Roadside vehicle impoundment

If you're caught committing certain driving offences, the vehicle you're driving can be impounded by the police. This page explains when your vehicle can be impounded, what happens at the roadside and the actions you need to take to get it back.

When might a vehicle I'm driving be impounded at the roadside?

The vehicle you're driving will be impounded if you're caught driving when:

• you've been disqualified from holding or getting a driver licence
• your driver licence has been suspended or revoked
• you don't hold (or have never held) a driver licence or your licence has expired, and you have been forbidden to drive by a police officer until you have a new or renewed licence
• you have an alcohol interlock licence and the vehicle doesn't have an alcohol interlock device fitted
• you have to reinstate your licence and have been forbidden to drive by a police officer until you do
• you commit a drink drive offence and have 2 previous drink drive convictions in the last 4 years
• the vehicle is used by a transport service operator:
  • who has been disqualified from holding or getting a transport service licence
  • whose transport service licence has been suspended or revoked
  • who does not (or has never) held a transport service licence and has previously been forbidden to operate the service.

The vehicle you're driving can also be impounded if:

• you're caught racing (eg drag racing)
• you're caught performing car stunts (eg wheel spins)
• you've broken a bylaw that prohibits cruising
• you failed to stop, and remain stopped, when requested by the police. 

Your vehicle can also be impounded if you failed or refused to provide information, or provide misleading information, about a fail to stop event involving your vehicle.

What happens when a vehicle I’m driving is impounded at the roadside?

The police will give you an impoundment notice and will call for a tow truck to take the vehicle away to a storage facility.

You'll have to pay the towing and storage fees before you can get the vehicle back.

Towing and storage fees

28-day impoundment

Following a 28-day impoundment period, you have 10 days to claim the vehicle and pay the fees (or make arrangements to pay the fees).

If the vehicle was impounded because you were racing or doing street car stunts, you must get a new warrant of fitness before the vehicle may be driven again. This means you have to take the vehicle straight from the storage facility to a garage or testing station for a warrant of fitness inspection.

6-month impoundment

If you fail to stop (and remain stopped) when signalled by police, the enforcement officer may order your vehicle to be impounded for 6 months. Failing to stop is the only offence which has an impoundment period of 6 months.

If your vehicle is impounded for 6 months, you have 38 days to either:

• pay the regulated fees for the full 6 months to the towage and storage provider, or
• enter an arrangement with the provider for the payment of those fees.

What happens if a vehicle isn’t claimed in time?

If you haven’t done either of the above at the end of the 38-day period, the vehicle will be considered abandoned. At this point, the storage provider can request to become the registered person for the vehicle.

After the police give their approval, the storage provider can sell or dispose of the vehicle to recoup costs, subject to any terms or conditions from the police.

What happens if the driver isn't the registered person?

The registered person for the vehicle has an obligation to make sure that only licensed drivers use their vehicle, and that other drivers use their vehicle responsibly. However, there are some circumstances where the registered person can appeal against a roadside vehicle impoundment.

When can I make an appeal?

As the registered person, you can make an appeal only on the grounds that:

• the impounded vehicle was stolen or converted at the time it was impounded (converted means the vehicle was taken or used dishonestly and without claim of right)
• the police officer didn't have reasonable grounds or didn't follow proper procedures to impound the vehicle
• you didn't know, and couldn't reasonably have been expected to know, that the driver was unlicensed or disqualified
• you took all reasonable steps to prevent the unlicensed driver from driving
• you didn't know, and couldn't reasonably have been expected to know, that the driver would race the vehicle or perform car stunts
• you took all reasonable steps to prevent the driver from racing or performing car stunts
• the driver drove in a serious medical emergency (which includes carrying a person about to give birth)
• you didn't know, and couldn't reasonably be expected to know, that the operator of the transport service was disqualified
• you didn't know, and couldn't reasonably be expected to know, that the relevant transport service licence was suspended or revoked
• you didn't know, and couldn't reasonably be expected to know, that the operator didn't hold a transport service licence and had previously been forbidden to operate.

For a 6-month impoundment, you can appeal on that grounds that impoundment will cause extreme hardship (for the vehicle’s registered person) or undue hardship (for another person). A vehicle would not be released if the Court considered it contrary to the interests of road safety.

You can't appeal on hardship grounds for a 28-day impoundment.

How can I make an appeal?

As the registered person for the vehicle, you may appeal to the Commissioner of Police within 14 days. If that appeal is unsuccessful, you can appeal to a district court.

If your appeal is successful, the vehicle will be returned. You don't have to pay the costs of the impoundment if it's shown that the police didn't have reasonable grounds to impound the vehicle or didn't follow the correct procedure.

If the vehicle was stolen or converted, you don't have to pay the storage fee, but you must pay the towing fee.

How do I get the vehicle back when the impoundment ends?

At the end of the impoundment period, go to the storage provider. Take:

• a form of identification (eg a bank or credit card, driver licence or passport), and
• a document proving that you're the registered person or the owner of the vehicle, or
• your copy of the impoundment notice, or
• a device on which you can do the registered person query online to show you are the registered person.
  Confirm registered person query(external link)

When you've paid the towing and storage fees and shown your documentation, the storage provider will release the vehicle.

Does vehicle impoundment mean you don’t need to go to court?

If you've received a summons, you must still go to court. Impoundment doesn't replace any legal action the police may take.

How much are the towing and storage fees?

This depends on:

• how much the vehicle weighs
• when it's towed
• how far it's towed.

If your vehicle was impounded before 1 October, the amount you need to pay to get your vehicle back could vary depending on when you make your payment:

Towing fees:

Storage fees:

¹ Under the relevant legislation, no storage fee is charged for the first 3 days.

² The total storage fee for a 6-month impoundment will vary depending on the number of days in the impoundment period.

Impoundment storage fee payments if your vehicle was impounded before 1 October 2024(external link)

What happens if I can't afford to pay the towing and storage fees?

You should contact the storage provider to discuss what options the provider may offer for paying it off. For a 6-month impoundment, you may be able to appeal of the grounds of extreme hardship (see above).

What happens if a vehicle is damaged while it's being impounded?

The tow truck company is responsible for any damage to the vehicle while it's being towed to storage. The storage provider is responsible while the vehicle is being stored.

What happens if an impounded vehicle is a rental vehicle or a company vehicle?

Rental companies are responsible for making sure they rent vehicles only to licensed drivers.

Employers are responsible for checking that their employees' driver licences are valid before allowing them to drive company vehicles (see below).

It's the company's responsibility to recover the impoundment fee from the driver.

What if an impounded vehicle is under a finance arrangement?

In the case of a 6-month impoundment, when a vehicle is under a finance arrangement and the contract is breached, a creditor may take ownership of and apply to repossess the vehicle. When creditors repossess a vehicle, they are not liable to pay impoundment fees from the time they become a registered person for the vehicle until the time it’s released.

How can an employer check on the licences of their employees?

Employers can subscribe to Driver Check, a secure internet site that allows them to confirm that only licensed drivers are driving their company vehicles. The employer registers the names of their drivers (with the drivers' consent) and NZ Transport Agency then advises the employer of any change to a driver licence status.

Visit the Driver Check website(external link)

Where you can find out more

• Land Transport (Storage and Towage Fees for Impounded Vehicles) Regulations 1999(external link)
• Land Transport Act 1998(external link)