Your car has been towed to a impound lot—what to do in the first few hours

The empty spot where you left your car is obvious. And almost everyone's first thought is the same: that you'll have to urgently find a large sum of money somewhere, or they won't return the vehicle.

You won't have to. The car is released from a specialized impound lot without prepayment, and you have sixty days to pay by invoice. Let's break down the procedure and its costs according to the current order of the Moscow Department of Transport No. 61-02-780/25 — its tariffs are valid from January 1, 2026.

First, make sure it's a tow truck

The Moscow parking website has a service for checking by license plate. It shows the fact of the vehicle's movement, the article under which the car was detained, the date and time, the location of the violation, and the location of the impound lot where it was taken.

This is the first thing you should do, and not just for the address. If the car isn't at the service center, it means the problem isn't with the tow truck, and then you need to go to the police, not the impound lot.

Three-step process

Step one. Contact the traffic police (GIBDD) or MADY department that impounded the car. Bring your driver's license, vehicle registration certificate, and OSAGO insurance policy.

Here's a common pitfall: the documents were left in the car itself. In that case, the order is reversed: first, go to the impound lot, fill out an application for access to the vehicle there, retrieve your documents, and only then drive to the duty office.

Step two. Obtain the official's decision to return the detained vehicle. Without this document, the car will not be released, no matter how much you pay - payment and authorization are two separate procedures.

Step three. Arrive at the designated parking lot with proof of ownership or possession, a decision document, and your passport.

Special parking lots operate 24/7. This is more important than it seems: getting there within the first 24 hours is the only way to avoid storage fees.

How much does moving cost?

The cost depends on the engine's power. For those who pay before receiving the car, the law provides a 25% discount.

Categories M and A, as well as category B with an engine up to 80 hp inclusive - ₽8,500, with a discount of ₽6,375.

Category B from 80 up to and including 250 hp - 12,450 ₽, with a discount of 9,337.5 ₽.

Category B vehicles over 250 hp and other vehicles with a gross vehicle weight of up to 4 tons - the same 12,450 ₽.

Vehicles over 4 tons and oversized: ₽71,182.

24-hour storage and why the first 24 hours are free

The main detail of the whole story is that if you pick up the car within 24 hours of it being placed in the lot, there's no storage fee at all. After that, you pay for each day.

Motorcycles and mopeds, i.e., categories M and A, are ₽1,360 per day, with a discount to ₽1,020.

Passenger cars and Category D vehicles with a maximum authorized mass of up to 3.5 tons - ₽2,460 per day, with a discount of ₽1,845.

Heavier vehicles, as well as categories C, BE, CE, DE, and oversized loads — ₽3,040 per day.

Here's the arithmetic that surprises many people. The early payment discount for a standard passenger car is approximately 3,100 rubles. One missed day of storage costs 2,460 rubles. This means one day of delay eats up almost all the benefit from the discount.

Pay now or later

You'll get a receipt at the parking lot, and you have 60 days to pay it. You can pick up your car without paying anything in advance.

But the deferral comes with a price, and it's twofold. First, the 25% discount is only for those who pay before receiving the car: if you take it first, you pay the full rate.

Secondly, if payment is not made within 60 days, a basic, economically justified tariff will be applied: 12,450.09 ₽ for the movement of transport weighing up to 4 tons and 71,182.87 ₽ for those weighing over 4 tons.

For owners of low-powered cars, the difference is almost double: pay upfront - 6,375 ₽, defer for two months - 12,450 ₽ instead of 8,500 ₽.

If you consider the evacuation illegal

Contesting is a separate matter and doesn't prevent you from retrieving the car: first the car, then the appeal. The reverse order will be more expensive because the storage meter keeps running the whole time. The addresses of the MADI reception points are on the Moscow parking website.

Коротко

Check the number with the service, retrieve documents from the car if they were left there, get a decision from the traffic police or MADI, and arrive at the impound lot - all within the first 24 hours. The round-the-clock operation of impound lots exists precisely for this purpose.