How to get your car out of impound in Charlestown
If your car got towed in Charlestown, here is how to find it and get it back today.
What Massachusetts law says
In Greater Boston a towed car sits in one of three places, and which one changes everything. Inside Boston city limits it is at the City of Boston tow lot at 200 Frontage Road, with published city fees. In any separate city or town, from Cambridge to Quincy, it is at that town's own impound, capped by state rate ceilings. And a tow from a private lot or a police order follows a third set of rules statewide. Work out which one you are in first. The fastest way to find a car towed inside Boston is the city lookup at cityofboston.gov/towing/search, which covers the past 15 days; if you do not have the plate, the Boston Police tow line is 617-343-4629.
Charlestown sits outside Massachusetts, so a different state's impound and towing rules apply here instead of the Massachusetts law above. Call the line and the operator who takes the job can walk you through what's different for your vehicle.
How it works in Charlestown
- 1 Find out where it is
Inside Boston, search the plate at cityofboston.gov/towing/search, which covers the past 15 days, or call 617-635-3900; without the plate, use the Boston Police tow line at 617-343-4629. In a suburb, call the police department that ordered the tow.
- 2 Confirm which kind of tow it was
A City of Boston tow, a separate town's impound and a private-property tow follow different rules and go to different lots. Getting this wrong sends you to the wrong place.
- 3 Bring the right documents
To redeem a car from the City of Boston lot you need a valid driver's license, your license plate number, proof of active registration and proof of insurance. A town impound may ask for the same, so confirm before you go.
- 4 Know how they take payment
The City of Boston lot accepts cash, a money order, a cashier's check, or a debit or credit card with a 2.5% processing fee. A suburban impound sets its own payment rules, so ask first.
- 5 Watch the storage clock
At the City of Boston lot storage runs $3 an hour up to $15 a day. A town impound is capped by the state at up to $35 per 24 hours. Either way it accrues while you decide, so call early.
- 6 Move inside the 15-day window
The city's online lookup only covers the past 15 days, and a car left unclaimed can be treated as abandoned under state law. The sooner you act, the less it costs and the easier it is to find.
What this looks like around Charlestown
Inside Boston, around South Boston, East Boston and Charlestown, look the plate up at cityofboston.gov/towing/search, which covers the past 15 days, or call 617-635-3900. The City of Boston lot at 200 Frontage Road is staffed Monday to Friday, 7:00 AM to 10:30 PM, with automated kiosks around the clock, and the fee is $90 to tow plus $3 an hour of storage up to $15 a day.
A Charlestown tow inside the city goes to the City of Boston lot at 200 Frontage Road. Look it up at cityofboston.gov/towing/search, entering three characters of the plate, which covers the past 15 days, or call 617-635-3900, and 617-343-4629 if you do not know your plate. The city fee is $90 to tow and $3 per hour of storage up to $15 per day. To release it you need a valid driver's license, your license plate number, proof of active registration and proof of insurance, and the city takes cash, a money order, a cashier's check or a debit or credit card with a 2.5% fee on cards. The lot is staffed Monday to Friday, 7:00 AM to 10:30 PM, with automated kiosks around the clock. A street-cleaning tow is different: a private company holds the car at its own lot and charges $108 plus $35 per day, so confirm which kind of tow it was. TD Garden event nights and street cleaning both add tow-zone enforcement here, so check whether it was a city tow or a private street-cleaning tow.
Charlestown sits at a knot of bridges. The Zakim Bridge carries I-93 out of downtown right past it, and the Tobin Bridge approach for Route 1 runs through it, so a breakdown on either backs up the traffic feeding the whole north side of the city. TD Garden overspill parking pushes into the neighborhood on event nights. The streets themselves are narrow colonial blocks with tight permit parking and almost no room to spare, and Main Street was raised in spots to fight flooding. That mix keeps lockouts, dead batteries and residential tows steady between the bridge calls. A city tow goes to the lot at 200 Frontage Road, released at $90 with $3 an hour up to $15 a day. The operator we send covers the bridge approaches and the narrow neighborhood streets both.
Common Charlestown questions
How do I find out where my car was towed in Charlestown?
Inside Boston, search the plate at cityofboston.gov/towing/search, which covers the past 15 days, or call 617-635-3900; if you do not have the plate, the Boston Police tow line is 617-343-4629. If a suburb towed it, call that town's police department directly.
What will I owe to get my car out of impound in Charlestown?
If the City of Boston towed it, the published fees are $90 to tow plus $3 an hour of storage up to $15 a day. If a separate town towed it, the charge is capped by the state Department of Public Utilities in 220 CMR 272: up to $132 for a base tow within five miles and up to $35 per 24 hours of storage.
Can I pay by card in Charlestown?
At the City of Boston lot, yes: it takes cash, a money order, a cashier's check, or a debit or credit card with a 2.5% processing fee. A suburban impound sets its own payment rules, so ask before you drive over.
Can Quick Tow Boston release my car from impound in Charlestown?
No, and we will not pretend otherwise. We connect drivers with private tow and roadside operators. We are not the city lot, the town or the police department holding your car, so we cannot waive fees or speed up a release. What we can do is help you work out who has it and line up an operator once it is released. Call (857) 858-5057.
Related help for Charlestown
Impound release process in the rest of the Boston Waterfront area
Need your car towed once it's released in Charlestown?
We can't waive the yard's fees. We can line up an operator the moment it clears.