HB184: HB184 Georgia Consumer Protection Towing Act; enact

Currently, Georgia law lets towing and storage firms notify vehicle owners and pursue liens through a patchwork of mailed notices and newspaper ads. This bill directs the Department of Revenue, or a qualified nonprofit third party representing the towing industry, to build a statewide towed motor vehicle database by January 1, 2027, so owners can look up where their car was towed using its VIN or license plate. The bill also rewrites several notice rules in Georgia's abandoned vehicle law (O.C.G.A. Chapter 11 of Title 40). Towing firms would have to log a vehicle's VIN in the database within three days of a tow, and entering that information could substitute for a newspaper ad in some cases. The deadline to send an owner a written notice would shrink from 15 days to 7, but owners would get more time, 30 days instead of 10, to respond to a lien foreclosure petition in magistrate court. Vehicles could be re-impounded if a towing firm fails to follow notice rules, and any storage fees charged before that re-impoundment would be canceled. Most of the bill takes effect July 1, 2026, but the notice and lien changes in Part II do not start until January 1, 2028.

• Requires the Department of Revenue (or an approved nonprofit third party) to build a towed motor vehicle database by January 1, 2027, searchable by VIN or license plate.
• Requires any third party operating the database to hold a $1 million surety bond, undergo data security audits, and keep records for at least five years.
• Shortens the deadline for towing firms to send an owner notification letter after a tow from 15 days to 7 days.
• Lets a logged database entry count as sufficient legal notice in place of a newspaper advertisement in certain cases.
• Extends the time owners have to answer a lien foreclosure petition in magistrate court from 10 days to 30 days.
• Allows re-impoundment of a vehicle if a towing firm fails to meet notice requirements, and cancels storage fees charged before that re-impoundment.

Towing and storage companies, vehicle owners whose cars are towed from public or private property, the Department of Revenue and Department of Public Safety, magistrate courts handling lien foreclosure cases, and any nonprofit industry group that might operate the new database.

Vehicle owners would gain an online tool to find a towed car and more time to contest a lien in court, while towing companies would face new database reporting duties, tighter notice deadlines, and the risk of losing storage fees if they mishandle the notice process.

• Section 1-2 requires the Department of Revenue to establish the towed motor vehicle database by rule no later than October 1, 2026, functional by January 1, 2027.
• Section 1-2 allows a nonprofit industry group under IRS Code Section 501(c)(6) to operate the database if it holds a $1 million surety bond and passes security audits.
• Sections 2-1 and 2-2 require towing firms to submit a vehicle's VIN to the database within three days and request owner information from the department, which can charge up to $2.00 and must respond within five days.
• Section 2-3 shortens the owner notification letter deadline from 15 to 7 days and lets a timely database entry serve as notice instead of a newspaper ad.
• Section 2-3 allows re-impoundment of a vehicle for noncompliance with notice rules and waives storage fees accrued before the re-impoundment.
• Section 2-4 extends the deadline for an owner to answer a lien foreclosure petition from 10 to 30 days and sets filing and certified-copy fees of up to $11.00 and $14.00.
• Section 3-1 sets most of the Act's effective date as July 1, 2026, but delays Part II's notice and lien changes until January 1, 2028.

1. 2026-03-03House Committee Favorably Reported By Substitute (House)
2. 2025-02-03House Second Readers (House)
3. 2025-01-30House First Readers (House)
4. 2025-01-29House Hopper (House)

• Eddie Lumsden (R, HD-012)Primary sponsor
• Clint Crowe (R, HD-118)
• Bruce Williamson (R, HD-112)
• Brian Prince (D, HD-132)
• Bill Hitchens (R, HD-161)

• vehicle towing
• consumer protection
• Department of Revenue
• lien foreclosure
• motor vehicle law