The distinction that controls everything else
Texas towing law splits every tow into two families, and which family yours falls in determines your deadlines, your fee protections, and your right to a hearing.
A consent tow is one you asked for — you called for a tow after a breakdown, or authorized a shop to move your car. Prices are set by the market, not by TDLR caps, and hearing rights don't apply because nothing was taken from you.
A nonconsent tow is everything else, and it comes in two flavors: a private property tow (a parking facility — apartment complex, business lot, HOA — has your car removed) and an incident management tow (police order a vehicle cleared from a roadway after a crash or arrest). Nonconsent tows carry the full protection of Chapter 2308: regulated maximum fees, strict signage requirements, storage facility duties, and the right to a probable cause hearing. Tex. Occ. Code Ch. 2308
Who's allowed to tow you
Every tow truck operator carries a TDLR license, and the license types are tiered: an incident management license authorizes all tow types; a private property license authorizes private property and consent tows; a consent-only license authorizes only consent tows. Companies and storage facilities are separately licensed. You can verify any license free at the TDLR website — worth doing before your hearing.
What a private property tow legally requires
Before a parking facility can tow, its signage must strictly comply with the statute: signs facing the driver at each entrance, bottom edge 5–8 feet above ground, at least 18×24 inches, the international tow symbol at least 4 inches tall, prescribed lettering and colors, and a telephone number answered 24 hours a day so an owner can locate the vehicle. § 2308.301–.302 A covered, missing, or non-compliant sign at the entrance you used is not a technicality — it goes to whether the tow was authorized at all.
What the storage facility owes you
A facility that won't answer its phone all night, or turns you away at the gate and releases the car the next morning, is not merely rude — it's violating the rule it's licensed under, and TDLR accepts complaints about exactly this at tdlr.texas.gov/complaints. Storage fees that accrued because the facility refused a timely release are also worth challenging at your hearing.
Quick self-test
Did you ask for the tow? If yes: consent tow, negotiate like any service. If no: your fees are capped, signage rules applied, the storage facility owes you a one-hour release, and a 14-day hearing clock is already running. Treat it accordingly.