DPW: Towing & Impoundment
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Towing and Impoundment

If overdue parking tickets remain unpaid after a vehicle has been booted, DPW is responsible for removing that vehicle from the street and taking it to the Blue Plains Impoundment and Storage Facility at 5001 Shepherd Parkway, SW. All fines, boot and/or tow fees must then be paid at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) Adjudication Office at 301 C Street, NW, before the vehicle can be released. Payments can be made Monday through Friday from 8:15 am to 5 pm.

To confirm the location of your car, call 311 or use DPW's online Towed Vehicle Locator. You can also contact the District’s Towing Control Dispatch Center at (202) 576-6071. Please note that this number does not accept messages.

To claim a towed vehicle from the Blue Plains facility, owners will take the Metrorail Green Line to the Anacostia station, and then board an A4/DC Village Metrobus. Owners should get off the bus on Shepherd Parkway at DC Village Lane, then walk a short distance to the impoundment lot at the end of Shepherd Parkway. Any vehicle that remains unclaimed at the Blue Plains Impoundment Facility for 28 or more days is considered abandoned and may be sold as scrap or auctioned. 

DPW is required to tow vehicles from the street under a number of other conditions, for violations unrelated to unpaid parking tickets.

  • Impeding traffic flow by parking in curb lanes during posted "No Parking/Rush Hour" times.
  • Blocking designated emergency routes, such as those used during and after snowstorms.
  • Blocking hospital emergency entrances or exits.
  • Failure to display license plates or failure to display current registration or inspection stickers.
  • Impeding city street sweeping equipment during posted "No Parking/Street Sweeping" times.
  • Blocking a resident's private driveway.

Any customer requiring parking enforcement in the District may place a service request by calling the Citywide Call Center at 311.

Helpful Tips

  • Provide the nature of the problem (e.g. parked in rush hour zone)
  • Provide the severity of the violation (e.g. impeding rush hour traffic)
Information We Need From You
  • Location of the vehicle
  • Length of time observed at same location
  • Vehicle make, model and color

Hours of Operation

  • 8 am am to 6 pm Monday through Friday

Holiday Schedule

  • DPW is closed on all government holidays

To Request Services


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