Texas business
Who owns Texas towing companies, and what can a tow cost?
Texas tow and storage fees can turn a $272 private-property tow into a $436.25 bill before tax. See how charges accrue and who owns several major operators.
A $272 private-property tow can become a $436.25 bill before tax if you pick up the car three days later. That example assumes four chargeable calendar days, a qualifying impound service and a notice the facility actually sent. A city can set a lower tow limit. Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation fee schedule.
The company on the parking sign may share an owner with a different name on the storage-lot receipt. For example, Mill Point Capital’s Vehicle Management Solutions announced the acquisition of Grant Street Companies, which operated both Peak Auto Storage and Southwest Auto Tow in Dallas–Fort Worth. Mill Point Capital’s acquisition announcement.
Which charge applies?
Texas uses three categories. The price on a tow you arrange is generally set by agreement. Police or incident-management tows can follow a local schedule. For a private-property tow, the statewide maximum is $272 for a vehicle weighing up to 10,000 pounds, $380 for the medium class and $489 per unit for the heavy class, capped at $978 for the tow. Lower city or county limits can apply. A private-property tow that ends at the scene can instead carry a drop fee. The statewide light-duty drop fee ceiling is $135. TDLR towing fee amendments.
A licensed storage facility can charge up to $22.85 per day for a vehicle up to 25 feet long, or $39.99 for a longer one. A qualifying impound service can add $22.85. Required notices can add up to $50 in total after the facility sends them. The bill must identify the service and date supporting an impound fee, such as inventorying unsecured property or obtaining the registration record. TDLR exempts tarping from that itemization. Check the notice date if the lot charged you for sending notice. TDLR storage and notification rules.
Why a noon pickup can add a day
Storage usually counts calendar dates. A Monday noon intake and a Thursday noon pickup touch four dates. A stay within 12 hours that crosses midnight is limited to one day. The example below uses a Texas-registered passenger vehicle, the state tow limit and a qualifying impound charge. It adds notice only in the longer cases, assuming it was sent after 48 hours. Taxes and exceptional costs such as required newspaper publication are separate. TDLR daily storage rules.
| Pickup after noon Monday | Chargeable days | Storage | Notice | Total before tax |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Two hours | 1 | $22.85 | $0 | $317.70 |
| One day | 2 | $45.70 | $0 | $340.55 |
| Three days | 4 | $91.40 | $50 | $436.25 |
| Seven days | 8 | $182.80 | $50 | $527.65 |
What the ownership records show
The reviewed license snapshot contained 3,763 company certificates and 1,915 storage certificates. Companies can hold several certificates, and the bulk files lack a current status field for those two categories. The comparison traced a subset of Texas certificates through acquisition disclosures and individual license checks. It found 8 company and 26 storage certificates associated with FirstLine, 6 and 16 with Guardian, and 6 and 8 with Vehicle Management Solutions. These are minimum matches. There is no corresponding statewide tow-volume denominator. TDLR public license lookup.
Municipal contracts add another layer. A police dispatch arrangement identifies who can receive calls or operate a city pound. A parking-property authorization identifies who can remove a car from a lot. Neither document alone determines where a parent company sits or who collects each item on an invoice. For a dispute, keep the original itemized ticket, storage intake and release times, notice record and applicable city fee schedule. TDLR publishes the rules it can enforce, including charging for a service outside the allowed schedule. TDLR vehicle towing penalties and sanctions.
Method and limits
The licensing and ownership review used public records available through November 10, 2026. Acquisition disclosures establish identified corporate relationships and the date they were announced. License counts show records matched to those relationships. The example bills apply published ceilings to specific timing and service assumptions. Individual invoices can be lower, and a statewide rate of overcharging cannot be calculated from published orders without the underlying tow volume.
Sources
Supporting material
- Article table · Why a noon pickup can add a day ↗The rows printed in this article as a CSV file.