2025 Delaware Code
Title 21 - Motor Vehicles
Chapter 69A. Removal of Motor Vehicles from Private or Public Property Without Consent of the Motor Vehicle Owner or Operator
§ 6907A. Fees and payments.
(a) Any person operating or in charge of a storage facility must display, in that portion of the storage facility where business is conducted with the public, a notice containing the following:
(1) That the owner, lessee, lienholder, or person authorized by such owner, lessee, or lienholder of a nonconsensually-towed motor vehicle, may, at no fee, obtain personal items from a towed motor vehicle during the normal business hours of the storage facility upon a showing of valid identification.
(2) The rates for towing and storage related to the nonconsensual tow of a motor vehicle.
(3) A statement that it is unlawful for a tow company or storage facility to refuse payment by major credit card if the facility does not have an ATM with reasonable access or service fees.
(b) (1) All fees charged for the nonconsensual tow of a motor vehicle and related storage services must be reasonable and not excessive. Fees are presumptively excessive if:
a. They exceed by more than 25% the usual and customary fee charged by the private towing company or storage facility for such services when provided with the consent of the owner or operator of a motor vehicle.
b. They exceed by more than 50% the usual and customary fee charged for such nonconsensual towing or related storage service by other towing companies or storage facilities operating in the county from which the motor vehicle was towed.
(2) Notwithstanding the foregoing, such fees may not exceed the maximum amounts that may be charged for such services in accordance with any applicable schedule of permissible fees adopted by municipal or other local ordinance.
(c) An owner or operator of a noncommercial motor vehicle or rental vehicle under § 2002 of Title 18 may not be charged a towing fee in excess of $250 or a daily storage rate in excess of $50. No other towing-related charges may be charged in addition to the maximum towing and storage fees.
(d) No person may assert any lien on a nonconsensually-towed motor vehicle for unpaid towing or storage fees, unless the following criteria are met:
(1) The person seeking a lien notifies the owner, lessor, and, if applicable, the lienholder of a motor vehicle by certified U.S. mail within 30 days of the date the motor vehicle was nonconsensually towed.
(2) The notification includes an itemized list of all fees incurred as of the date of the notice and any periodic fees that may be assessed.
(3) The notification informs the owner, lessor, and lienholder of the motor vehicle that the private tow company may assert a lien against the motor vehicle if the motor vehicle is not retrieved and the fees are not paid within 60 days of the delivery of the notice.
(e) Private tow companies and storage facilities must accept as a means of payment all major credit cards and debit cards, or have an ATM for which any service or access fee is reasonable.
85 Del. Laws, c. 226, § 1;
