How to get your car out of impound in New Orleans
If your car got towed in New Orleans, here's how to get it back fast, including where it likely went and what you'll owe.
What Louisiana law says
New Orleans runs its own city pound instead of relying on a scattered network of private storage lots. The Department of Public Works Parking Division operates two facilities: the Claiborne Avenue Auto Pound at 400 N. Claiborne Ave, directly beneath the expressway at Claiborne and Conti St, and a payment-only lot at 10200 Almonaster Ave. Claiborne handles both payment and vehicle release and is open 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., seven days a week. The Almonaster lot only takes payments and runs 8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Monday through Friday, so if you drive out there expecting to pick up your car, you'll be turned around. Call (504) 658-8100 to confirm your car was towed, or (504) 658-8284 to check the fee balance tied to your plate. As of July 27, 2026, tow and storage fees run on a new schedule: a Light Duty tow starts at $228.75 for the first 90 minutes, then $76.25 per additional half-hour, and storage adds $19 a day, capped at $500 total. Any parking citations 90 or more days old have to be paid off too before the car's released. Quick Tow New Orleans is a private tow company, not the city pound. We can't waive fees the city sets, but we can help with transport once your car's released.
How it works in New Orleans
- 1 Find out where your car went
Call (504) 658-8100 to confirm your car was towed to the Claiborne Avenue Auto Pound. Outside Orleans Parish, call the local parish sheriff's office instead.
- 2 Go to the right lot
The Almonaster Ave lot only takes payments. Your car itself is released at the Claiborne Avenue Auto Pound, 400 N. Claiborne Ave.
- 3 Check the hours before you drive over
Claiborne's vehicle-release window runs 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The Cashiering Office at the same address, for tickets and boots only, runs 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays, so confirm which one you need by phone first.
- 4 Confirm your balance
Call (504) 658-8284 to check the fee tied to your plate, and clear any parking citations 90 or more days old, since those have to be paid before release too.
- 5 Pay the pound directly
Quick Tow New Orleans doesn't set or collect the city's impound fees. You pay the pound, not us.
- 6 Retrieve your vehicle
Bring valid ID and be ready to pay the full balance. Most releases happen the same day once you're there during release hours.
What this looks like around New Orleans
A tow from {c} almost always lands at the city's own Claiborne Avenue Auto Pound, open 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. If your car disappeared during a Mardi Gras parade's no-parking window, it's the same lot, so call (504) 658-8100 first and bring valid ID before you drive over.
New Orleans is our hub city and the busiest call area on the whole map, running from the French Quarter and the CBD out through Mid-City, Broadmoor, Carrollton, and Uptown to the Bywater and Marigny arts district along St. Claude Ave. Each of those neighborhoods carries its own dedicated page. Two call types define this market like nowhere else on the Gulf Coast: flood-stranded cars and Mardi Gras parade-route tows. Below-sea-level ground and an aging Sewerage and Water Board pump system mean a hard summer thunderstorm puts standing water in the street fast, at spots like the Carrollton Ave underpass and along Claiborne Ave, and that happens on an ordinary July afternoon, not just during a named storm. If your engine stalled in rising water, don't crank it again, a hydrolocked engine is a different job than a jump start, and our dispatcher asks the right questions before a truck rolls. Carnival season brings its own towing economy: parade routes post hard no-parking zones and the city moves cars fast, towed vehicles land at the retrieval lot on North Claiborne Ave, and we help drivers get there instead of guessing. Most calls reach downtown, the Superdome, City Park, and the French Quarter in about 20 to 35 minutes, and we run flatbed by default through the tight Quarter streets and for any car that's taken on water, with wheel-lift covering the ordinary breakdown everywhere else.
Common New Orleans questions
How do I find out where my car was towed in New Orleans?
Call the Claiborne Avenue Auto Pound at (504) 658-8100 to confirm the tow. Payment can also be handled at the Almonaster Ave lot, but your car is released at Claiborne.
What are the current impound fees in New Orleans?
As of July 27, 2026, a Light Duty tow starts at $228.75 for the first 90 minutes, plus $76.25 per additional half-hour, and storage runs $19 a day, capped at $500 total.
What hours can I pick up my car in New Orleans?
The Claiborne Avenue Auto Pound releases vehicles 7:30 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily. The Cashiering Office at the same address handles tickets and boots only, 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. weekdays.
Can Quick Tow New Orleans release my car from impound in New Orleans?
No, we're a private tow company, not the city pound. We can't waive fees, but we can help with transport once your car is released.
Related help for New Orleans
Impound release process in the rest of the Orleans Core area
Need your car towed once it's released in New Orleans?
We can't waive the yard's fees. We can tow it home the moment it clears.