You were pulled over and arrested for a DUI in DuPage County, and by the time you are released, your car is gone too. Getting it back is usually harder and more expensive than people expect. In most cases you are looking at a tow, a short hold, and a stack of fees. In the more serious cases, the State may try to keep your vehicle for good. If your car has been impounded after a DUI arrest, here is exactly what you are dealing with and how to get your vehicle back.
Key Points
- After a DUI arrest, police can tow your car, place a hold on it, or seize it. These are three different outcomes with very different stakes.
- A hold lasts 12, 24, or 48 hours depending on the offense.
- Costs stack up fast: towing, daily storage, and a municipal administrative fee that runs from a few hundred dollars in the suburbs to $2,000 or more in Chicago.
- You have a statutory right to contest an impoundment and its fees at an administrative hearing.
- A seizure for forfeiture is far more serious. You can lose the car permanently and still owe money.
Why Police Impound Your Car After a DUI Arrest in Illinois
When you are arrested for driving under the influence, your car cannot stay where you stopped. You are not in a position to drive it, and leaving it on the roadside creates a hazard for other drivers. Illinois law, specifically 625 ILCS 5/4-203, gives officers the authority to remove the vehicle.
If you had a sober passenger with a valid driver’s license, the officer may allow that person to drive your car home. That is the cheapest outcome, and it avoids the impound lot entirely. If you were alone, or everyone in the car had been drinking, the officer will call a tow company and have your vehicle hauled to an impound lot. From that point, you owe both towing and storage fees before the lot will release it.
Tow, hold, or seizure
Not every impounded car is in the same situation. A tow means you pay fees and get the car back. A hold means you also have to wait out a set period before release. A seizure means the State is trying to keep your car for good through forfeiture. Knowing which one you are facing tells you how urgent the situation is.
How Long Is the Police Hold on Your Vehicle?
hold is a waiting period the police can place on your car to keep you from driving away while you may still be impaired. It is separate from the fees, and it is set by statute.
Under 625 ILCS 5/4-203(e), when an officer reasonably believes you are likely to get behind the wheel again right after release, your vehicle can be held for 12 hours from the time of arrest. Under 625 ILCS 5/4-203(e-5), the hold runs longer for repeat violations: a minimum of 24 hours on a second DUI and a minimum of 48 hours on a third DUI offense. A first-offense DUI generally falls under the shorter hold.
Getting the Car Out Before the Hold Ends
You do not always have to wait out the full hold. The statute lets the vehicle be released early if a sober, validly licensed person takes it. You can authorize another driver to retrieve and drive your car home, and this works even while you are still in custody. If the car belongs to someone else entirely, that owner can reclaim it by showing proof of ownership and a valid license.
If the car is yours
You can give written authorization for another sober, licensed driver to pick up the vehicle and drive it home. They will still need to pay the accrued towing and storage fees to release it from the lot.
If the car belongs to someone else
The lawful owner can reclaim the vehicle by presenting proof of ownership and a valid driver’s license, as long as releasing it to them would not put an impaired driver back on the road.
What It Costs to Get Your Car Out of Impound
Getting your vehicle back after a DUI takes a real toll on your wallet, and the bill comes in three parts.
1
Towing fee
A flat charge from the tow company for hauling your vehicle to the lot. These rates are regulated, and the towing lien is capped at $2,000 under 625 ILCS 5/4-203(g).
2
Daily storage
The lot charges for every day your car sits there, and it adds up quickly. The longer you wait, the larger this number grows.
3
Administrative release fee
A separate fee charged by the city or county where you were arrested, on top of towing and storage. It is set by local ordinance and varies widely.
Where you were arrested makes a big difference in that administrative fee. In Chicago, the fee to release a DUI-impounded car starts at $2,000, and it climbs to $3,000 if the arrest happened near a school or park. In the suburbs the numbers are usually lower. In the Will County area, for example, the administrative fee commonly runs in the $300 to $500 range, and individual DuPage County municipalities set their own. Illinois law authorizes these fees through 625 ILCS 5/11-208.7, which lets counties and municipalities set the release procedures and charges by ordinance.
Storage fees grow every day
Do not wait to deal with an impounded car. Storage charges accrue daily, and if you leave the vehicle too long, the lot can sell it. You could end up with no car and still owe the towing and storage balance. The fastest way to limit the damage is to act immediately.
Contesting an Impoundment at an Administrative Hearing
If you believe your car was impounded improperly, you can challenge it. Your right to do so comes from 625 ILCS 5/11-208.7, which requires the local agency to give you notice of the impoundment and a way to contest both the impoundment and its fees. The specific deadline and procedure are set by the county or municipal ordinance, so the window to request a hearing can differ from one town to the next. In many jurisdictions it is short, often around 15 days, which is exactly why you should not sit on it.
The process usually starts with a written request for a hearing. A preliminary hearing follows, and if there is enough to show the impoundment may have been improper, the matter moves to a full hearing where the city presents its case and your attorney challenges it. One point that surprises people: these are administrative proceedings, not criminal ones. Being found not guilty of the DUI itself does not automatically win the impound hearing. If you prevail, the towing and storage fees are waived. If you do not, you pay the full accrued amount.
Your car and your license are both on the line.
The sooner an attorney is involved, the more options you have. Talk through your situation at no cost.
When the State Tries to Keep Your Car: DUI Vehicle Seizure and Forfeiture
Everything above assumes you can pay the fees and drive away. Sometimes the State has a different plan. In certain DUI cases it can seize your vehicle and move to forfeit it, which means keeping it permanently and selling it at auction. This happens under Article 36 of the Criminal Code, 720 ILCS 5/36-1 and the sections that follow. Most owners only find out when they go to pay the impound fee and are told the car will not be released.
When a DUI Triggers Seizure
Seizure is not a routine traffic-stop outcome. It is tied to the more serious DUI situations spelled out in 720 ILCS 5/36-1, including:
- A felony, or aggravated, DUI.
- A third or subsequent DUI.
- Driving while your license was suspended or revoked for a prior DUI, a statutory summary suspension, reckless homicide, or leaving the scene of a crash involving death or injury, under
625 ILCS 5/6-303(g). - Driving without a valid license, or knowing the vehicle was uninsured.
This is not a rare or theoretical risk in our area. DuPage County actively pursues these seizures against repeat DUI offenders, and so do nearby jurisdictions.
How Forfeiture Works and How to Fight It
Once a vehicle is seized, the police department delivers it to the county sheriff, and the State’s Attorney files a forfeiture action in circuit court under 720 ILCS 5/36-2. The State has to prove the vehicle was used in the qualifying offense. You have the right to be heard and to demand that the State meet its burden.
One of the most important defenses is the innocent-owner argument. If you owned the car but did not know, and had no reason to know, that it would be used in the offense, you can ask the court to release it. These cases turn on specific facts and statutory procedures, and they are not something to take on alone. If your vehicle has been seized rather than simply impounded, getting an attorney involved right away is critical.
Charged With a DUI in DuPage County? We Can Help
How your DUI case is handled often shapes what happens to your car, from your license status to the fees you owe to whether the State pursues forfeiture. At Dolci Weiland & Sendlak, our team defends the DUI charge and helps you deal with the vehicle side of it at the same time. We represent clients across DuPage, Cook, Kane, Will, and Kendall Counties.
Your first consultation is free, and our attorneys are available 24/7. Call us at (630) 261-9098 or schedule your free consultation to get started.