LPSC private-lot storage maxima effective April 1, 2026: $34.00 outside, $40.50 covered, $61.50 oversize per calendar day, from General Order 12-20-2024 (Docket R-35595), Amended Attachment A. City of New Orleans storage remains unresolved between sources, so we do not publish a City daily storage or boot figure here. For City custody, see city yard towing and what to check on an impound receipt. Call (504) 658-8284 to confirm a City balance.
Start by identifying who ordered the tow
The right rate starts with one basic fact: who authorized the tow?
A City of New Orleans parking tow may enter the City’s impound system. A police-arranged tow, including one requested through an officer, can fall under Louisiana’s non-consensual towing rules. A vehicle removed from an apartment, hospital, school, or business parking area may be a private-property tow.
A tow you arranged directly is different. Louisiana Public Service Commission maximums govern non-consensual towing and storage. They don’t set the price for a tow that you knowingly requested and accepted.
Check the paperwork, windshield notice, and signs where the vehicle was parked. Look for the ordering agency, towing company, storage facility, tow date, and storage date. If the vehicle disappeared in Orleans Parish, the City’s towed-vehicle search guidance directs drivers to call (504) 658-8100.
Our guide to finding a towed car in New Orleans explains that first search without repeating the entire fee process. If the removal came from a private parking area, review how private-property towing differs from a customer-requested tow.
Location matters across the metro. An Orleans Parish parking tow isn’t handled like an impound matter in unincorporated Jefferson Parish. Jefferson Parish Sheriff’s Office handles those parish matters, while municipal or private-property situations may follow another route. Don’t rely on a rate quoted by someone whose tow came from another parish.
Towing and daily storage are separate charges
The tow charge pays for moving the vehicle. Storage covers the time it remains at the facility. Both may appear on one bill, but they’re separate line items.
A non-consensual towing invoice must itemize its charges. Depending on the situation, it may include towing, recovery, storage, a fuel surcharge, or other permitted fees. The fuel surcharge can apply to towing, recovery, transit time, and certain extra-truck charges. It can’t be added to storage.
Storage is listed per calendar day under the current LPSC schedule. That wording matters. It isn’t presented as one flat charge for the entire impound stay. It also isn’t the same thing as the towing minimum charged when the vehicle was first removed.
Ask for the full itemized invoice before discussing the total. Compare the storage date, number of billed calendar days, storage type, and daily rate. A power unit and trailer count as two vehicles under the state schedule, so a stored tractor-trailer can generate separate storage entries.
Other charges shouldn’t be mistaken for daily storage. For example, the current maximum gate fee for a non-consensual tow is $64.50. Retrieving belongings during normal business hours can’t carry a retrieval fee. The allowed maximum outside those hours is $64.50. Louisiana defines those normal hours for this purpose as 8:00 a.m. through 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, excluding legal holidays.
For the wider bill, see our guide to tow costs in New Orleans. That article separates customer-arranged towing from City and state-regulated charges.
The applicable schedule depends on the tow
The LPSC non-consensual towing schedule sets these maximum storage rates for tows performed on or after April 1, 2026:
| Storage type | Statewide maximum |
|---|---|
| Outside storage | $34 per calendar day |
| Covered storage | $40.50 per calendar day |
| Oversize storage | $61.50 per calendar day |
These aren’t Quick Tow prices. They’re statewide ceilings for qualifying non-consensual towing and storage. A facility may charge less, but the approved record doesn’t establish what any individual facility actually charges.
The schedule doesn’t control a normal consensual tow that you arranged directly. In that situation, ask the towing or storage company for its written terms. Confirm the daily amount, storage type, billing unit, and any separate release charges before authorizing storage when possible.
A police-arranged tow can still be non-consensual under the LPSC definition. That includes a tow the vehicle’s owner or driver asks an officer to arrange. The driver can’t be moved outside the regulated schedule simply because they initiated the request through police.
City impound requires an extra check. The current City storage amount isn’t stated here because the City’s published page conflicts with an earlier recorded schedule. No current figure can be presented confidently from the approved evidence. Call the City’s fee-balance line at (504) 658-8284 and ask for the current storage rate tied to your plate.
Don’t substitute Jefferson Parish numbers for Orleans Parish charges. No verified Jefferson Parish dollar schedule is available in the approved record. For a qualifying non-consensual tow there, use the current statewide LPSC schedule and confirm the actual charge with the facility.
These state maximums can change each April 1 through annual Producer Price Index adjustments. A screenshot, old article, or previous receipt may show an expired amount.
Confirm when the facility counts another day
“Per calendar day” doesn’t answer every timing question. The approved state schedule doesn’t confirm the exact clock time each facility uses when another storage day is added.
Ask the facility four direct questions:
- What date and time did storage begin?
- How many calendar days are currently billed?
- When will another calendar day be charged?
- Is the vehicle stored outside, covered, or as oversize?
Write down the answers and the name shown on any written communication. Request a current itemized balance before traveling across the metro. Don’t assume that paying online, arriving at the gate, or starting a release request stops another day from being counted.
Weekends and holidays also deserve a direct question. A closed office doesn’t automatically tell you whether storage billing pauses. Ask how the facility treats those dates and when payment must be completed to avoid another charge.
For a City-held vehicle, the release lot at 400 N. Claiborne Avenue, beneath the expressway near Conti Street, lists a release window of 7:30 a.m. through 10:00 p.m. daily. The Cashiering Office at that address has separate weekday hours. Call (504) 658-8100 to confirm the same-day process and current hours before leaving.
Louisiana’s notice rules can also help establish the timeline. Required owner notices must include the storage date, vehicle information, facility details, towing authority, condition, and outstanding charges. Compare that notice with the invoice. If the dates differ, ask the facility to explain the difference in writing.
The practical goal is simple. Identify the billing start, the current day count, and the next cutoff before discussing the total.
Where to check a disputed or unclear charge
Start with the storage facility. Request a copy of the itemized invoice, even if you haven’t paid it. For a non-consensual tow, the invoice must separate towing, storage, recovery, fuel surcharge, and additional charges.
Compare each storage line against the correct schedule. Confirm that the rate matches the storage type. Check the original or adjusted storage date and count the billed calendar days. Keep photographs of posted signs, the vehicle, notices, receipts, and payment screens.
For a City tow, call (504) 658-8100 about the vehicle and release process. Call (504) 658-8284 for the fee balance connected with the plate. Quick Tow can’t release a City-held vehicle, reduce its charges, or collect the City’s payment.
For a statewide non-consensual-rate dispute, the invoice must include the Louisiana Public Service Commission complaint information. Written complaints can be sent to the LPSC at P.O. Box 91154, Baton Rouge, LA 70821, or through lpsc.louisiana.gov. A person doesn’t need to pay the invoice first to have standing to complain.
If the LPSC later finds the charges excessive, storage fees can’t be charged beyond the written complaint date. The Commission may also order a refund of up to 200 percent of an overcharge. Keep proof showing when the written complaint was submitted.
A separate hearing right applies when a public agency stores the vehicle. The owner must request that hearing within ten days after the required notice was mailed. The request goes to the agency that ordered the tow by certified mail with return receipt requested. This isn’t a general hearing right for every private or consensual tow.
Our guide to New Orleans towing rights explains which protections fit public-agency and private-property removals. Use the process matching your tow instead of treating every impound dispute alike.
When to call us
Quick Tow can’t release an impounded vehicle or change the facility’s bill. Once you’ve secured release, the line takes calls 24/7 if the vehicle needs a licensed operator to move it to a home or repair shop. Call (504) 474-5530. We match you with a licensed local operator who quotes before the truck rolls.