Washington Private Parking Enforcement Laws: Private Lot Charges, Towing, and Impound

Summary

The Washington Attorney General's position is that a private lot owner or the company it hires can charge drivers for parking outside the posted rules, but cannot issue a lawful citation or touch anyone's license, and the office has sued operators whose notices looked too much like government tickets. Towing is governed by RCW 46.55: the statute allows immediate impound from posted nonresidential lots and all residential property with a signed authorization, the sign rule sets a 15 by 24 inch minimum, and private impound rates are capped. RCW 46.55.300 makes booting by private property owners a gross misdemeanor.

For other states, start at the private parking enforcement laws by state hub.

Private parking citations and invoices

No Washington statute authorizes private parking citations, and none bans private parking charges. The Attorney General's consumer guidance, "Don't ignore a parking ticket on a private lot", puts it plainly: drivers "can be fined/requested to pay a fee, provided the parking lot monitor has taken adequate steps to ensure drivers are aware of what happens to unauthorized parkers," and private lot owners and monitors "can't issue lawful citations or suspend driver's licenses."

The office has backed that up with two consumer protection cases. In 2007, it settled with Seattle's Parking Enforcement Services, which had presented itself as having authority to enforce trespass laws and issue "tickets," printed a $65 fee on the front while the real terms were in small print on the back, and ran an appeal process that rarely granted anything. The company agreed to pay up to $50,000 in refunds and to stop collecting on older unpaid tickets. In 2012, Platinum Parking, a King County company monitoring more than 100 lots, signed a consent decree agreeing to stop calling its process an "appeal" unless it had fair, defined steps, to use the term "dispute process" instead, and to give drivers a clear written dispute policy.

Read together, the guidance and the two cases show what the Attorney General focused on: whether the signs clearly stated the rules and the consequence, whether the notice disclosed the full amount up front, and whether the dispute process was real. Both cases were brought under the Consumer Protection Act over notices that presented themselves as something they were not. Our guide to parking violation notices covers notice wording in more detail.

What signs must say

For towing, the sign rule is RCW 46.55.070. Before anyone impounds a vehicle that has been on nonresidential private property for less than 24 hours, the statute requires a sign posted near each entrance and on the property, clearly visible to everyone who parks there, stating:

• the times a vehicle may be impounded as unauthorized; and
• the name, telephone number, and address of the towing firm where the vehicle can be redeemed.

The Department of Licensing sets the physical specifications in WAC 308-61-145: signs must measure at least 15 by 24 inches, and the lettering must be clearly visible to all who park. Residential property is exempt from the posting rule entirely, so the statute permits immediate impound of an unauthorized vehicle on residential property on written authorization. Some residential owners post signs anyway.

For parking charges, no statute sets sign content, but the Attorney General's test, whether drivers were adequately told what happens to unauthorized parkers, puts the focus on the sign: who may park, when, what breaking the rule costs, and who to contact. Our parking lot signage guide covers sign content in general terms.

Towing from private property

RCW 46.55.010 defines when a vehicle becomes "unauthorized" and subject to impound. On private property the timeline is short: immediately on residential property, immediately on nonresidential property posted under RCW 46.55.070, and after 24 hours on nonresidential property that is not posted.

The statute also sets paperwork rules. Under RCW 46.55.080, the property owner or an agent must hand the tow operator a signed authorization at the time and place of the impound, and it must include this sentence: "A person authorizing this impound, if the impound is found in violation of chapter 46.55 RCW, may be held liable for the costs incurred by the vehicle owner." The statute bars the tow operator from signing as the owner's agent or picking vehicles to tow on its own, and bars a tow company from being associated with a business whose main activity is authorizing impounds.

RCW 46.55.063 adds contract rules. It requires a towing contract with a private property owner to be in writing, list the hours impounds are authorized, name the people allowed to authorize them, and state the current private impound charge. The tow operator keeps it for three years and must file its fee schedule with the Department of Licensing.

Booting

Washington's statute addresses this directly. RCW 46.55.300 says a property owner "shall not immobilize any vehicle owned by a person other than the property owner," and a violation is a gross misdemeanor. The only exception the statute lists is property owned by the state or a local government, and it does not mention signs. The other tools this page covers are payable charges, bans from the property, and towing. Our comparison of booting and towing explains the trade offs in states whose laws address both.

Fees, caps, and driver remedies

Private impound rates are capped by RCW 46.55.118 for the standard tow truck classes (A, D, and E). The hourly towing rate and daily storage rate on a tow company's filed fee schedule may not exceed 135 percent of the maximum rates negotiated by the Washington State Patrol, and the after-hours release fee may not exceed 100 percent of the Patrol's figure. The caps apply only when the vehicle is upright, has all its wheels, and was not in an accident. RCW 46.55.063 requires towing to be billed hourly and, after the first hour, to the nearest quarter hour.

Drivers have a hearing right under RCW 46.55.120. When a driver redeems an impounded car, the statute requires the tow operator to provide written notice of the right to a hearing, a request form, the name of whoever authorized the impound, and an itemized invoice. The driver has ten days to file with the district or municipal court. If the court finds the impound violated the chapter, the owner pays no towing or storage fees and can recover the filing fee and damages for loss of use from the person who authorized the tow. Under the statute, that liability falls on whoever signed the authorization.

Local ordinances to check

RCW 46.55.240 requires any city or county ordinance on impounded vehicles to include the state chapter's provisions, and RCW 46.55.118 preserves local private impound rate ordinances adopted before January 1, 2013. Seattle is the main example. Seattle Municipal Code 6.214.220 sets its own maximums for private property impounds, and the city's published figures, effective April 20, 2026, are $306.88 for the first hour of towing, $54.75 per 15 minutes after that, $42.98 per 12 hours of storage, a $100 after-hours release fee, and a $15 city impound fee. Seattle also bans add-on charges such as dolly or winch fees on these tows. Other cities' municipal codes may contain their own private impound or towing rate rules.

Questions to raise with your attorney

Washington's rules come from the Attorney General's guidance and cases, RCW 46.55, and local codes. An attorney licensed in Washington can work through questions like these for a specific lot:

• How do our parking notices compare with the Attorney General's guidance and the 2007 and 2012 cases, including whether they read as citations, show the full amount on the front, and offer a dispute process with defined steps?
• What does the Attorney General's "adequate steps" test mean for the sign content and photo records we keep for each notice?
• Do our signs meet RCW 46.55.070 and WAC 308-61-145 at each entrance, including the 15 by 24 inch minimum and the tow firm's name, phone, and address?
• Does our towing contract meet RCW 46.55.063, and who on our side signs impound authorizations under RCW 46.55.080, given the liability language the statute requires?
• How does RCW 46.55.300 affect any booting practices we use in other states?
• Do Seattle's private impound rules or another city's ordinances apply to any of our lots?

Lotably's dispute flow lets drivers contest a charge online and keeps every decision in an audit log. 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. See the features page for how the citation workflow runs, or the guide to contesting a private parking ticket for the driver's side.