Alaska Towing Laws: Your Rights When Your Car Is Towed

Primary law: Alaska Stat. § 28.11.090 (towing/storage lien); AS § 28.10.502 (removal procedures) · Last verified July 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Alaska has very little state-level regulation of non-consent private-property towing. The statutes that exist (AS 28.11.090 and AS 28.10.502) mainly create a towing and storage lien for people authorized to remove abandoned vehicles and set procedures for those removals; they are not a consumer-protection scheme for trespass tows from parking lots. There is no statewide fee schedule, signage mandate, drop-fee right, or towing license board. In practice, meaningful protections exist mostly at the municipal level: Anchorage regulates towing in detail under AMC chapter 9.54, including nonconsensual tow rates, allowable fees, and signage prerequisites before a vehicle can be towed from private property.

Because rate regulation is local, what a tower can charge depends on where you were towed. In Anchorage, nonconsensual tow rates and allowable fees are capped by ordinance and lots must be properly signed before a trespass tow is lawful; outside such municipalities, charges are limited only by the general 'lien while in possession' framework and market practice. Statewide, there is no verified drop-fee right, no requirement to accept credit cards, and no statutory deadline we could verify for notifying owners after a private tow, so treat any unusually high bill as negotiable and documentable rather than clearly illegal.

If you are towed in Alaska, call the local police department first to confirm the tow and find the yard holding your car. Ask the tow company for an itemized bill and, if you are in Anchorage, compare it against the municipal rate caps in AMC 9.54 and check whether the lot had required signage. Photograph everything, retrieve your essential belongings, and pay under protest if you must. Complaints can go to your municipal clerk or code enforcement (in Anchorage) and to the Alaska Department of Law's Consumer Protection Unit; billing disputes are typically resolved in small claims court.

Alaska towing rules at a glance

How to get your car back in Alaska

1. Call local police dispatch to confirm the tow and get the storage yard's name and address.
2. Bring ID and proof of ownership; ask the yard for a written, itemized invoice.
3. In Anchorage, check the bill against the municipal rate caps in AMC chapter 9.54 and verify the lot was properly signed.
4. Pay under protest if needed to stop daily storage charges, and keep every receipt.
5. File disputes with the municipality's towing regulator (Anchorage) or small claims court, and report unfair practices to the Alaska Consumer Protection Unit.

Where to complain about an illegal tow

Alaska Department of Law - Consumer Protection Unit handles towing complaints in Alaska. Keep your receipt, photos of any signage (or lack of it), and notes on dates and times — they decide most fee disputes.

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