcycles, and trucks up to 26,000 pounds GVWR, and $125 per day for heavier vehicles. The tariff describes those as all-inclusive flat rates and bars added administrative, processing, retrieval, travel, labor, or convenience charges. Under the tariff, violations can bring license suspension or revocation and fines up to $1,000 per occurrence. DPS sets maximum tow rates as well, and under the amended 44-1-13(b)(2) a city may require lower maximum tow rates within its limits but may not allow higher costs for booting, towing, or storage than DPS allows.

Driver remedies follow from those rules. Under 44-1-13, no fee may be charged for a boot or tow that violates the section. The tariff requires card payment, and release without charge when the driver returns before the boot is fully on. The statute bars payments from tow or boot firms to property owners, which removes a financial incentive for aggressive booting.

Local ordinances to check

Under the amended statute, local law determines whether booting is authorized at all, so the city and county code covers:

• Whether the jurisdiction has authorized booting by ordinance or resolution. Without that authorization, the statute does not permit booting there.
• Local booting permits, sign specifications, and identification rules. Atlanta has regulated booting by city code for years, and in 2018 its council took up changes including lower fees, uniforms, self-release boots, and uniform signage.
• Local tow permits, sign approval, and inspection, such as Savannah's process.
• Lower local maximum rates, which 44-1-13(b)(2) permits.

Questions to raise with your attorney

Georgia's rules sit in O.C.G.A. 44-1-13 and the DPS tariffs, with city and county codes deciding whether booting is authorized. An attorney licensed in Georgia can work through questions like these for a specific lot:

• Has the city or county where each lot sits authorized booting by ordinance or resolution, as amended 44-1-13 requires?
• Does our boot company hold a DPS license, with the $500,000 insurance and $10,000 bond the tariff lists?
• Do our entrance signs include every item 44-1-13 and the DPS tariff list, and are they visible at night?
• Does our tow firm hold the permit or license and secure impound facility the statute requires, and does our process call for each tow individually?
• Do any of our agreements involve payments that 44-1-13 would treat as a prohibited fee or emolument?
• Does our city set lower maximum rates or add procedures, such as Savannah's inspection process?
• Which DPS tariff is current, and how does Tariff No. 2 differ from Tariff No. 1?

Lotably issues citations with photo evidence and online payment and contest. Booting and towing records start switched off in Lotably and are turned on when the operator asks. Lotably does not check whether booting or towing is allowed where an operator enforces; the operator is responsible for following the law and assumes all risk of using them. For other states, see the private parking enforcement laws by state hub.