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

Indiana § 24-14-5-1

• Jurisdiction: Indiana
• Art. 14: TOWING SERVICES
• Ch. 5: Invoices for Towing Services

Text

(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.

Legislative History

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