                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

UNATTENDED OR IMMOBILE VEHICLES, GENERALLY (§ 46.2-1209)

A. The provisions of this article shall not apply to any motor vehicle, trailer,
semitrailer, or part or combination thereof that weighs less than 75 pounds.

B. No person shall leave any motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or part or
combination thereof immobilized or unattended on or adjacent to any roadway if
it constitutes a hazard in the use of the highway. No person shall leave any
immobilized or unattended motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or part or
combination thereof longer than 24 hours on or adjacent to any roadway outside
the corporate limits of any city or town, or on an interstate highway or limited
access highway, expressway, or parkway inside the corporate limits of any city
or town. Any law-enforcement officer or other uniformed employee of the local
law-enforcement agency who specifically is authorized to do so by the chief
law-enforcement officer or his designee may remove it or have it removed to a
storage area for safekeeping and shall report the removal to the Department and
to the owner of the motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or combination as
promptly as possible. Before obtaining possession of the motor vehicle, trailer,
semitrailer, or combination, its owner or successor in interest to ownership
shall pay to the parties entitled thereto all costs incidental to its removal or
storage. In any violation of this section the owner of such motor vehicle,
trailer, semitrailer or part or combination of a motor vehicle, trailer, or
semitrailer, shall be presumed to be the person committing the violation;
however, this presumption shall be rebuttable by competent evidence.

C. When a motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or part or combination of a motor
vehicle, trailer, or semitrailer was stolen or illegally used by a person other
than the owner of the vehicle at the time of the theft or used without his
authorization, express or implied, it shall be forthwith returned to its owner
or the owner&#8217;s successor in interest, other than an insurance company, who
shall be relieved of the payment of any costs charged by the towing operator or
storage facility for its daily storage, towing, and recovery fees, provided that
the owner removes the vehicle within five business days following the
owner&#8217;s receipt of written notice by certified mail, return receipt
requested. If the vehicle&#8217;s owner fails to remove the vehicle within five
days of receipt of such notice, the vehicle shall be released to the owner upon
payment of the full costs of storage, towing, and recovery fees, and the owner
shall then be entitled to seek reimbursement from the state treasury from the
appropriation for criminal charges. The owner shall provide the report number
and the name of the law-enforcement agency receiving the report that the motor
vehicle was stolen, illegally used, or used without his permission and produce a
valid motor vehicle registration or other proof of ownership to the employees of
the facility wherein the motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer or part or
combination thereof is being stored. In any case in which the identity of the
violator cannot be determined, or where it is found by a court that this section
was not violated, the costs of daily storage, towing, and recovery fees of the
vehicle shall be reimbursed to the towing and recovery operator and paid out of
the state treasury from the appropriation for criminal charges. Payment from the
treasury shall be made no later than 45 days from the application for such
payment. In all cases where an insurance company is the stolen vehicle
owner&#8217;s successor in interest, the motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or
part or combination thereof shall be released to the insurance company upon
presentation of a valid motor vehicle registration and payment by the insurance
company to the towing operator or storage facility for its daily storage,
towing, and recovery fees. The insurance company shall be entitled to seek
reimbursement for the costs of the daily storage, towing, and recovery fees
through the state treasury from the appropriation for criminal charges. If any
person convicted of violating this section fails or refuses to pay these costs
or if the identity or whereabouts of the owner is unknown and unascertainable
after a diligent search has been made, the locality or its authorized agent in
possession of the motor vehicle, trailer, semitrailer, or combination thereof
shall treat the vehicle as an abandoned vehicle under the provisions of Article
1 (&#xA7; 46.2-1200 et seq.).

HISTORY: Code 1950, § 46-5; 1952, c. 508; 1958, c. 541, § 46.1-2; 1964, c.
103; 1972, cc. 267, 402, 408; 1976, c. 454; 1978, cc. 47, 605; 1988, c. 293;
1989, cc. 256, 727; 2006, cc. 874, 891; 2012, c. 474; 2020, c. 977; 2021, Sp.
Sess. I, c. 374; 2024, c. 232.