MISSISSIPPI LEGISLATURE
2026 Regular Session
To: Finance
By: Senator(s) Harkins
AN ACT TO AMEND SECTION 85-7-251, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REQUIRE TOWING COMPANIES TO RECORD CERTAIN INFORMATION FROM ANY PERSON WHO REQUESTS THE COMPANY'S SERVICES; TO AMEND SECTION 63-23-5, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO REVISE NOTIFICATION REQUIRED BY TOWING COMPANIES BEFORE PROPERTY IS SOLD; TO AUTHORIZE THIRD-PARTY VENDORS TO ASSIST IN NOTIFICATION WHEN NO CLAIMS HAVE BEEN MADE TO VEHICLES; TO AMEND SECTION 63-23-9, MISSISSIPPI CODE OF 1972, TO CONFORM TO THE PRECEDING SECTION; AND FOR RELATED PURPOSES.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MISSISSIPPI:
SECTION 1. Section 85-7-251, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
85-7-251. (1) (a) No motor vehicle may be towed except by request of the owner of the motor vehicle, at the direction of a law enforcement officer or by request of a real property owner or the real property owner's designee or assignee upon whose property the motor vehicle has been left.
(b) All towing companies shall record, upon receipt of any request to tow a motor vehicle, the name, phone number and/or email address of the person who made the request, and whether such request was made by the owner of the motor vehicle, a law enforcement officer, the owner of the real property or the real property owner's designee or assignee from which the motor vehicle is being towed. Failure of a tow company to record the information required by this paragraph shall result in a waiver of all storage and towing fees described in this section, unless the company can prove that the request for towing was made by the owner of the motor vehicle.
(c) Except as
otherwise provided in paragraph (1)(b) of this section, the owner of a
motor vehicle that has been towed at his or her request * * *, at the direction of a law
enforcement officer, or * * * towed upon request of a real property owner or the real
property owner's designee or assignee upon whose property a vehicle has
been left * * *, shall be liable for the
reasonable price of towing and storage of such vehicle; and the towing company
to whom the price of such labor and storage costs may be due shall have the
right to retain possession of such motor vehicle until the price is paid.
(2) Within twenty-four (24)
hours, the towing company shall report to the local law enforcement agency
having jurisdiction any vehicle that has been towed and shall provide the
information required by subsection (1)(b) of this section, unless the
vehicle was towed at the request of the owner of the vehicle. If the owner of
a towed vehicle has not contacted the towing company within * * * two (2) business days of the
initial tow, the towing company shall obtain from the appropriate authority the
names and addresses of any owner and lienholder. If the information from the
appropriate authority fails to disclose the owner or lienholder, a good faith
effort shall be made by the towing company to locate ownership, including a
check for tag information, a check of the National Motor Vehicle Title
Information System, inspection sticker, or any papers in the vehicle that
may indicate ownership. Upon location of the owner and lienholder, the towing
company using a third-party vendor that meets the requirements of the
department, shall notify them by * * * certified mail of the amount
due for towing, postmarked no later than the * * * seventh day following the initial
tow. If such amount shall not be paid within thirty (30) days from the initial
tow, the towing company to whom such charges are payable shall using a third-party
vendor that meets the requirements of the department, notify by certified
mail any legal owner and holder of any lien, as disclosed by the motor vehicle
title records or other investigation, of notice of sale of the property. For
all notifications required to be sent to owners and lienholders, the third-party
vendor must utilize the format and transmit the data required by the Department
of Revenue. A third-party vendor shall maintain a publicly accessible website
which shall provide owners, lienholders, insurance companies or their agents
the ability to search for notices sent pursuant to this section. Such notices
shall be publicly accessible for a minimum of two (2) consecutive weeks prior
to the sale of the property at public auction. The Department of Revenue shall
include on its website a link to any website maintained by a third-party vendor
for posting notices. The website must exclude personal identifying information
and provide a voluntary option for owners, lienholders, and insurance companies
to receive notification of vehicles added to the website. If such property
has not been redeemed within ten (10) days after the mailing of the second
certified letter, the towing company may commence sale of the property at
public auction. The towing company shall publish for two (2) consecutive weeks
a notice of sale in the newspaper having circulation in the county where the
vehicle was initially towed. The proceeds of the sale of such property in
excess of the amount needed to pay the towing, reasonable storage and necessary
expenses of the procedures required by this section shall be held by the towing
company for a period of six (6) months, and, if not reclaimed by the owner
thereof within such time, shall become the property of the county and be paid
to the chancery clerk of the county in which the sale was held to be deposited
into the county general fund, subject, however, to any rights of the recorded
lienholder.
(3) The failure to make a
good faith effort to comply with the requirements of this section shall * * * prohibit the imposition of any
storage charges or towing charges against the towed vehicle.
(4) Every towing company shall maintain accurate records for a period of three (3) years, which records shall identify the vehicles it has towed and stored the name, phone number and/or email address of the person who made the request, and whether the request was made by the owner of the motor vehicle, a law enforcement officer, the owner of the real property or the real property owner's designee or assignee from which the motor vehicle was towed and all procedures that it has taken to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
(5) For the purposes of this section, the terms "third-party vendor" means a qualified business entity that, upon a request submitted through a website by a towing company:
(a) Accesses the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System records to obtain the last state of record of the vehicle and to verify the vehicle is not reported stolen;
(b) Accesses the owner and lienholder information, as applicable, for a vehicle from the Department of Revenue;
(c) Electronically generates the notices required of a towing company by this section through the website;
(d) Prints and send the notices required under this section to each owner and lienholder of record by certified mail;
(e) Electronically returns tracking information or other proof of mailing and delivery of the notices to the towing-storage operator;
(f) Electronically reports onto its website the following information related to the towing and storage notice:
(i) The vehicle identification number;
(ii) The license plate number, if available;
(iii) The name and address of the towing-storage operator or lienor;
(iv) The physical location of the vehicle;
(v) The date on which the vehicle was towed;
(vi) The amount of storage fees owed at the time of the notice;
(vii) The date of assessment of storage charges;
(viii) The dates on which the notice was mailed and delivered;
(ix) Other information required by the Department of Revenue.
(6) A third-party vendor must apply to and be approved by the Department of Revenue. The Department of Revenue shall prescribe the format for the application. The Department of Revenue may approve the applicant as qualified if the applicant:
(a) Provides the Department of Revenue with a One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) bond;
(b) Submits an acceptable internal control and data security audit or its equivalent performed by a licensed certified public accountant to the Department of Revenue;
(c) Successfully demonstrates the ability to electronically provide required data onto its website.
(7) The Department of Revenue may deny, suspend, or revoke approval of a third-party vendor if the Department of Revenue determines that the third-party vendor has committed an act of fraud or misrepresentation related to a notice required by this section.
(8) A third-party vendor must maintain all records related to providing notices under this section for five (5) years and allow the Department of Revenue to inspect and copy such records upon request. The records may be maintained in an electronic format.
(9) A third-party vendor must annually provide the Department of Revenue with evidence that it maintains a One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) bond and must annually submit an internal control and data security audit or its equivalent performed by a licensed certified public accountant to continue its approved status each year.
SECTION 2. Section 63-23-5, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
63-23-5. (1) Any automobile dealer, wrecker service, or repair service owner, or any person or party on whose property a motor vehicle is lawfully towed at the written request of a law enforcement officer, who shall have an abandoned motor vehicle on his property, may sell, free and clear of all claims such motor vehicle by public auction, or if the abandoned motor vehicle has no market value, may dispose of the same after having received at least two (2) written statements from licensed automobile dealers as to the worthlessness of such motor vehicle and after compliance with subsection (2) of this section and Section 63-23-9. An abandoned motor vehicle as defined by Section 63-23-3(b) shall not be sold at auction until thirty (30) days from date of removal from a public street, road or highway.
(2) The person authorized
to execute the sale or disposal of an abandoned motor vehicle shall notify by
certified mail using a third-party vendor that meets the requirements of the
department, within * * * seven (7) days of receipt of such vehicle, any
Mississippi lienholder on such vehicle that unless a claim on the vehicle is
made within thirty (30) days of receipt of such notice, the vehicle will
be sold or destroyed. If no claim is made on the vehicle within thirty (30)
days following receipt of such required notifications to lienholders under this
section, and if the authorized person intends to sell the vehicle to a scrap
metal processor, used auto parts dealer, or otherwise destroy or dismantle the
vehicle, the authorized person shall notify the Department of Revenue directly
or via a third-party vendor that no claim has been made and provide the
Department of Revenue with electronic copies of all notifications required to
be sent to lienholders, and the Department of Revenue shall immediately remove
any and all outstanding liens from the motor vehicle in the Department of
Revenue's automated statewide motor vehicle registration system, provided the
authorized person provides adequate evidence that any lienholders were notified
in compliance with this section, and attests in writing that no claim was made
on the vehicle. For all notifications required to be sent to lienholders, the
third-party vendor must utilize the format and transmit the data as required by
the Department of Revenue. Motor vehicle dealers, as defined in Section 63-17-55,
Mississippi Code of 1972, shall not be required to utilize a third-party vendor
or comply with any third-party vendor transmission requirements imposed by the
Department of Revenue under this subsection.
(3) A third-party vendor shall maintain a publicly accessible website which shall provide owners, lienholders, insurance companies or their agents the ability to search for notices sent pursuant to this section. Such notices shall be publicly accessible for a minimum of three (3) consecutive weeks prior to the sale of the property at public auction. The Department of Revenue shall include on its website a link to any website maintained by a third-party vendor for posting notices. The website must exclude personal identifying information and provide a voluntary option for owners, lienholders, and insurance companies to receive notification of vehicles added to the website.
( * * *4) After the sale of any vehicle as
set out hereinabove is made, the person or officer designated and making the
sale of such property shall promptly upon completion of the sale deliver to the
chancery clerk a list or itemization of the property sold, the amount paid for each
item, the person to whom each item was sold, and all monies received from such
sale, the gross charges levied by the person making the sale against the
property sold and the net amount paid over to the chancery clerk. Any sale
made by any person, officer, corporation or association, shall have attached to
the report of sale a sworn statement certifying as to the date such personal
property or items sold first came into his possession or was abandoned on his
premises and the date said personal property or item was sold.
( * * *5) The proceeds of the sale in excess
of repair, towing and storage expenses and all expenses incurred in connection
with a sale when a sale is made under the provisions of this chapter, shall
escheat to the county and shall be paid over to the chancery clerk to be placed
into the general fund of the county in which the vehicle is abandoned. However,
in those municipalities availing themselves of the provisions of Section 21-39-21,
the proceeds of the sale in excess of the repairs, towing, storage or other
necessary expenses incurred shall escheat to the general fund of the
municipality.
(6) Every towing company shall maintain accurate records for a period of three (3) years, which records shall identify the vehicles it has towed and stored and all procedures that it has taken to comply with the provisions of this chapter.
(7) For the purposes of this section, the terms "third-party vendor" means a qualified business entity that, upon a request submitted through a website by an authorized person:
(a) Accesses the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System records to obtain the last state of record of the vehicle and to verify the vehicle is not reported stolen;
(b) Accesses the owner and lienholder information, as applicable, for a vehicle from the Department of Revenue;
(c) Electronically generates the notices required of an authorized person by this section through the website;
(d) Prints and sends the notices required under this section to each owner and lienholder of record by certified mail;
(e) Electronically returns tracking information or other proof of mailing and delivery of the notices to the authorized person;
(f) Electronically reports onto its website the following information related to the notice:
(i) The vehicle identification number;
(ii) The license plate number, if available;
(iii) The name and address of the towing-storage operator or authorized person;
(iv) The physical location of the vehicle;
(v) The date on which the vehicle was towed or abandoned;
(vi) The amount of storage fees owed at the time of the notice;
(vii) The date of assessment of storage charges;
(viii) The dates on which the notice was mailed and delivered;
(ix) Other information required by the Department of Revenue.
(8) A third-party vendor must apply to and be approved by the Department of Revenue. The Department of Revenue shall prescribe the format for the application. The Department of Revenue may approve the applicant as qualified if the applicant:
(a) Provides the Department of Revenue with a bond valued at One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00);
(b) Submits an acceptable internal control and data security audit or its equivalent performed by a licensed certified public accountant to the Department of Revenue;
(c) Successfully demonstrates the ability to electronically provide required data onto its website.
(9) The Department of Revenue may deny, suspend, or revoke approval of a third-party vendor if the Department of Revenue determines that the third-party vendor has committed an act of fraud or misrepresentation related to a notice required by this section.
(10) A third-party vendor must maintain all records related to providing notices under this section for five (5) years and allow the Department of Revenue to inspect and copy such records upon request. The records may be maintained in an electronic format.
(11) A third-party vendor must annually provide the Department of Revenue with evidence that it maintains a bond valued at One Million Dollars ($1,000,000.00) and must annually submit an internal control and data security audit or its equivalent performed by a licensed certified public accountant to continue its approved status each year.
SECTION 3. Section 63-23-9, Mississippi Code of 1972, is amended as follows:
63-23-9. The last-known
registered owner of an abandoned motor vehicle and all lienholders of record,
when such information is reasonably obtainable, shall be notified by * * * certified mail that such vehicle
will be sold pursuant to the provisions of this chapter. Said notice shall give
such owner and lienholders the date, time and place of sale and name of the
person or party who has custody of such vehicle.
If the identity of the last registered owner cannot be determined, or if the registration contains no address for the owner, or if it is impossible to determine with reasonable certainty the identity and addresses of all lienholders, the notice required by Section 63-23-5(3) and notice by three (3) publications once each week for three (3) consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the motor vehicle was abandoned shall be sufficient to meet all requirements of notice pursuant to this chapter. Motor vehicle dealers, as defined in Section 63-17-55, Mississippi Code of 1972, shall not be required to utilize a third-party vendor or comply with any third-party vendor notice requirements imposed in Section 63-23-5(3).
SECTION 4. This act shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 2026.