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To: Judiciary A
MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE REGULAR SESSION 2026
By: Representative Barton
HOUSE BILL NO. 18
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 85-7-251, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, 1
TO REQUIRE TOWING COMPANIES TO RECORD CERTAIN INFORMATION FROM ANY 2
PERSON WHO REQUESTS THE COMPANY'S SERVICES; TO BRING FORWARD 3
SECTION 63-23-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, WHICH PROVIDES FOR 4
ABANDONED MOTOR VEHICLES, FOR PURPOSES OF AMENDMENT; AND FOR 5
RELATED PURPOSES. 6
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI: 7
SECTION 1. Section 85-7-251, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 8
amended as follows: 9
85-7-251. (1) (a) No motor vehicle may be towed except by 10
request of the owner of the motor vehicle, at the direction of a 11
law enforcement officer, by request of a real property owner upon 12
whose property the motor vehicle has been left. 13
(b) All towing companies shall record, upon receipt of 14
any request to tow a motor vehicle, the name, phone number and/or 15
email address of the person who made the request, and whether the 16
such request was made by the owner of the motor vehicle, a law 17
enforcement officer or the owner of the property from which the 18
motor vehicle is being towed. Failure of a tow company to record 19
the information required by this paragraph shall result in a 20
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waiver of all storage and towing fees described in this section, 21
unless the company can prove that the request for towing was made 22
by the owner of the motor vehicle. 23
(c) Except as otherwise provided in paragraph (1)(b) of 24
this section, the owner of a motor vehicle that has been towed at 25
his or her request * * *, at the direction of a law enforcement 26
officer, or * * * upon request of a real property owner upon whose 27
property a vehicle has been left * * *, shall be liable for the 28
reasonable price of towing and storage of such vehicle; and the 29
towing company to whom the price of such labor and storage costs 30
may be due shall have the right to retain possession of such motor 31
vehicle until the price is paid. 32
(2) Within twenty-four (24) hours, the towing company shall 33
report to the local law enforcement agency having jurisdiction any 34
vehicle that has been towed and shall provide the information 35
required by paragraph (1)(b) of this section, unless the vehicle 36
was towed at the request of the owner of the vehicle. If the 37
owner of a towed vehicle has not contacted the towing company 38
within five (5) business days of the initial tow, the towing 39
company shall obtain from the appropriate authority the names and 40
addresses of any owner and lienholder. If the information from 41
the appropriate authority fails to disclose the owner or 42
lienholder, a good faith effort shall be made by the towing 43
company to locate ownership, including a check for tag 44
information, inspection sticker, or any papers in the vehicle that 45
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may indicate ownership. Upon location of the owner and 46
lienholder, the towing company shall notify them by registered 47
mail of the amount due for towing, postmarked no later than the 48
tenth day following the initial tow. If such amount shall not be 49
paid within thirty (30) days from the initial tow, the towing 50
company to whom such charges are payable shall notify by certified 51
mail any legal owner and holder of any lien, as disclosed by the 52
motor vehicle title records or other investigation, of notice of 53
sale of the property. If such property has not been redeemed 54
within ten (10) days after the mailing of the certified letter, 55
the towing company may commence sale of the property at public 56
auction. The towing company shall publish for two (2) consecutive 57
weeks a notice of sale in the newspaper having circulation in the 58
county where the vehicle was initially towed. The proceeds of the 59
sale of such property in excess of the amount needed to pay the 60
towing, reasonable storage and necessary expenses of the 61
procedures required by this section shall be held by the towing 62
company for a period of six (6) months, and, if not reclaimed by 63
the owner thereof within such time, shall become the property of 64
the county and be paid to the chancery clerk of the county in 65
which the sale was held to be deposited into the county general 66
fund, subject, however, to any rights of the recorded lienholder. 67
(3) The failure to make a good faith effort to comply with 68
the requirements of this section shall * * * prohibit the 69
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imposition of any storage charges or towing charges against the 70
towed vehicle. 71
(4) Every towing company shall maintain accurate records for 72
a period of three (3) years, which records shall identify the 73
vehicles it has towed and stored the name, phone number and/or 74
email address of the person who made the request, and whether the 75
such request was made by the owner of the motor vehicle, a law 76
enforcement officer or the owner of the property from which the 77
motor vehicle was towed and all procedures that it has taken to 78
comply with the provisions of this chapter. 79
SECTION 2. Section 63-23-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is 80
brought forward as follows: 81
63-23-5. (1) Any automobile dealer, wrecker service, or 82
repair service owner, or any person or party on whose property a 83
motor vehicle is lawfully towed at the written request of a law 84
enforcement officer, who shall have an abandoned motor vehicle on 85
his property, may sell, free and clear of all claims such motor 86
vehicle by public auction, or if the abandoned motor vehicle has 87
no market value, may dispose of the same after having received at 88
least two (2) written statements from licensed automobile dealers 89
as to the worthlessness of such motor vehicle and after compliance 90
with subsection (2) of this section and Section 63-23-9. An 91
abandoned motor vehicle as defined by Section 63-23-3(b) shall not 92
be sold at auction until thirty (30) days from date of removal 93
from a public street, road or highway. 94
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(2) The person authorized to execute the sale or disposal of 95
an abandoned motor vehicle shall notify, within ten (10) days of 96
receipt of such vehicle, any Mississippi lienholder on such 97
vehicle that unless a claim on the vehicle is made within thirty 98
(30) days of such notice, the vehicle will be sold or destroyed. 99
(3) After the sale of any vehicle as set out hereinabove is 100
made, the person or officer designated and making the sale of such 101
property shall promptly upon completion of the sale deliver to the 102
chancery clerk a list or itemization of the property sold, the 103
amount paid for each item, the person to whom each item was sold, 104
and all monies received from such sale, the gross charges levied 105
by the person making the sale against the property sold and the 106
net amount paid over to the chancery clerk. Any sale made by any 107
person, officer, corporation or association, shall have attached 108
to the report of sale a sworn statement certifying as to the date 109
such personal property or items sold first came into his 110
possession or was abandoned on his premises and the date said 111
personal property or item was sold. 112
(4) The proceeds of the sale in excess of repair, towing and 113
storage expenses and all expenses incurred in connection with a 114
sale when a sale is made under the provisions of this chapter, 115
shall escheat to the county and shall be paid over to the chancery 116
clerk to be placed into the general fund of the county in which 117
the vehicle is abandoned. However, in those municipalities 118
availing themselves of the provisions of Section 21-39-21, the 119
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ST: Towing companies; require to record certain
information of the person who requests the
services.
proceeds of the sale in excess of the repairs, towing, storage or 120
other necessary expenses incurred shall escheat to the general 121
fund of the municipality. 122
SECTION 3. This act shall take effect and be in force from 123
and after July 1, 2026. 124