Last reviewed October 10, 2026 by Jackson McMillan, Florida attorney
Short answer: A beach-area business in Clearwater can tow cars from its private lot if it posted tow-away signs that meet Florida's size and placement rules and has a signed towing agreement under the Pinellas ordinance. The tow company must release your car within an hour, hand over your belongings for free during operating hours, and charge no more than the county allows.
My office is in Tampa, and I represent people throughout Tampa Bay and the rest of Florida. That includes visitors who were towed in Clearwater and have already gone home: I can review the tow by phone and online, and you don't need to be in Florida for that.
I parked at a shop's lot and walked to the beach. Can they tow me?
Generally yes, if the lot was properly posted. A business owner may have cars towed from its private lot when they are parked without permission, and leaving the lot for the beach usually means you weren't parking as a customer. The tow is lawful only if the signs, agreement, and procedures all met Florida and Pinellas requirements.
A small shop or restaurant with 20 or fewer parking spaces doesn't need the full tow-away sign. It can instead post a sign reading, in substance, "Reserved Parking for Customers Only, Unauthorized Vehicles Will be Towed Away at the Owner's Expense," but the letters must be at least 4 inches high and reflective on a contrasting background (Fla. Stat. § 715.07(2)(a)5.f.). A small paper note taped to a window is unlikely to meet that standard.
If you did shop or eat at the business and were towed while still inside, or within a reasonable time after, write down what you bought and keep the receipt. Whether you were an authorized customer is a fact question, and a time-stamped receipt answers it better than memory.
There was a sign, but I never saw it. Does that matter?
It can. Florida doesn't just require a sign somewhere on the property. It requires one at every driveway entrance, within 10 feet of the road, mounted 3 to 6 feet off the ground, with reflective lettering, and up for at least 24 hours. A sign hidden by a palm, a delivery truck, or a missing entrance may not comply.
Measure what you can and photograph everything the same day (§ 715.07(2)(a)5.a.-d.). Stand at each entrance and take one photo from the driver's seat height and another close enough to read the letters. Lots without curbs need a sign for every 25 feet of frontage, which matters on beach-area lots that open directly onto the street. If you came back after dark, photograph the sign at night too; the lettering must be light-reflective.
The sign must also name the towing company and give a current phone number. A sign that names a company that no longer tows there, or a number that doesn't answer, fails the statute's purpose of letting you find your car.
It was a rental car. Can I get it back from the tow lot?
Maybe not yourself. Florida law says a rental agreement doesn't make the renter the rental company's agent for getting the car released, so the tow company may insist on dealing with the rental company. But it must release your own belongings from the rental car within one hour after you arrive at the lot.
Call the rental company right away and tell it where the car is (Fla. Stat. § 713.78(10)). The rental company may need to arrange the release, and your rental contract decides what it can then charge you for the tow, storage, and its own fees. Read that contract before agreeing to any charge. The tow company owes your personal property to you directly, whether or not the rental company has acted yet.
If the tow was improper, the rental company's charges to you may be part of your loss. Keep every email and invoice from the rental company along with the tow company's paperwork.
I'm flying home soon. How do I get my car back fast?
Call the number on the lot's sign, ask for the exact amount, the documents needed, and the accepted payment types, then go straight to the storage lot. A Pinellas tow company must answer its phone around the clock and must release the car within one hour after you ask. Arriving inside six hours avoids storage fees entirely.
The company has to accept at least two of the three payment categories in state law, so ask which two it takes before you leave for the lot (§ 713.78(19)). It may ask for only one government photo ID. If the car is yours, it must accept a paper or electronic title, a loan or lease contract, or a copy of any of them, and it can't demand notarized papers to release the car to you.
On days the company is towing, the storage lot must be open from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. When it is closed, the operator must come back within an hour of your call (§ 715.07(2)(a)1.a.). A company that leaves a stranded tourist waiting until morning without a lawful reason is not following the statute.
How far from the beach can they take my car?
No more than 10 miles. Florida limits the storage site to a 10-mile radius of where the car was towed in a county of 500,000 or more people, and Pinellas County's ordinance writes the same 10-mile limit into every towing agreement. The company must also tow straight to its storage site, not to a holding area.
Mileage on the bill is limited the same way. Pinellas lets the company charge per mile for a private-lot tow, currently $6 for most vehicles, but the ordinance and the agreement keep the storage site within that ten-mile limit (Pinellas County Code §§ 122-40(a)(7), (e)). A bill showing more miles than the distance from the beach lot to the storage site is worth questioning, and a storage site farther than ten miles away is a red flag.
The bill has fees I never saw on any sign. Are they legal?
Some may be and some may not. Pinellas County publishes the only fees a tow company may charge for a private-lot tow and their maximum amounts. The ordinance bans extra charges for special equipment, such as dollies, a flatbed, go-jacks, or opening a locked car. Anything not on the county schedule or the company's posted rate sheet is suspect.
As of June 16, 2026, the county caps a private-lot tow of most vehicles at $175 and storage at $35 a day after the first six hours (Pinellas County Towing Rates, effective June 16, 2026). A $60 administrative fee and a $40 lien notice fee are allowed only if the company complied with the state's lien notice rules. State law also permits a separate lien release administrative fee of up to $250. A card surcharge can't exceed 4 percent.
Ask for the itemized invoice, which state law requires the company to make available within one business day of the tow, and photograph the rate sheet posted at the lot (Fla. Stat. § 713.78(20)). Florida treats any fee above that posted rate sheet as unreasonable.
Upload the tow receipt, the rental company's invoice if there is one, and your photos of the lot. I'll review the tow against the Pinellas ordinance and tell you whether it's worth pursuing.
Do I have to come back to Florida to fight a Clearwater tow?
Not usually to get started. A county complaint can be filed online, and a lawyer can investigate and negotiate from Florida. If a lawsuit is needed, a challenge to the tow lien belongs in the county where the car is stored, which for a Clearwater tow is generally Pinellas. Whether you'd need to appear depends on the case.
Pinellas County Consumer Protection takes complaints about tow charges and ordinance violations (Pinellas County Code § 122-44). Separately, the ordinance makes a tow company that breaks it liable to you for all recovery costs, any damage, and your attorney's fees and court costs (§ 122-45(b)). Be clear-eyed about the numbers: a beach tow is usually a few hundred dollars. The fee provision is what makes a claim that size practical, and the lien statute lets a winning tow company seek its own fees, so the strength of the facts matters.
What should I keep after a beach-area tow?
Keep proof of where you parked, what the entrances looked like, when you left and returned, and every payment. For a visitor, add the rental contract and the rental company's charges. Photos taken the same day carry the most weight, so take them before you leave the area if you still can.
- Photos of each lot entrance, day and night if possible, showing the sign or its absence.
- Any receipt from the business, if you were a customer there.
- The tow receipt, the itemized invoice, and a photo of the posted rate sheet.
- The rental contract and the rental company's invoice for any tow-related charges.
- A note of every call: the time, the number dialed, and what you were told.
Sources: Fla. Stat. §§ 715.07(2)(a)1., 5., 9., (4), 713.78(2)(b), (5), (10), (15)(a), (17), (19), (20); Pinellas County Code §§ 122-39 to 122-45; Pinellas County, Pinellas County Towing Rates, effective June 16, 2026 (county web page). Last reviewed October 10, 2026.