Indiana § 24-14-5-1 - Itemized towing charges; required information; record keeping requirements

§ 24-14-5-1. Itemized towing charges; required information; record keeping requirements

Sec. 1. (a) An itemized invoice of actual towing charges assessed by a towing company shall be made available to the owner of the motor vehicle or the owner's agent not later than one (1) business day after:

(1) the tow is completed; or

(2) the towing company has obtained all necessary information to be included on the invoice, including any charges submitted by subcontractors used by the towing company to complete the tow and recovery.

(b) The itemized invoice required by this section must contain the following information:

(1) The location from which the motor vehicle was towed.

(2) The location to which the motor vehicle was towed.

(3) The name, address, and telephone number of the towing company.

(4) A description of the towed motor vehicle, including the:

(A) make;

(B) model;

(C) year; and

(D) vehicle identification number;

of the motor vehicle.

(5) The license plate number and state of registration for the towed motor vehicle.

(6) The cost of the original towing service.

(7) The cost of any vehicle storage fees, expressed as a daily rate.

(8) Other fees, including documentation fees and motor vehicle search fees. Each fee must include a full description of the services that were provided.

(9) The costs for services that were performed under a warranty or that were otherwise performed at no cost to the owner of the motor vehicle.

(10) An attestation that all items invoiced were used and necessary in the ordinary course of business.

(11) A good faith estimate of the time that each invoiced item was used and the location.

(12) The number of miles the vehicle was towed.

(c) Any service or fee in addition to the services or fees described in subsection (b)(6), (b)(7), or (b)(8) must be set forth individually as a single line item on the invoice required by this section, with an explanation and the exact charge for the service or the exact amount of the fee.

(d) A copy of each invoice and receipt submitted by a tow truck operator in accordance with this section shall:

(1) be retained by the towing company for a period of two (2) years from the date of issuance; and

(2) throughout the two (2) year period described in subdivision (1), be made available for inspection and copying not later than forty-eight (48) hours after receiving a written request for inspection from:

(A) a law enforcement agency;

(B) the attorney general;

(C) the prosecuting attorney or city attorney having jurisdiction in the location of any of the towing company's Indiana business locations;

(D) the disabled motor vehicle's owner; or

(E) the agent of the disabled motor vehicle's owner.

As added by P.L.281-2019, SEC.5. Amended by P.L.227-2025, SEC.46.