Vehicle Impound and Forfeiture in Michigan: Getting Your Car Back

The Dream Cruise was yesterday, and across Oakland County a lot of people woke up this morning to an empty spot where their vehicle used to be. Impound after an arrest is routine, especially on a weekend when the first question officers ask is whether a licensed, sober person can take the car, but the process of getting a vehicle back is more expensive, more time sensitive, and more complicated than most people expect. The car isn't gone, it's sitting in a lot with a meter running, and what you do in the next few days decides how much it costs to bring it home, or whether it comes home at all.

Key takeaways

Storage fees accrue daily from the moment of the tow, they don't wait for a court date, and a vehicle that sits for weeks can accumulate more in fees than it's worth.
A police hold means the tow yard can't release the vehicle no matter how much you pay, and clearing the hold runs through the agency and sometimes the court.
Under MCL 257.904d, immobilization is mandatory on a second offense OWI within seven years (90 to 180 days) and a third offense OWI (one to three years), and it applies even when the vehicle belongs to a spouse, parent, or employer.
Forfeiture is a civil proceeding separate from the criminal case, with its own short deadlines and a lower burden of proof, and missing the deadline to contest it forfeits the vehicle by default.
The criminal case and the vehicle problem are connected: a reduction from a second offense OWI to a first offense eliminates mandatory immobilization entirely.

Why was the car towed in the first place?

A vehicle typically gets impounded for one of a handful of reasons: the driver was arrested with no licensed, sober person available to take the car, the driver's license was suspended or revoked or the driver was unlicensed, the vehicle was uninsured or unregistered, it was illegally parked or obstructing traffic, it's evidence in a criminal investigation, or it's subject to statutory immobilization or forfeiture. On Cruise weekend, the first two account for the overwhelming majority. Knowing which reason applies to your car matters, because the path back differs depending on whether you're dealing with a routine tow, a hold, or something the state intends to keep.

How fast do the fees add up?

Immediately, and then daily. The bill starts with the towing fee, adds daily storage, layers on an administrative or release fee charged by the police agency, and at some facilities adds an after hours release fee on top. None of it pauses for your court date, which is what catches people: a vehicle sitting for three weeks while someone figures out the process can accumulate more in fees than the car is worth. This is the one part of a criminal case where delay has an immediate, compounding financial cost, so the right day to start is today.

Is your car sitting in an impound lot right now? Every day adds fees, and the forfeiture clock may already be running. Call before the costs outrun the car.

(734) 453-7806

What do you need to get it released?

Most agencies require proof of ownership (the title or current registration), a valid driver's license for whoever drives it out, proof of current insurance, a release from the police agency that ordered the tow, and payment in full, often cash or card only. The license requirement is the recurring trap: a person whose license was suspended can't drive the vehicle out of the lot, they need a licensed person to come with them, and storage keeps running until that happens. The police release is the other gate, because separate from the tow company's fees, the agency may place a hold on the vehicle when it's evidence in a pending investigation, when statutory immobilization has been ordered, or when forfeiture proceedings have started. The tow yard can't release a vehicle under police hold no matter how much you pay them, so before you drive to the lot with a stack of documents, call the police department that made the arrest, find out which yard has the car, and ask specifically whether there's a hold, because the answer determines everything else.

What is vehicle immobilization?

Under MCL 257.904d, immobilization is mandatory on certain convictions: 90 to 180 days for a second offense OWI within seven years, one to three years for a third offense OWI, and on certain repeat convictions for driving while suspended. Immobilization means the vehicle is physically disabled, typically with a device on the wheel, at the owner's expense, while it sits. The part that catches families completely off guard is that the vehicle doesn't have to belong to the defendant: a car titled to a spouse, a parent, or an employer can be immobilized if the defendant was operating it, which is a real hardship for a household sharing one vehicle. That mandatory language is also why the criminal case drives the vehicle problem, a point worth holding onto for the end of this article.

How does forfeiture work, and why is the deadline everything?

Michigan permits forfeiture of vehicles in specified circumstances, including certain repeat OWI convictions, controlled substance offenses, and other statutory grounds under MCL 600.4701 and the sections that follow. Forfeiture is a civil proceeding, separate from the criminal case, and that distinction matters enormously: it has its own filing deadlines, it carries a lower burden of proof than the criminal case, it can proceed even if the criminal charge is dismissed, and missing the deadline to contest it forfeits the vehicle by default. Michigan reformed its civil asset forfeiture laws in recent years, adding a conviction requirement in many drug related cases and strengthening notice obligations, but the deadlines are still short and still unforgiving, and they start running on service of the notice, not on the day you happen to open the envelope, which is why checking the mail daily is genuine legal advice this week. If you own a vehicle that someone else was driving when it was seized, a parent's car driven by an adult child, a spouse's vehicle, a company truck, you may have an innocent owner claim, a defense that you neither knew of nor consented to the unlawful use, and it has to be asserted in the forfeiture proceeding, on time, with supporting evidence.

Which court handles all of this?

Criminal cases from the Dream Cruise corridor run through the Oakland County district courts, the 43rd, 44th, 45th, 48th, and 50th, with felonies in Oakland County Circuit Court, while forfeiture proceedings are civil and filed separately, typically in circuit court. That split is worth understanding, because it means a family can be fighting on two fronts at once, in two different buildings, on two different clocks, and the paperwork from one doesn't tell you what's happening in the other. While the cases move, don't discuss the underlying charge with tow yard or agency staff, and remember that you're generally entitled to retrieve personal property from an impounded vehicle even when the vehicle itself is held, though you'll have to ask specifically, because nobody volunteers it.

The criminal case and the car are the same problem

The impound isn't separate from the defense. The outcome of the criminal case drives whether immobilization becomes mandatory, whether forfeiture proceeds, and how long the vehicle stays out of your hands, and the clearest example is the one that matters most this weekend: a reduction from a second offense OWI to a first offense eliminates mandatory immobilization entirely, which is worth pursuing for the vehicle alone before considering everything else at stake. That's why the vehicle question belongs with our OWI defense practice rather than with a stack of phone calls to the tow yard, because the lot releases cars, but only the case decides what happens to yours. Call Boria Law at (734) 453-7806 today if your vehicle was towed this weekend. Attorney Aaron J. Boria handles the criminal case and the vehicle problem together, because they're the same problem, and the sooner they're worked together, the sooner that empty spot in the driveway gets its car back.

Quick answers

Can I get my belongings out of the car while it's held?

Generally, yes. You're entitled to retrieve personal property from an impounded vehicle even when the vehicle itself is under a hold, and agencies and tow yards have procedures for it, but you have to ask specifically because nobody will volunteer it. Keep in mind that anything found during a lawful inventory search of the vehicle can be used as evidence, and whether the agency actually followed its standardized inventory procedure is a question a lawyer can litigate.

What happens to the car loan while the vehicle sits in the lot?

The payments keep coming due. A lender's interest generally survives forfeiture, but that doesn't help you keep the car, and it doesn't pause the loan while the vehicle is inaccessible, so people routinely end up making payments on a car they can't touch. That's one more reason the daily fee clock rewards moving quickly rather than waiting for the court date.

What if I just leave the car and walk away?

Michigan's abandoned vehicle procedures under MCL 257.252a and the sections that follow take over. The agency sends notice to the registered owner and lienholder, and after the statutory period the vehicle can be sold at auction. Owners who ignore the situation for a couple of months frequently discover the car is gone and they still owe the accumulated fees, so walking away is the one option that costs you the vehicle and the money.