Know Before You Go-Should You Park There?
By Rick McCann
Blue RAM Media/Gulf Coast News
April 9, 2026
GULF SHORES, Ala. You stop at a local business, go inside and make a purchase and then decide to walk next door to grab lunch and when you return, you find that your vehicle isn’t where you have parked it. You look around to make sure you haven’t parked it in a different parking space and then walk inside to ask if the employees know what happened to your vehicle and you’re told that it has been towed for trespassing.
You explain that you’re a customer and that you just went to grab lunch and they apologize but say that their signs restrict parking to 15 minutes and when he walked off their property, a towing service towed his vehicle.
The towing service patrols various properties, enforcing their client’s parking rules and now the owner of the vehicle owes the towing company $215.00
Is this even legal?
Nationwide, in almost every town and city, private companies can boot a vehicle or tow it off private property under certain conditions which usually includes:
a. having clear signage posted that includes parking limits
b. the phone number of the towing/booting company
c. in some areas, the ordinance number
Towing and booting companies are also restricted in some jurisdictions as to the maximum amount that can be charged for towing or booting a vehicle and that can be different from one city to the next.
In Alabama, a private property owner or property manager may contract with a towing or booting company who is licensed and insured according to either state statute or the local ordinances of that town or city.
Currently there is no state law covering private property towing services in Alabama however many city jurisdictions have passed local laws covering this subject.
Property owners in Alabama can remove unauthorized vehicles from their land, but they must follow state regulations to avoid liability. Under Alabama Code 35-12-90, private property owners or their agents can request a towing company to remove unlawfully parked or abandoned vehicles. This applies to locations like apartment complexes, business parking lots, and residential driveways.
Signage is a key factor in determining whether a vehicle can be lawfully towed. While Alabama does not impose a statewide requirement for warning signs, many municipalities require visible postings in parking lots or restricted areas. Cities like Huntsville and Mobile mandate clear signage stating that unauthorized vehicles will be towed at the owner’s expense. If required signage is absent, a vehicle owner may have grounds to challenge the tow.
Once a vehicle is removed, it must be taken to a licensed storage facility where the owner can reclaim it upon payment of towing and storage fees. If a vehicle remains unclaimed for a set period, it may be sold to recover costs. However, any sale must follow strict legal procedures, including notifying lienholders and conducting a public auction.
Tow trucks or booting companies can not arbitrarily impound a vehicle without having permission from the property owner or manager and they cannot act on anyone else’s behalf that has no authority of the landowner or manager.
A security guard contracted to a business, apartment complex or other private property often has the authority to have vehicles removed from the property for trespassing or violating certain property parking rules including inoperable or abandoned vehicles.
While predatory towing nationwide and locally can be a problem, if the property is private land, any owner or authorized person can have a vehicle towed for trespassing or violating the property parking rules.
Parking in many areas of the beach communities and in area apartments come at a premium and many business owners and property managers will have vehicles towed for trespassing, parking on the grass, or in a fire lane, blocking in other vehicles or for other parking violations.
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