How much does a tow cost in Portland, ME?
Your tow is priced as one figure before a truck heads out. Tows made without consent have city caps.
How much does a tow truck cost in Portland?
Towing cost in Portland depends first on who asked for the tow. When you call us for a tow, you get a single all-in figure during the call, before any tow truck heads out. A tow made without the owner's consent, from a private lot or at police request, is capped by Portland's tow operator ordinance (City Code Sec. 28-122, as amended by Ord. 225-25/26) at $150, or $175 when there has been an accident, with the full schedule further down this page.
We do not post a price list for our own tows, because what sets the price changes from one call to the next. We ask about it and give you one number for the whole job. If the job we find is not the job that was described, we give you the revised figure first, and you decide whether to go ahead.
Tell us about anything unusual before we quote: a flat tire, no key, a low garage ceiling, a trailer still hitched. The more we know on the call, the closer the quote is to the job.
That is how it works whenever you call for a tow truck in Portland, Maine, at any hour. We do not impound vehicles, patrol private lots or work as the City of Portland's tow contractor. The city's limits are on this page because a car towed without the owner's say-so ends in a bill the city caps, and knowing those limits protects you.
The form suits a tow with some slack in it, like a car due at a shop tomorrow morning. For anything urgent, pick up the phone.
Free quote
Get a total for your tow
What changes the total on a tow truck quote?
Distance, the vehicle, the truck it needs, recovery work, time on scene and storage set the price of towing in Portland when you arrange the tow yourself, and we ask about each of them before we quote.
- Distance. The run from where the car sits to the address you give us. A shop across the peninsula and a dealer in another town are priced differently even when the hook-up is the same.
- The vehicle. Its size, weight and build. Dual rear wheels, a car lowered close to the pavement or an electric car each changes what the truck and driver have to do.
- Wheel-lift or flatbed. A wheel-lift raises only the front or rear wheels, while a flatbed keeps the entire vehicle off the road, which AAA considers the safest option. Tesla recommends a flatbed for the Model 3 and Model Y, and Subaru of America recommends one for transporting a Subaru, so the price follows the truck the car needs. There is more under flatbed and long-distance towing.
- Recovery work. A car in a ditch, on its side or packed into a snowbank needs winching onto firm footing first, so winch-out and recovery work is priced as its own part of the job.
- Time on scene. Waiting while police clear a crash, easing a car out of a tight garage level or clearing debris all add time. Our page on towing after a collision covers what that call involves.
- Storage. If the car cannot go straight to its destination, say the shop is closed for the night, the waiting time is built into the figure, and you hear about it during the call.
Portland's towing cost caps for private-lot and police tows
Portland caps what a wrecker may charge the owner for any tow done without the owner's consent. Sec. 28-122 of the City Code, in the text set by Ord. 225-25/26 on June 1, 2026, covers private-lot tows requested by a lot owner or manager and tows requested by police, including abandoned-car, snow, unpaid-ticket and accident-scene tows. Every figure is a maximum, not a set price.
- Non-accident tow
- $150
- Accident tow
- $175
- Dual rear wheels
- $165
- Vehicle and trailer, or two vehicles at once
- $270
- Special recovery
- $80 more when the car is off-road, submerged, rolled over or needs special equipment
- Recovery over one hour
- $80 per hour after the first hour
- Drop fee
- $40 in cash to the driver between hook-up and the moment the wrecker starts to leave
- No towing fee
- If the owner moves the car before hook-up
- Storage
- $50 a day or part of a day, beginning 24 hours after the tow
- After-hours release
- $40, 7 p.m. to 7 a.m. any day, and 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays and official City holidays
Two definitions in Sec. 28-121 decide whether you owe the drop fee or nothing at all. A car is hooked once it is physically connected to the wrecker by chains, hooks, slings or other mechanical means, lifted or not; the wrecker starts to leave once the car is fully attached and the truck has begun to move from the scene.
These caps apply to private-lot and police-requested tows, not to a tow you arrange yourself, which is priced by agreement with the company you call. In unusual circumstances the chief of police, or someone the chief designates, can authorize charges above the schedule. Operators holding a city license also have to display their current rates where cars are released (Sec. 28-123(n)). You can read the ordinance itself in the City Code's Chapter 28.
The fee schedule is Portland's own. The state's towing working group reported in 2026 that Maine lacks a comprehensive framework for regulating the towing industry, and the 2026 legislative session passed no towing-rate law.
Does car insurance pay for a police-requested tow in Maine?
Yes, up to $500 per accident, when a law enforcement officer asked for the tow. Section 1605-B of Title 29-A requires a liability policy on a car registered or mainly garaged in Maine to cover reasonable towing and storage charges up to that amount.
The Maine Bureau of Insurance spelled it out in Bulletin 473 (April 17, 2024): the coverage is mandatory, it is triggered by any accident in which the covered car is towed at an officer's request, and it applies even if you did not buy collision, comprehensive or towing coverage. Insurers had to add it to policies newly issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2024.
It has limits. It pays only the covered vehicle's charges, and it does not apply to a policy covering more than 4 vehicles or to policies covering garages, dealers, repair shops, service stations or public parking places. A 2025 bill to repeal the section failed, so the requirement still stands.
Section 1605-B does not reach a breakdown tow you call for yourself, or a private-lot tow, because no officer asked for either. For those, check your own policy for towing or roadside coverage, and keep the itemized bill either way.
How do you get a towed car back in Portland?
You pick it up at a private tow lot and show proof that it is yours to take. The City of Portland has said it no longer runs an impound lot of its own, so cars towed in the city end up at lots run by tow companies.
- Finding it. A Portland tow operator's storage and release lot has to be in the city or no more than 7 miles from City Hall (Sec. 28-123(a)). For a police-ordered tow, the storage location goes to police dispatch, which logs it (Sec. 28-102); on a non-residential private lot, the tow-away signs have to tell you where a towed car can be located (Sec. 28-123(m)).
- Proving it is yours. The code asks for satisfactory evidence of your right to the car, and you sign a receipt when you take it (Sec. 28-103). It does not list specific documents, so ask the lot what it accepts before you go.
- How long it takes. Once you ask for the car, the operator has one hour to release it (Sec. 28-123(o)).
- Unpaid tickets come first. After a police-requested tow, outstanding parking fines and City charges have to be cleared before the car comes out (Sec. 28-127). A car with 3 or more unpaid parking tickets can be held until every outstanding payment is made, whatever it was lawfully towed for (Sec. 28-101).
- Urgent items. After a police-requested tow you can apply in writing to get urgent personal items, such as keys or medications, out of the car before you pay, and the police chief may arrange it in urgent cases (Sec. 28-129).
- The car itself. The operator must tow the car to storage, not drive it there, and may not repair it without your consent (Sec. 28-123(e) and (j)).
- If the ticket was wrong. A court ruling that the car was parked legally after all gets the tow and storage charges refunded (Sec. 28-105(a)).
We are a towing company, not a tow lot, and we do not hold anyone's car. A car released from a lot is not always drivable, though, especially after a crash, and if yours needs to go from the lot to a shop or home, we can tow it there.
What Maine law says about cars towed from private property
Maine's abandoned-vehicle law (Title 29-A, chapter 15, subchapter 3) covers a car towed after being left on property without permission, and it gives the owner notice, a storage cap and a right to personal belongings.
The owner of the property where the car is held, or the owner's agent, must notify the Secretary of State in writing on the Secretary's form (section 1854). The Secretary of State then tells the car's owner and any lienholder, by regular mail, that the car is being claimed under the abandoned vehicle law. The car counts as abandoned only if nobody collects it and pays reasonable charges within 14 days after those notices go out (section 1852).
- Storage is capped. Daily storage must be reasonable, and the total may not pass $1,500 for a 30-day period. If the holder is late with the notice (more than 14 days) or never sends it, it can collect no more than 14 days of storage (section 1857).
- Personal belongings stay yours. The holder may keep the car until reasonable charges are paid, but not your personal effects, which the law says include medications, medical equipment, clothing, mail and child car seats (section 1861).
- Do not take it back without consent. Removing a car held under these rules, or parts of it, without written consent from the property owner or the person in charge is a traffic infraction, and that includes the car's own owner (section 1859).
- Snow-removal tows. A car towed for snow removal is exempt from this part of the law for 48 hours (section 1851).
Inside Portland, a private-lot tow also carries the city's caps and drop-fee rule, and the operator may charge nothing unless tow-away signs are posted clearly at every entrance and exit of the non-residential lot, or are clearly visible from all its entrances (Sec. 28-123(m)).
What a parking-ban tow adds to the bill in Portland
A winter parking ban adds a $130 fine for failing to move the car, on top of the capped tow and storage charges.
A declared ban covers the hours between 10 p.m. and 6 a.m., and the declaration has to come at least 6 hours before the start. A car towed less than 6 hours after the declaration gets its tow and storage charges refunded by the City (Sec. 28-105(b)). We do not tow for the City during bans. There is more in our guide to what a Portland parking-ban tow costs.
Frequently asked questions
How much is a tow truck in Portland, Maine?
It depends on who asked for the tow. When you arrange the tow with us, you get one all-in figure during the call, before any truck heads out, and it rests on distance, the vehicle, the truck it needs and any recovery work. For a tow made without the owner's consent, Portland's tow operator ordinance (City Code Sec. 28-122, as amended by Ord. 225-25/26) limits a non-accident tow to $150 and an accident tow to $175.
What is the most a Portland tow company can charge for a private lot tow?
Under City Code Sec. 28-122, as amended by Ord. 225-25/26, a private-lot tow is capped at $150, or $165 for a vehicle with dual rear wheels and $270 for a vehicle and trailer or two vehicles towed at once. Special recovery can add $80, plus $80 an hour after the first hour, and storage is capped at $50 a day starting 24 hours after the tow. The police chief or a designee may approve extra charges in unusual circumstances.
Can I stop my car from being towed in Portland?
Yes, if you get there in time. Under City Code Sec. 28-122, an owner who moves the car before hook-up owes no towing fee. Once it is hooked, you can still take it back by paying the driver a $40 drop fee in cash, as long as the wrecker has not started to leave.
How much does a Portland tow lot charge for storage?
At most $50 a day or part of a day for a car towed without the owner's consent, with nothing charged for the first 24 hours after the tow, under City Code Sec. 28-122 as amended by Ord. 225-25/26. Collecting the car between 7 p.m. and 7 a.m., or between 7 a.m. and 7 p.m. on a Sunday or official City holiday, can add a release fee of up to $40.
Does car insurance cover a tow in Maine?
It must if a police officer had the car towed after an accident. Section 1605-B of Title 29-A requires liability policies on Maine cars to cover up to $500 per accident for reasonable towing and storage, even without collision or towing coverage, on policies issued or renewed on or after July 1, 2024. It does not apply to policies covering more than 4 vehicles, and any other tow depends on the coverage you bought.
Do you impound cars or tow for the City of Portland?
No. We tow only when you call us, we do not impound vehicles, and we are not the City's tow contractor. If your car was towed from a street or a private lot in Portland, it went to a private tow lot, and the city's fee caps apply to that bill.
Need a tow in Portland? Get the total first
Call with the pickup spot and the drop-off, and you get a single figure before anyone drives to you.
- The pickup spot - a street corner, a lot, a garage level or a highway exit
- The drop-off - a shop, a dealer, home or another town
- The vehicle's details - year and model, and whether the wheels turn
- Anything unusual - no key, a flat, a snowbank or a trailer