How to get your car out of impound in Downtown
If your car got towed in Downtown, here's how to find it fast and get it back the same day.
What Virginia law says
Richmond doesn't run its own city impound yard. Since 1992, the city's exclusive towing contractor has been Seibert's Towing, which handles every Richmond Police-directed tow, parking violations, accidents, stolen vehicles, abandoned vehicles, and more, out of a secured 19-acre lot at 642 W. Southside Plaza Dr. The city publishes a live towed-vehicle listing at apps.richmondgov.com/applications/towviewing (make, model, color, partial VIN, partial plate, and time towed), kept online for 14 days, so check that first before assuming your car was stolen. Questions go to Richmond's non-emergency line at (804) 646-5100, or email 911rva@rva.gov; Seibert's own office can be reached directly at (804) 233-5757 to confirm the exact fee, since the rate for a police-directed tow runs on the city's contract with Seibert's rather than a single published fee schedule. Most routine Richmond tows are for street cleaning, special events, Peak Towing violations (7 to 9 a.m. and 4 to 6 p.m.), or three or more unpaid parking tickets, and towing activity runs heaviest in the Fan given how tight parking already is there. Henrico County and Chesterfield County run their own separate systems: Henrico tows go through the police non-emergency line at (804) 501-5000, and Chesterfield tows go through (804) 748-1251, since neither county publishes a confirmed public vehicle-lookup tool the way Richmond does. Whatever the number ends up being, Virginia law (§ 46.2-1217) says a towing business can't refuse to release your car once you tender payment by cash, an insurance company check, a certified check, a money order, or a credit card, and refusing suspends any further storage charge. Quick Tow Richmond is a private tow company, not the city's contracted pound. We can't waive fees the city or county sets, but we can help with transport once your car's released.
How it works in Downtown
- 1 Find out where your car went
Check apps.richmondgov.com/applications/towviewing for a Richmond Police tow, or call (804) 646-5100. Outside the city, call Henrico's non-emergency line at (804) 501-5000 or Chesterfield's at (804) 748-1251.
- 2 Confirm it's at Seibert's Towing
Richmond's contracted lot is Seibert's Towing, 642 W. Southside Plaza Dr., (804) 233-5757. Call ahead so you're not making a trip for nothing.
- 3 Check the online listing before you drive over
The city keeps its towed-vehicle listing online for 14 days after the tow. Confirm your make, model, and plate match before you head out.
- 4 Ask what you'll owe
The fee for a police-directed tow runs on Richmond's contract with Seibert's, not a single published schedule. Call (804) 233-5757 to confirm the exact current number.
- 5 Pay the lot directly
Quick Tow Richmond doesn't set or collect impound fees. You pay the lot, not us.
- 6 Retrieve your vehicle
Bring valid ID and be ready to pay by cash, check, money order, or card. Virginia law says a yard can't refuse a valid payment method or keep charging storage once you try.
What this looks like around Downtown
A tow from {c} lands with Seibert's Towing, the city's contracted lot since 1992, at 642 W. Southside Plaza Dr. Towing activity runs heaviest in neighborhoods like the Fan, where street parking is already tight, so check the city's online listing first before assuming your car was stolen.
Downtown Richmond, sometimes called Court End for the blocks closest to the Capitol and the VCU Medical Center campus, is mostly institutional ground. The Virginia State Capitol, the region's only Level I trauma center, the Library of Virginia, and City Hall all sit within a few blocks of each other. That concentration of state-government and hospital staff means constant fleet and visitor-lot violation tows, and Downtown sits directly on top of the I-95/I-64 overlap, so any interstate breakdown or General Assembly session traffic spills straight onto streets that already have almost no visitor parking margin. The Downtown Expressway (SR-195) toll road threads through here too, an older, narrow roadway with limited shoulder that makes a stall inside it a harder recovery than a modern interstate breakdown. Blocks toward Shockoe Bottom sit low enough to flood fast in a hard downpour, and summer heat off all that pavement and glass runs hotter here than almost anywhere else in the city. We reach the Capitol, VCU Medical Center, and the Downtown Expressway interchange in about 15 to 25 minutes, running flatbed for the toll road and any standing-water call, wheel-lift for the ordinary fleet or visitor-lot tow.
Common Downtown questions
How do I find out where my car was towed in Downtown?
Check the city's online listing at apps.richmondgov.com/applications/towviewing, or call Richmond's non-emergency line at (804) 646-5100. In Henrico, call (804) 501-5000; in Chesterfield, call (804) 748-1251.
What will I owe to get my car out of impound in Downtown?
The fee for a Richmond police-directed tow runs on the city's contract with Seibert's Towing rather than a single published rate. Call (804) 233-5757 to confirm the exact current number.
How long does Richmond keep a towed vehicle listed online in Downtown?
The city's towed-vehicle lookup tool keeps a listing online for 14 days after the tow. Call (804) 646-5100 if you can't find your car there.
Can Quick Tow Richmond release my car from impound in Downtown?
No, we're a private tow company, not the city's contracted pound. We can't waive fees, but we can help with transport once your car is released.
Related help for Downtown
Impound release process in the rest of the Richmond Core area
Need your car towed once it's released in Downtown?
We can't waive the yard's fees. We can tow it home the moment it clears.