Vehicles are most often towed in Moscow for improper parking. If you have left your car at a pedestrian crossing, public transport stop, tram tracks, in a tunnel, on the roadway or in other places where stopping and/or parking is prohibited, be prepared that your car may be taken to an impoundment lot.
A motorcycle can also be towed for incorrect parking. You can pick it up from an impoundment lot in the same way as a car.
If you do not find your car in the parking spot, you need to find out if it got towed away.
You can learn about the car being towed:
Be aware that not all operators speak English.
If your car got towed, you need to find out where to get a permit to return the car and what impoundment lot it was taken to. You can learn it in the app (to do this, enter the license plate number of your vehicle in the section "Проверить эвакуацию" ("Check Towing"), as well as by calling the Moscow Transport contact center by phone: 8 (495) 539-54-54 or 3210 (for free calls from mobile).
Directions to impoundment lots on public transport can be found on the Moscow Parking website.
If your car was arrested due to a violation of the rules of stopping or parking, but you approached it before the tow truck loaded it and started moving, you have the right to move it yourself to the parking space allowed for parking. To do this, you will need to present documents confirming your right to drive a detained vehicle. In this case, you do not need to pay for the towing, only a parking ticket.
If the tow truck has already started moving, after having loaded your car, you can not prevent it. In this case, you will have to pay both the fine and the towing fee.
You can get permission to return your car by applying with the documents for the vehicle to the inspection, whose employees decided to tow the car, — the traffic police or MADI.
If you happened to leave your documents in the car you need to come to the impoundment lot where it was towed before contacting the traffic police or MADI.
The seals will be removed in your presence, and you will be able to pick up the necessary documents. After that, the car will be sealed again.
If you have all the necessary documents, the traffic police or MADI department will give you a copy of the protocol on an administrative offense or a copy of the protocol on a vehicle detention with the official's mark on the elimination of the reasons for the detention. You will also be issued a fine for violating stopping or parking rules. It must be paid within 60 days from the date of entry into force. If you pay it within 20 days, you will receive a 50% discount.
To get permission to return the car and pick it up from the impoundment lot, the owner of the vehicle will need:
The owner's representative who has the right to drive the vehicle will additionally need:
A representative of the owner who does not have the right to manage this vehicle will need:
To pick up a towed car from the impoundment lot, you need to present documents for the vehicle and a copy of the protocol issued by the traffic police or the MADI, with a note on the elimination of the reason for the detention. You also need to pay for towing within 60 days and for storage in a impoundment lot if the car was parked in a impoundment lot for more than a day. Payment is charged for every full day that has passed since the vehicle was placed in a impoundment lot and until its return.
Those who make a payment before picking up the vehicle are given a 25% discount.
You can pay for towing and storage of the car:
| Vehicle type | Fare, rub. | Including a 25% discount, rub. |
|---|---|---|
| Category M, A, B with engine power up to 80 hp (inclusive) | 4,730 | 3,547.5 |
| Category B with engine power from 80 hp to 250 hp (inclusive) | 7,540 | 5,655 |
| Category B with engine power over 250 hp and other vehicles with a permitted maximum mass not exceeding 4 t (inclusive) | 10,580 | 7,935 |
| Vehicles with a permitted maximum mass exceeding 4 t and oversized vehicles* | 60,790 | 45,592.5 |
Oversized vehicles are vehicles with the mass and dimensions exceed the following parameters, together with a specialized vehicle:
| Vehicle type | Fare, rub. | Including a 25% discount, rub. |
|---|---|---|
| Category M, A | 745 | 558.75 |
| Categories B and D with a permitted maximum permissible mass not exceeding 3.5 t | 1,455 | 1,091.95 |
| Category D with a permitted maximum mass exceeding 3.5 t, C, BE, CE, DE, as well as oversized vehicles* | 2,580 | 1,935 |
Oversized vehicles are vehicles with the mass and dimensions exceed the following parameters, together with a specialized vehicle:
Each carsharing operator has its own procedure for returning cars from an impoundment lot. Most often, two options are offered:
If the car was not impounded in your presence, you will be contacted (by phone, SMS, email or in the app) by representatives of the carsharing company and will tell you what options you have. If you yourself noticed that the carsharing car was towed, call the operator; thus, you will avoid overpayment for long-term storage of the car in the impoundment lot.