Despite pleas from tow truck company owners for a larger hike in towing rates, a hearing officer for the state Department of Motor Vehicles has approved a 13.5% increase spread over the next three years.

The new rate aligns with a DMV attorney’s recommendation at a public hearing in October before attorney Steven Baron, a per diem contractor hired by the state. Several towing companies appeared at that hearing seeking significantly larger increases from the current $125 rate.

But in an eight-page decision released in December,  Baron said the rate for a nonconsensual tow of a vehicle under 10,000 pounds would increase to $130.63 in 2026 and then go up to $136.51 in 2027 and $142.65 in 2028. Almost all nonconsensual private property trespass tows would be covered under this rate increase. It does not include police-ordered tows.

“It’s too low. I don’t consider it a fair increase,” said Timothy Vibert, president of the Towing & Recovery Professionals of Connecticut.

“It’s basically a cost of living increase and nothing else,” Vibert said.

In approving the DMV’s recommendation, Baron rejected towing companies’ proposal to adopt Maryland’s towing fees which he said “could more than double the cost for the consumer.”

Michael Festa, owner of MyHoopty of Watertown and president of the Association of Connecticut Towers, said in a statement that “the increase falls short of addressing the true cost of compliance, insurance, labor, and regulatory burden faced by licensed towers.”

“Private property towing is no longer a simple service — it is a heavily regulated public function,” Festa said. “Rate relief must reflect that reality, or the system becomes unsustainable.”

Baron also agreed with the  DMV’s recommendation not to raise the storage rate fees for towed vehicles. The rate for vehicles under 20 feet long is $30 if stored inside and $26 if stored outside for the first five days. Rates then increase to $37 and $31, respectively.

At the October hearing DMV attorney David Cardone said the agency did not support an increase in storage rates because it would directly impact the consumer.

“Since the cost of the nonconsensual trespass tow is borne by the consumer, an increase in storage rates may have the greatest  impact on a segment of the population that can least afford to absorb an increase,” Cardone said

In his analysis, Baron noted the towing rate increase mirrors the growth of the Consumer Price index over the past two years. The new rates included several new fees that were part of a legislative overhaul of the state’s more than 100-year-old towing regulations last session.

Legislators passed the new law after a series of stories by The Connecticut Mirror and ProPublica revealed that towing companies could seek permission from the DMV to sell someone’s vehicle after 15 days, one of the shortest time periods in the country. 

The series highlighted how towing companies doing private property or trespass tows were affecting low-income residents who in many cases couldn’t afford the fees to get their cars back.

One of the new charges implemented because of the new legislation is a $50 drop fee as proposed by the DMV. Cardone said towing companies previously were not required to release the vehicle should someone arrive on scene when it was being “hooked up,” but under the new law they must release it.

There is also a new after-hours redemption fee of $50 to cover labor costs. The new statute requires tow companies to be available at all times with proper notice to allow someone to get their car back, especially on weekends. The new fee would cover the costs of an employee having to go to the tow yard to release the vehicle.

Baron did approve a $1 increase per mile in mileage charges to tow vehicles back to their lots — bumping it to $6.65 a mile. The new statute only allows towing companies to charge for a maximum of 13 miles, capping mileage costs at $86.45 under the new plan.

The new rates also removed a fuel surcharge that towing companies were getting if diesel fuel was over $3.50 a gallon. They were allowed to bill customers for fuel, but Baron eliminated that from the new regulations.