Car towed from private property in Duluth
Your car got towed from a lot or apartment complex in Duluth. Here is what Georgia law actually requires before that is allowed.
What Georgia law says
In Georgia a tow from private property is a non-consensual tow, and it is governed by O.C.G.A. section 44-1-13 and the Georgia Department of Public Safety rate tariff, not by whoever felt like moving your car. The property owner or an agent has to make a same-day request for each vehicle, the lot has to be signed a specific way, and the rates are capped by the state. Several of those rules are worth real money to you if they were broken. The law does not cover a police-directed tow or a car taken off a public street, which run on different tracks.
How it works in Duluth
- 1 Confirm it was a non-consensual private-property tow
If the car was on a public street or the tow was police-directed, this is not it. O.C.G.A. section 44-1-13 covers vehicles removed from private property at the owner's or an agent's same-day request.
- 2 Look at the sign
The lot must post a sign within 50 feet of each entrance, at least 12 inches by 18 with lettering at least 3/4 of an inch, stating the tow company name, the address where the car can be recovered, the cost of recovery and the accepted payment methods. No compliant sign, and the removal was unlawful.
- 3 Check for automatic patrols
Georgia bans watching a lot with automatic or systematic surveillance to trigger tows. The operator has to be called for each individual trespass. A camera-triggered blanket tow carries a $1,000 fine.
- 4 Use the arrival rule
If you get back to your car before it is hooked or loaded and you have your key and move it right away, no fee can be charged. Note the time and any witnesses if the operator tows it anyway.
- 5 Check the rate
For a vehicle under 10,000 pounds the state tariff caps the tow at $228 and storage at $33 a day, with no storage for the first 24 hours and notification charges capped at $91. Anything above that is a violation.
- 6 Complain to the state
Georgia DPS regulates non-consensual towing under Tariff No. 5, and a kickback from the operator to the property owner for the removal rights is itself unlawful and carries a $1,000 fine. Keep the invoice, the photos of the lot and a log of your calls.
What this looks like around Duluth
Lawrenceville, Duluth and Norcross are apartment-heavy along I-85, and shared-lot tenant disputes drive most of the tows. If the lot had no compliant sign within 50 feet of the entrance, the removal was unlawful under O.C.G.A. section 44-1-13. Spanish is table stakes in Norcross and Lilburn.
Duluth is in Gwinnett County, which runs its own impound and sets its own fee, so call the department that ordered a police tow. A car in the wrong space at a Pleasant Hill complex is a private-property tow instead, governed by O.C.G.A. 44-1-13 signage rules, and the Georgia DPS Tariff No. 5 caps a non-consensual tow of a standard car at $228 and storage at $33 a day, with no storage for the first 24 hours, so a driver here knows the ceiling before anyone hooks the car. Se habla espanol.
Duluth sits along I-85 in western Gwinnett, built around Pleasant Hill Road and the old Gwinnett Place Mall district. Peachtree Industrial Boulevard runs the length of the city, Sugarloaf Parkway crosses the north side, and the Pleasant Hill exit off I-85 is one of the busiest interchanges in the county. That mix of interstate, big-box retail and dense apartments is the towing engine here. A stall on I-85 at rush hour is highway recovery; a car in the wrong space at a Pleasant Hill complex is a private-property tow under Georgia law. Gwinnett is the metro's largest Hispanic county and Duluth runs about a sixth Hispanic, so every page on this site, the quote form included, is published in Spanish, in the Mexican-American and Central American register: carro, grúa, corralón. Georgia's DPS Tariff No. 5 caps a non-consensual tow of a normal car at $228 and storage at $33 a day, with no storage charge for the first 24 hours, so a driver here knows the ceiling before anyone hooks the car. The signage rules in O.C.G.A. 44-1-13 apply to every apartment and retail lot in the city. The operator we send covers I-85, Peachtree Industrial and the Sugarloaf corridor, wheel-lift for most jobs and flatbed for newer or all-wheel-drive vehicles.
Common Duluth questions
Is it legal to tow my car from a parking lot in Duluth?
Yes, when the property owner or an agent made a same-day request, the lot is signed the way O.C.G.A. section 44-1-13 requires, and the operator charged no more than the state tariff. Removing a car from a lot that lacks a compliant sign, or on a standing camera patrol with no per-car call, is unlawful.
Does a lot have to post a sign before towing in Duluth?
Yes, and the rule is specific. A sign within 50 feet of each entrance, at least 12 by 18 inches, lettering at least 3/4 of an inch, naming the tow company, the retrieval address, the cost of recovery and the payment methods accepted. Ask whether that lot's sign meets it.
What if I show up before the tow truck leaves in Duluth?
If your car is not yet hooked or loaded and you return with your key and move it immediately, no fee can be charged under Georgia law. If the operator tows it anyway, note the time and get the invoice, because that is a rate you can dispute.
Does Quick Tow Atlanta do private-property tows in Duluth?
We are not a licensed tow operator and we do not pretend to be. What we do is connect property managers with the operators we send, who hold the permits and follow O.C.G.A. section 44-1-13, and help drivers work out what actually happened to their car. Call (678) 379-5984.
Related help for Duluth
Private-property tows in the rest of the Gwinnett & the Northeast area
Need your car towed once it's released in Duluth?
We can't waive the yard's fees. We can line up an operator the moment it clears.