To dispute a tow bill in Memphis, move fast and keep every piece of paper. Recovering your car and challenging the bill are usually two separate tasks. Handle them in that order when you can.
Get the car first, then dispute a tow bill in Memphis
A car left in storage can keep adding daily charges. Memphis wrecker rules say storage rates begin 24 hours after impound. Getting the vehicle released can stop another storage day from being added while you prepare a complaint.
If you can pay, tell the counter worker you dispute the charges. Write “paid under protest” on your copy of the receipt. Note the date, time, amount, payment method, and worker’s name. Don’t treat that phrase as a guaranteed legal remedy. No special statewide protection tied to those words was confirmed in the current Tennessee towing rules.
Ask for every document connected with the bill. That includes the invoice, tow ticket, payment receipt, authorization, and any rate sheet the operator used. Photograph the vehicle before leaving. Capture its condition, the odometer, and anything damaged or missing.
If you can’t locate the vehicle, solve that first. Our guide to finding a towed car in Memphis explains the local process. MPD, Shelby County Sheriff, and Housing and Community Development tows all process through the same city lot.
Don’t sign language saying the charges are correct if you disagree. You may need to acknowledge that you received the vehicle, though. Read each line and request a copy before signing.
Tennessee also limits how long storage can run without consent. Storage generally can’t be charged past 21 days unless the owner or lienholder consents. An exception applies when the owner was told the vehicle was ready and refused to collect it.
What the complaint has to name
Name the actual limit you think the bill missed. The rulebook for those statewide and city figures lives on are towing fees regulated in Tennessee. This page stays the complaint sequence: protest language, who to call, what to attach, and which office has jurisdiction.
Who in Memphis has authority over a wrecker’s bill
Pickup location matters. A tow beginning inside Memphis falls under the city’s wrecker rules. Wrecker companies operating within city limits must be approved by the Memphis Transportation Commission. Approval for the MPD Wrecker Rotation is a separate matter.
Complaints about a Memphis wrecker go to the city’s Permits Administrator and Wrecker Coordinator. The office can be reached at (901) 636-6735 or permits@memphistn.gov. This municipal route is the clearest place to challenge a bill involving city-regulated towing.
For an MPD, Shelby County Sheriff, or Housing and Community Development tow, contact the city storage lot at (901) 636-8200. Memphis doesn’t provide an online vehicle lookup tool. The phone line is the single point of contact for confirming whether the lot has the vehicle.
A tow from Southaven or West Memphis is different. The pickup occurred across the state line, so Mississippi or Arkansas law governs it. Tennessee fee rules and the Memphis complaint office shouldn’t be presented as controlling those bills.
The same caution applies around Bartlett, Germantown, and other municipalities outside Memphis city limits. Confirm which agency has jurisdiction over the pickup address before submitting the dispute. A familiar Memphis mailing address doesn’t always identify the correct regulator.
For the broader rules governing notice, storage, and nonconsensual towing, read our guide to your rights after a Memphis tow.
What a complaint has to contain to go anywhere
A useful complaint shows exactly what happened. Begin with your name, contact information, vehicle description, plate or VIN, pickup location, storage location, and each relevant date and time. Name the towing company and attach a copy of the complete bill.
Then identify the charge you dispute. Quote its label from the invoice. State the amount paid and the rule you believe applies. For example, identify a release fee above $100 or a gate fee added during normal business hours on a day that also includes daily storage.
Include documents rather than conclusions. Useful records include:
- The invoice and payment receipt
- Photographs of posted parking signs and every lot entrance
- Photographs showing where the vehicle was parked
- Messages from the property owner, manager, or towing company
- Names and contact details for witnesses
- The tow authorization or your written request for it
- Any police incident or tow record you obtained
A Memphis private-property tow requires express written authorization. That record identifies the person authorizing the tow, the vehicle’s year, make, model, and color, the reason for removal, the plate when present, and the VIN when it can be determined. Our overview of private-property towing gives more context for these removals.
When the owner wasn’t present, Tennessee requires the person towing the vehicle to report key details to the law-enforcement agency with jurisdiction within one hour. The report covers the vehicle, pickup location, and storage location. That record is public and may help establish the timeline.
Memphis wrecker rules provide a direct remedy for overcharging: reimbursement of all money paid or release of the vehicle without payment. Ask for the specific remedy you want, and explain how your documents support it.
What Tennessee does not give you, said plainly
No standalone statewide right to an itemized towing invoice was confirmed in the current Tennessee law reviewed for this page. You should still request a detailed invoice, but don’t describe it as a guaranteed state-law right.
No statewide administrative hearing process for an individual towing dispute was confirmed either. Memphis has its own municipal complaint system. Under that city process, two or more sustained complaints can trigger an Administrative Hearing. That local procedure isn’t a statewide consumer hearing right.
Tennessee also doesn’t set one universal dollar cap for the tow itself. The applicable ceiling depends on the maximum approved by the Tennessee Highway Patrol district for the same service. Because the current district rate sheet covering Memphis couldn’t be verified, this page doesn’t publish a substitute figure.
Be careful with older legal pages. Tennessee repealed its former towing chapter in full in 2024. The replacement chapter was then deleted and re-enacted in 2025 with different numbering. An old citation can point to a repealed or obsolete section even when the surrounding advice sounds plausible.
Your strongest approach is practical. Recover the vehicle when possible, preserve the full paper trail, identify the exact disputed charge, and send a focused complaint to the Memphis office. If the pickup happened outside Memphis, confirm the correct authority before relying on city rules.
When to call us
If the released vehicle can’t be driven safely, let a working towing operator handle the move. The recorded line takes calls 24/7 and matches you with a local operator who contracts with you directly. Call (901) 557-8700.