Wyoming Towing Laws: Your Rights When Your Car Is Towed

Primary law: Wyo. Stat. 31-13-101 to 31-13-112 · Last verified July 2026. General information, not legal advice.

Wyoming's towing rules live almost entirely in its abandoned vehicle statute, Wyo. Stat. 31-13-101 through 31-13-112. For private property, an owner may have a vehicle removed only after it has sat unattended without consent for 30 days (or after consent expires), and must file a written report with the state and follow a formal notice chain — certified mail to the county sheriff, notice to the vehicle owner and lienholders, and newspaper publication before any sale. Wyoming has no statewide licensing or consumer-protection scheme aimed at immediate nonconsent tows from parking lots, so local ordinances and general consumer law fill the gap.

Fee protection exists mainly inside the abandonment process: storage claims are capped at $20 per day and total allowable expenses at $1,000, with a modest $7.50 sheriff's certificate fee at sale (Wyo. Stat. 31-13-109). Outside that process there are no verified statewide caps on tow or storage charges, no drop-fee rule, no required payment methods, and no signage standard. The owner or a lienholder may reclaim the vehicle at any time before sale by paying the removal, preservation, custody, storage, and sale expenses, and can sue within 120 days afterward for any excess sale proceeds.

If your vehicle disappears in Wyoming, call the police or county sheriff first to confirm whether it was impounded or removed as abandoned. Ask the holder under what authority it was taken — a private-property abandonment removal requires the 30-day wait and a report to the state, so an immediate tow should prompt questions. Reclaim the car before any sale by paying documented expenses, and check those against the $20-per-day and $1,000 limits where they apply. If charges look inflated or the process was ignored, complain to the Attorney General's Consumer Protection Unit.

Wyoming towing rules at a glance

How to get your car back in Wyoming

1. Call the local police or county sheriff to find out where the vehicle is and under what authority it was removed.
2. If it was taken from private property as 'abandoned,' confirm the 30-day waiting period and required state report actually occurred (Wyo. Stat. 31-13-109).
3. Reclaim the vehicle any time before sale by paying the documented removal, storage, and custody expenses.
4. Check claimed expenses against the statute's limits — $20 per day storage and $1,000 total in the disposition process — and get an itemized receipt.
5. If the process was skipped or charges are inflated, file a complaint with the Wyoming Attorney General's Consumer Protection Unit; claims for excess sale proceeds must be brought within 120 days.

Where to complain about an illegal tow

Wyoming Attorney General, Consumer Protection Unit handles towing complaints in Wyoming. 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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