Georgia Code
Chapter 1 - General Provisions
§ 44-1-13. Removal of Improperly Parked Cars or Trespassing Personal Property; Concurrent Jurisdiction; Procedure; Automatic Surveillance Prohibited; Penalty

(a.1) Any person or his or her authorized agent entitled to the possession of any private property shall have the right to remove or cause to be removed from the property any vehicle or trespassing personal property thereon which is not authorized to be at the place where it is found and to store or cause to be stored such vehicle or trespassing personal property, provided that there shall have been conspicuously posted on the private property notice that any vehicle or trespassing personal property which is not authorized to be at the place where it is found may be removed at the expense of the owner of the vehicle or trespassing personal property. Such notice shall also include information as to the location where the vehicle or personal property can be recovered, the cost of said recovery, and information as to the form of payment; provided, however, that the owner of residential private property containing not more than four residential units shall not be required to comply with the posting requirements of this subsection. Only towing and storage firms issued permits or licenses by the local governing authority of the jurisdiction in which they operate or by the department, and having a secure impoundment facility, shall be permitted to remove trespassing property and trespassing personal property at the request of the owner or authorized agent of the private property.
History. Ga. L. 1962, p. 146, § 1; Ga. L. 1968, p. 321, § 1; Ga. L. 1973, p. 2622, § 1; Ga. L. 1982, p. 2107, § 46; Ga. L. 1987, p. 1442, § 1; Ga. L. 1989, p. 1230, § 1; Ga. L. 1990, p. 8, § 44; Ga. L. 2003, p. 881, §§ 1, 2; Ga. L. 2005, p. 60, § 44/HB 95; Ga. L. 2005, p. 334, § 26-1/HB 501; Ga. L. 2007, p. 228, § 1/HB 316; Ga. L. 2012, p. 580, § 12/HB 865; Ga. L. 2013, p. 838, § 19/HB 323.
The 2012 amendment, effective July 1, 2012, substituted “ ‘Department’ means the Department of Public Safety” for “ ‘Commission’ means the Public Service Commission” in paragraph (a)(1); substituted “department” for “commission” throughout this Code section; and, in paragraph (b)(2), substituted “department’s” for “commission” in the middle of the first sentence, and inserted “department” in the last sentence.
The 2013 amendment, effective July 1, 2013, added the second and third sentences in paragraph (d)(2). See Editor’s notes for applicability.
Cross references.
Security interests in and liens on motor vehicles generally, see § 40-3-50 et seq.
Traffic regulations pertaining to parking generally, see § 40-6-200 et seq.
Code Commission notes.
The amendment of subsections (a), (a.1), and (b) of this Code section by Ga. L. 2005, p. 60, § 44(1), irreconcilably conflicted with and was treated as superseded by Ga. L. 2005, p. 334, § 26-1. See County of Butts v. Strahan, 151 Ga. 417 (1921).
Pursuant to Code Section 28-9-5, in 2012, “commission” was deleted following “by the” in the last sentence of paragraph (b)(2).
Editor’s notes.
Ga. L. 2013, p. 838, § 20/HB 323, not codified by the General Assembly, provides, in part: “This Act shall become effective on July 1, 2013, and shall apply to violations committed on or after such date.”
Administrative rules and regulations.
Procedure for Imposing Civil Penalties and Recommending Criminal Penalties, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Georgia Public Service Commission, Transportation, Chapter 515-16-14.
Non-Consensual Towing, Official Compilation of the Rules and Regulations of the State of Georgia, Georgia Public Service Commission, Transportation, Chapter 515-16-15.
Law reviews.
For article surveying recent legislative and judicial developments in Georgia’s real property laws, see 31 Mercer L. Rev. 187 (1979).