An empty Chicago parking space doesn’t automatically mean your car was stolen. Start with the city’s Find Your Towed Vehicle tool, then call 311 before making a police report. The city says a vehicle may be impounded or relocated, and those are different outcomes.
Start with the city vehicle search
Use the city lookup before calling a tow company or police. Follow the search prompts and enter the requested vehicle information carefully. A wrong plate character can send your search in the wrong direction.
Write down where you parked before moving around. Include the nearest address, cross street, parking lot entrance and side of the street. Note when you last saw the car. Take photos of the empty space, curb markings and every nearby sign. Those details help separate a city tow from a private-property relocation.
Next, walk the immediate block and check both sides of nearby streets. Chicago sometimes moves vehicles to clear streets for agency work. The city says an emergency relocation can happen without an opportunity to post signs. A relocated car may still be on a public street rather than inside a pound.
If the city search shows nothing, call 311. Ask whether the vehicle was impounded or relocated. The city’s own instruction is to do this before reporting it stolen. Our detailed Chicago towed-car lookup guide covers the same process in checklist form.
Cars missing from apartment lots, garages or shopping centers need another check. Look for private towing signs and contact whoever controls the property. A building manager may know which relocator removed the vehicle.
Work out which towing system applies
Chicago drivers can encounter three separate towing systems. The parking location determines which one applies. Don’t use a Chicago pound rule for a suburban impound or private relocation.
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A City of Chicago tow involves a city pound. This may follow parking enforcement, a police-directed tow or another city action. The city also distinguishes an impound from a relocation. Its Common Towing Questions page explains that difference.
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A suburban municipal impound follows the municipality’s process. A car taken in Cicero, Naperville or Joliet isn’t under Chicago’s pound schedule. Each municipality sets its own administrative fee. No individual suburban fee was confirmed for this page, so ask that municipality for its current charges and release instructions.
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A private-property relocation covers vehicles removed from private lots. In Cook, DuPage, Kane and Will counties, that work must be performed by a commercial vehicle relocator licensed by the Illinois Commerce Commission. It isn’t the same as a police-directed public-street tow.
Weather can add another layer inside Chicago. The overnight winter parking ban covers 107 miles of arterial streets from 3 a.m. to 7 a.m., December 1 through April 1, regardless of snow. A separate two-inch ban covers another 500 miles once at least two inches are on the street. Vehicles under that second ban may be ticketed or relocated.
Read every permanent sign when parking during winter. The city’s overnight-ban page says violating vehicles go to Pound 2 or Pound 6. Its published winter-ban charges are different from the regular city pound schedule, so the two shouldn’t be merged.
If the car is at a Chicago auto pound
Chicago lists four auto pounds, all open 24 hours a day throughout the year:
- Central Auto Pound, 500 E. Wacker Drive, Lower Level
- O’Hare International Airport Auto Pound, Bessie Coleman Drive
- Auto Pound 2, 103rd Street and Doty Avenue
- Auto Pound 6, 701 N. Sacramento Avenue
Confirm the destination before traveling. The four Chicago auto pounds serve different situations, and abandoned vehicles may go to the Doty Avenue or Sacramento Avenue locations. Don’t assume the nearest pound has your car.
Every person claiming a vehicle needs valid photo identification. The city also requires proof of ownership. Accepted proof includes a valid title, current registration card or a bill of sale no more than 30 days old. A lessee needs the lease agreement. Someone acting for the owner needs an original notarized letter from that owner.
Bring a current driver’s license if you’ll drive the car away. The city won’t release a vehicle without current state plates and a Chicago Vehicle Sticker where required. It also won’t release a car while police hold it for investigation.
Cash and several major credit cards are accepted. Checks and money orders aren’t. Confirm the current total with the pound before paying, since storage can continue while the vehicle remains there.
A city vehicle is normally stored no less than 21 days from the date Chicago mails notice to its registered owner. The owner has a right to one 15-day extension before disposal. That extension isn’t a general post-tow hearing deadline. A general hearing deadline for an ordinary Chicago tow couldn’t be confirmed, so ask the Bureau of Traffic Services about the process applying to your case.
If it was moved from private property or a suburb
Start with the signs around the lot. Illinois private-property towing signs must identify the appropriate commercial vehicle relocator and state the towing charge. When signs are required, they must also meet the state’s placement, size and visibility rules.
A relocator must notify law enforcement in the jurisdiction within one hour after removing a vehicle. If the property manager can’t identify the company, contact the local law enforcement agency and ask whether a relocation notice was filed. You can also review our guide to Chicago private towing laws.
The Illinois Commerce Commission regulates private-property relocation towing in Cook, DuPage, Kane, Will and Winnebago counties. Its Relocation Towing page provides consumer information and complaint instructions. The current maximum relocation rate couldn’t be confirmed from the published materials reviewed for this page. Ask the Commission or relocator for the current authorized rate instead of relying on an unsourced figure.
A relocator must accept cash, money orders, cashier’s or certified checks and major credit cards without an added payment fee. No storage fee applies if the vehicle is claimed within 24 hours with proper identification and payment. Storage also can’t be charged for days or hours when the relocator is closed to the public.
Suburban municipal impounds follow another process. Illinois law requires a municipal administrative fee to be reasonable and related to processing costs, but it doesn’t set a dollar cap. Owners have a right to an administrative hearing. For broader process details, see our guide to Illinois impound laws.
When there is no towing record
Report the vehicle missing to police after checking the city tool, calling 311 and ruling out private or suburban towing. Explain every check you’ve completed. Give the exact parking location, when you last saw the car, its plate, make, model, color and distinguishing features.
Photograph broken glass, damaged locks or objects left in the parking space. Don’t disturb anything that may help police document what happened. If a child, vulnerable person or pet may be inside the missing vehicle, call 911.
A connected-car app or tracking device may show a location. Share that information with police. Don’t enter private property or confront anyone to retrieve the car yourself. A moving tracker location can also change while you’re traveling.
Keep the police report information and ask your insurer what documentation it needs. If police later confirm the vehicle was towed, return to the correct city, suburban or private-property process. If the car is recovered with damage, wait until police release it before arranging transportation.
When to call us
Once the pound or police clears the car for release, this stops being a do-it-yourself job if it won’t start, has collision damage or shouldn’t be driven. Our emergency towing referral line takes calls 24 hours a day, and calls are recorded after a notice. We match you with an independent local operator, with the price quoted before dispatch. Call us at (773) 830-6930.