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How long can police hold a vehicle under investigation?
In this article, you’ll learn about:
Let’s dig in.
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How long police can hold a vehicle under investigation depends on the circumstances.
For example:
Police can hold a vehicle:
Police normally release a vehicle within a few days following their investigation.
But, sometimes the vehicle is a key piece of evidence in a criminal investigation.
The police can hold a vehicle for weeks or even months until the investigation is complete.
The police may also impound a vehicle during the investigation.
They can also take steps to secure the vehicle until the investigation is complete.
They do this by placing a lien on your car.
A lien on a car serves to secure a vehicle while it is under investigation.
It ensures that the vehicle remains in the same condition that it was in when it got impounded.
A lien on a car will:
This ensures that the vehicle gets preserved as evidence for the investigation.
The police may give a vehicle back to its owner while they are still conducting an investigation.
This may get done to avoid having to impound the vehicle for an extended period of time.
Let’s say the police do decide to give the vehicle back while they are still investigating.
Placing a lien on the car allows them to take possession of the car if you do not comply.
This ensures that the vehicle:
Yes, the police can take your car.
Police will take your car if:
In some areas, a court order is required for police to take your car.
Police need a court order to take your car for things like:
Police do not need a court order to take your car for things like:
The police must be acting within their legal bounds to take possession of a car.
How long police can hold your car in impound ranges from 30 – 90 days.
It depends on the state that you live in.
Some states allow police to hold your car in impound until the investigation is over.
This could be years in some cases.
Examples of these states are:
State | How Long Police Can Hold Your Car |
---|---|
Alabama | 30 days |
Alaska | 30 days |
Arizona | 30 days |
Arkansas | 30 days |
California | 30 days |
Colorado | 60 days |
Connecticut | 30 days |
Delaware | 30 days |
Florida | 30 days |
Georgia | 90 days |
Hawaii | 30 days |
Idaho | 30 days |
Illinois | 45 days |
Indiana | 30 days |
Iowa | 30 days |
Kansas | 30 days |
Kentucky | 30 days |
Louisiana | 30 days |
Maine | 30 days |
Maryland | 30 days |
Massachusetts | 30 days |
Michigan | 30 days |
Minnesota | 30 days |
Mississippi | 30 days |
Missouri | 30 days |
Montana | 30 days |
Nebraska | 30 days |
Nevada | 30 days |
New Hampshire | 30 days |
New Jersey | 30 days |
New Mexico | 30 days |
New York | 30 days |
North Carolina | 30 days |
North Dakota | 30 days |
Ohio | 30 days |
Oklahoma | 30 days |
Oregon | 30 days |
Pennsylvania | 30 days |
Rhode Island | 30 days |
South Carolina | 30 days |
South Dakota | 30 days |
Tennessee | 30 days |
Texas | 30 days |
Utah | 30 days |
Vermont | 30 days |
Virginia | 30 days |
Washington | 30 days |
West Virginia | 30 days |
Wisconsin | 30 days |
Let’s say your car is not claimed within the legal time period.
It may be subjected to a public auction.
To claim your car and avoid it going to auction, you must:
This proof can include:
You may also have to pay fines or other fees to have your car released.
This depends on the state and the severity of the offense.
But the police department may also make you:
The police can hold your car for evidence for as long as necessary to investigate a crime.
The length of time that a car can be held for evidence depends on:
Generally, the police will not keep a car in evidence for more than a few weeks.
They need this time to make sure that the evidence gets preserved and collected.
Also, the police may need to have the car examined by a forensic expert.
This could take several months.
Sometimes the police may need to keep the car in evidence until the case has been resolved.
How long police can hold property without charges can vary from one state to another.
And it is dependent on the type of property getting held.
Police can hold onto the seized property until the conclusion of:
Police can hold onto the seized property for up to 90 days without charges.
But, police have to file a motion with a court for an order to keep the property past 90 days.
You should talk to a criminal defense lawyer if the police are holding your car.
Let’s talk about how to get a seized vehicle back.
The steps to get your can back from the police are:
Here are other questions clients ask us about police holding their vehicles for investigations.
Yes, police can seize your car for drugs.
This is usually done if:
The police have the right to seize and impound a car without a warrant.
But only if they have probable cause that the car was being used to commit a crime.
They may also seize a car if it is linked to a drug-related crime.
The police can auction off the car if it’s not claimed in a certain amount of time.
In many cases, police can seize a financed car.
The lender then has the right to reclaim the car.
But the borrower must pay back the loan in full.
The police have the authority to seize a financed car.
But the lender retains the right to reclaim it.
Police may put a hold on a vehicle if they believe it is:
A lien gets placed on a vehicle to prevent it from:
The police need a chance:
A hold may also be placed on a vehicle if:
Police may put a hold on a vehicle if they think it has been stolen.
The purpose of the hold is to give the police time to investigate the vehicle.
And to determine if it is connected to criminal activity.
When a car is seized by the police, it is typically taken to a police impound lot.
The police will then hold the vehicle:
The vehicle may be:
Police will take the car to an impound lot.
It will get held until it is either released or sold at an auction.
If your car was confiscated by the police, fill out the form on this page.
Our criminal defense attorneys have the experience you need to defend your rights.
This way, you don’t wrongfully lose your car.
You deserve a fair trial in the criminal justice system.
We can provide you with that.
Talk soon.
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