Last reviewed October 10, 2026 by Jackson McMillan, Florida attorney
Short answer: A downtown St. Petersburg business can have your car towed from its private lot if proper tow-away signs were posted and the tow company has a written agreement with the property. Pinellas County caps what the company can charge, bans late-night tows from bar lots without a manager's signature at the car, and makes a company that breaks its rules pay your costs and attorney's fees.
My office is in Tampa, and I represent people throughout Tampa Bay and the rest of Florida. Pinellas County's towing ordinance applies to any tow that starts inside the county, so the rules below cover a lot near the waterfront the same way they cover one in Gulfport or Pinellas Park.
I parked in a business lot downtown for an event. Can it tow me?
Yes, if the business followed the rules. Florida lets a property owner tow a car parked without permission once tow-away signs meeting state requirements have stood at every entrance for 24 hours. In Pinellas, the tow company must also have a signed agreement with the property covering the days and hours towing is allowed.
On an event night, a restaurant, office, or shop lot that sits empty after hours can look like overflow parking. Unless the property says so, it isn't. The question in a dispute is not whether you meant any harm but whether the property and the tow company did everything the law required before your car left.
That written agreement is worth asking about (Pinellas County Code § 122-40(a)). It must name the property, list the times and days towing is authorized, list every fee that can be charged, and name a storage site no more than ten miles away. Both sides have to sign it, certifying they follow the state towing statute. A tow with no agreement violates the ordinance, and a tow outside the hours the agreement allows raises the question of whether it was authorized at all.
The lot belonged to a bar. Can they tow me at midnight?
Only with a signature. In Pinellas County, no car may be towed from a property licensed to serve alcohol on site between 9 p.m. and noon unless the owner, lessee, or an authorized representative signs for that tow at the car's location at the time it happens. A tow company employee can't be that representative.
The rule means a tow driver can't haul cars from a bar lot late at night on the driver's own say-so. The tow company must keep the signed authorization, with the signer's name, phone number, and address, for at least three years (§ 122-40(m)). If your car was towed from a bar or restaurant lot late at night, ask the tow company in writing for a copy of that authorization. A missing signature, or one signed by someone who works for the towing company, points to a bad tow.
I paid to park, and I was towed anyway. Is that allowed?
Florida's towing statute authorizes towing a car parked without the owner's permission. If you paid for the space and the time you used, you had permission. A person who improperly causes a tow owes your towing and storage costs, damages, and attorney's fees, and your payment record is the key evidence that the tow was improper.
Keep the receipt from the pay station or the parking app, and screenshot the session before it disappears from the app's history. Note the space or zone number. A dispute over a paid lot often turns on whether you were in the zone you paid for and whether your time ran out.
Be aware that a private lot has another option besides towing. Florida law lets a private parking operator issue its own "parking charge" invoice for breaking its rules. That invoice must say it is privately issued and carries no criminal penalties, and it must give you 15 days to dispute it, with an appeal to a neutral third party (Fla. Stat. § 715.075). A parking charge invoice is not a tow.
How much can a tow company charge in Pinellas County?
Pinellas County sets the maximum. Since June 16, 2026, a private-lot tow of most vehicles is capped at $175, plus $6 per mile, plus storage of $35 a day after the first six hours. Most other fees are allowed only in set amounts, and the ordinance bans extra charges for equipment like dollies or a flatbed.
Other fees on the county schedule include a $60 administrative fee after the first 24 hours of storage and a $40 lien notice fee, but only if the tow company has met the state's notice requirements. A $35 tarp fee applies only when the company reasonably needs to cover your car against the weather. Card payments can carry a surcharge of up to 4 percent. State law separately allows a fee of up to $250 to release a car from a tow lien.
Check the bill line by line (Pinellas County Code § 122-42). The ordinance bars added charges for special equipment or services, including dollies, go-jacks, slim jims, a flatbed or trailer, or unlocking a locked car. Any fee above the tow company's own posted rate sheet is unreasonable under Florida law. Starting November 1, 2026, a Pinellas lot must also post a separate sign warning that you may be subject to fees over $450, or no tow or boot may start there.
I caught the tow truck before it left. What should I have paid?
No more than $87.50 for most vehicles, which is half the county's tow rate. If you got there before your car was hooked up, the company couldn't tow you or charge anything unless you refused to move it. Either way, the driver must give you at least 20 minutes to get cash.
Florida law requires a driver in the middle of a tow to stop when you ask for the car back (Fla. Stat. § 715.07(2)(a)3.). Pinellas goes further than the state rule with the hookup line and the 20-minute window (Pinellas County Code § 122-41(b)). If the driver charged you the full tow price on the spot, or drove off with you standing there, the overcharge or the tow itself breaks the ordinance. Ask for a written receipt for any money you hand over; you are entitled to one.
How do I find my car and get it back tonight?
Call the number on the tow-away sign at the lot entrance. If there's no sign, call the St. Petersburg Police Department's non-emergency line or the Pinellas County Sheriff's Office; the tow company had to report the tow within 30 minutes. A Pinellas tow company must answer its phone at all times and release the car within an hour.
On that call, the company must tell you each document you need, the exact charges so far and how fast they grow, and the payment methods it accepts (§ 122-40(f)). State law requires it to accept at least two kinds of payment from cash, cards, and electronic payment, and to ask for only one photo ID. A copy of your title or your loan or lease contract proves the car is yours.
Get there inside six hours if you can, because no storage fee may be charged for a car stored less than six hours. If you can't afford to pay that night, you can still collect your belongings. Pinellas requires free access to unattached personal items during the company's operating hours.
Send me the receipt, a photo of the lot's signs, and your parking payment record if you had one. I'll compare the tow against the Pinellas ordinance and tell you what you can do.
I already paid. Can I still get my money back?
You may be able to. Paying to get your car back is not the end of the matter. Pinellas County's ordinance makes a tow company that violates it liable for all your recovery costs, any damage, and your attorney's fees and court costs. You can also file a complaint with Pinellas County Consumer Protection, which investigates excessive charges.
The amounts in a downtown tow dispute are usually modest, a few hundred dollars, and that is exactly why the attorney's fee provision in the ordinance matters (§ 122-45(b)). Florida's towing statute has a similar provision for anyone who improperly causes a tow (Fla. Stat. § 715.07(4)). Not every remedy is one-way, though. If you challenge the tow company's lien in court and lose, the court can make you pay the company's fees. When the same lot or company tows many event-goers the same improper way, a group or class claim may be possible, though a court must approve it.
What should I save from the night I was towed?
Save anything that shows where you parked, what the signs said, when you came back, and what you paid. Photos of each entrance sign, your parking receipt or app screenshot, the tow ticket, every receipt from the lot, and your call log are the core evidence. Gather them before the details fade.
- Every entrance to the lot, photographed so the sign, or the empty pole, is readable.
- Your event ticket or dinner receipt, which fixes when you parked and when you returned.
- The receipt and itemized invoice. The company must make the invoice available within one business day.
- A photo of the rate sheet at the storage lot's payment window.
- The written authorization for a late-night tow from a bar or restaurant lot, requested in writing.
- Your complaint to Pinellas County Consumer Protection and any reply.
Sources: Fla. Stat. §§ 715.07(2)(a)1.-9., (4), 715.075, 713.78(2)(b), (15)(a), (19), (20); Pinellas County Code §§ 122-38 to 122-45; Pinellas County, Pinellas County Towing Rates, effective June 16, 2026, and Pinellas County Private Property Trespass Towing (county web pages). Last reviewed October 10, 2026.