If you receive a notice about a vehicle towed in Warren County, identify the vehicle’s location, the initial tow date and the notice’s actual mailing record promptly. Do not wait for a second letter or a website search result before responding to a stated deadline.
Mississippi changed its towing-notice process for July 2026. The official SB2848 history records the law’s April 8 approval and July 1 effective date. DOR’s three-page FAQ says the new process applies to vehicles towed on or after July 1.
Identify the process before counting days
The timeline below concerns the ordinary towing process with identifiable owners/lienholders, not a scrap/total-loss disposition or an unknown-owner case. DOR provides separate instructions for those situations. Nor should a vehicle left after repair automatically be assigned the towing calendar; see the repair-shop packet comparison.
For the approved vendor and notice-search route, follow DOR’s current listing. The FAQ describes searching online notices by VIN or tag. An absent search result does not prove no tow occurred or no notice was sent; LSL did not submit a search.
Match each deadline to its own event
LSL compared DOR’s guidance with amended section 85-7-251. The events do not all run from the day you open an envelope:
| Event | Operative detail to check | Evidence to request or retain |
|---|---|---|
| Tow request | The company records the requester and whether the request came from the vehicle owner, law enforcement, property owner, designee or assignee | Requester identity/contact, request type and tow/location record |
| Law-enforcement report | Within 24 hours, except when the vehicle owner requested the tow | Report or reference from the responsible local agency, where applicable |
| Ownership search | After two business days without owner contact | The owner/lienholder search basis and returned identities |
| First certified notice | Approved-vendor mailing postmarked no later than the seventh day following the initial tow | Postmark, tracking, contents and initial tow date |
| Later sale notice | If unpaid after 30 days from the initial tow, the law provides for the second certified notice | Actual second mailing record, charges and sale details |
| Further conditions before auction | Ten days after mailing the second letter, plus applicable newspaper and online publication requirements | Mailing proof and the actual publication/posting dates |
The statute requires two consecutive weeks of newspaper publication in the county where the vehicle was initially towed and at least two consecutive weeks of online notice availability before auction under this towing provision. Do not treat day 40 as an automatic lawful-sale date. Actual notice and publication evidence matters.
DOR’s FAQ/checklist describes the second interval using the letter’s date. The enacted text uses mailing of the second certified letter. Preserve both the printed date and mailing proof; they should not silently become the same fact. Different Chapter 63 lienholder and scrap provisions also use other origins, including receipt of notice, and are outside this ordinary-tow timeline.
Ask for the records supporting the amount and proposed sale
Request the itemized towing/storage charges, vehicle location and written release conditions, along with the notice copies and mailing records. Keep your response and any proposed payment or release arrangement in writing.
DOR’s known-owner towing checklist identifies delivery evidence, newspaper notice, a notarized affidavit and a towing bill in the later title packet. Those are records to ask about, not proof that every step occurred correctly. The law contains consequences for specified failures, but a missing attachment alone is not LSL’s determination that fees are waived.
A lender or other lienholder should be told about the actual notice and sale information promptly. If the notice is disputed or a sale is approaching, seek qualified legal assistance; this page does not pause a deadline or authorize taking the vehicle from a facility.
Warren County title questions are a separate route
For title-document questions, the Warren Tax Collector lists 601-638-6181, 1009 Cherry Street, Vicksburg, and weekday hours 8 a.m.–5 p.m., except legal holidays. Confirm the documents for the actual transaction before visiting. The office’s title role is not a promise that it will decide a towing dispute or stop an auction.
For state abandonment-procedure questions, DOR Motor Vehicle Services lists 601-923-7200 on the towing checklist.
What was verified
On September 13, 2026, LSL read the current DOR hub, complete FAQ and known-owner checklist, Warren office page, final legislation and official history. We created the event-origin comparison but checked no private tow, search result, mail delivery, debt or sale. No office, vendor, owner or lienholder was contacted.