When Can Police Legally Impound and Inventory Search A Vehicle in Florida?

July 18, 2025 Don Pumphrey, Jr. Criminal Defense Social Share

In Florida, police may lawfully impound (take into police custody) and inventory search a vehicle under certain circumstances. Under Florida law, an inventory search often occurs when police take a vehicle into custody as a result of a suspected violation of a law or ordinance by the owner or occupant. 

However, there are constitutional limits on when the impoundment and inventory search of a vehicle may occur. This article will explore when police can (and cannot) impound and conduct an inventory search of a vehicle in Florida.

Under Florida law, police are permitted to impound and inventory search a vehicle when the following are true:

• The driver is arrested (for DUI, driving without a license, etc.)
• The vehicle is blocking traffic, abandoned, or poses a hazard to public safety
• There are no licensed passengers to legally move the car
• The impoundment/inventory search are pursuant to standard police procedures, not used as a pretext to investigate 

Florida’s DUI statute (Fla. Stat. Section 316.193) expressly permits officers to impound or immobilize vehicles pursuant to a DUI arrest unless the vehicle is operated solely by another driver with a valid license, or the arrestee’s family or co-owner of the vehicle requests an exemption.

More generally, Fla. Stat. Section 323.001 (governing abandoned/immobilized vehicles) allows officers to remove or impound vehicles under any of the following conditions:

• The vehicle is obstructing traffic
• The vehicle is parked illegally or abandoned on a public road
• The vehicle is involved in a crash and unable to move

However, there are various restrictions on impoundment and inventory searches that exist.

The U.S. Supreme Court has consistently recognized that law enforcement (including in Florida) cannot impound a vehicle solely for the purposes of:

• Searching for evidence in the vehicle without probable cause
• Punishing or harassing the driver
• Circumventing warrant requirements that would apply during a typical criminal investigation

If police wish to impound and inventory search a vehicle, they must follow established department policy, explicitly document the reason for impoundment, and show the impoundment was necessary and not an abuse of discretion. South Dakota v. Opperman, 428 U.S. 364 (1976)

One of the primary authorities for law enforcement’s ability to impound and inventory search vehicles is the U.S. Supreme Court’s Bertine ruling. Colorado v. Bertine, 479 U.S. 367 (1987). In Bertine, law enforcement impounded the vehicle after the driver was arrested for DUI and taken into custody, and no one else was available to take possession of the vehicle.

Bertine challenged the inventory search of his van that occurred as a result of the impoundment, as law enforcement discovered controlled substances in a backpack inside the vehicle.

But the U.S. Supreme Court ruled against him – holding that his Fourth Amendment rights against unreasonable searches and seizures were not violated so long as:

• The purpose of the inventory search was not investigative
• Officers complied with standard procedure during the inventory search

The Court reasoned that pursuant to the “caretaking function” of law enforcement, inventory searches may be necessary if a vehicle is impounded to do one or more of the following:

• Protect the owner’s property that is inside the vehicle
• Prevent claims of lost or stolen items
• Shield officers from potential danger (such as explosives, etc.)

But Bertine is clear: law enforcement must follow standard procedures when they conduct an inventory search of a vehicle pursuant to impoundment. In Florida v. Wells, 495 U.S. 1 (1990), Florida law enforcement officers opened closed containers within Wells’s car during an inventory search after impounding it and found marijuana, even though there was no standard procedure for doing so. 

Wells challenged the constitutionality of the inventory search, arguing that police did not have a standard procedure for opening closed containers, and the. The Court agreed and suppressed the evidence, affirming that an inventory search must accord with specific established protocols and not be investigative in purpose. Id. Wong Sun v. United States, 371 U.S. 471 (1963)

Pursuant to Bertine, Opperman and Wells, examples of when police in Florida may impound and inventory search a vehicle include:

• A driver is arrested for driving under the influence (DUI), there is nobody else in the car, and the vehicle is stopped in the middle of a parking lot
• An abandoned car is reported in a store parking lot, which is towed by police and inventory searched pursuant to standard department policy
• A driver is arrested for driving without a suspended license while illegally parked, and the vehicle is found to be both unregistered and uninsured 

Conversely, situations where impoundment and an inventory search of a vehicle are not permitted under Florida law and U.S. Supreme Court precedent include:

• A person is arrested while shopping while their car is legally parked in a lot. Police impound the vehicle anyway and inventory search it without following standardized policy.
• Police suspect drugs in a car during a traffic stop – none are found and no arrest is made. Regardless, officers decide to impound the vehicle without cause and perform a search that they assert is “inventory” (unlawful under Florida v. Wells and Bertine)
• A driver is arrested for DUI with no passengers. Police follow impoundment procedure but open all closed containers despite no standard policy (initial impoundment allowed, but the recovered evidence is subject to suppression under Florida v. Wells)

Note: If a car is lawfully impounded, the performance of an inventory search pursuant to standard police protocols does not require additional probable cause – so long as this procedure is followed and this is not done for what is actually an investigatory purpose. Colorado v. Bertine, 479 U.S. 367 (1987)

In sum, Florida police are permitted to impound a vehicle under Florida law if the driver is arrested, the vehicle poses a hazard to public safety, is illegally parked or abandoned, or cannot be safely operated. Moreover, the decision to impound and subsequently inventory search a vehicle must not be arbitrary or done for an investigative purpose under Bertine.

In certain cases, law enforcement in Florida may not follow proper procedures surrounding impoundment and inventory searches of vehicles. If evidence is found in a vehicle that was wrongfully impounded and inventory searched, it is critical to contact an experienced and aggressive defense attorney who can move to suppress that evidence (preventing it from being used against a defendant in court).

If someone is arrested and formally charged with a crime in Florida and their vehicle is impounded, it is critical to find experienced and trusted legal representation as soon as possible

Criminal Defense Attorney in Tallahassee, FL

Don Pumphrey, Jr. is a Former Prosecutor, Former State Police Officer, Lifetime Member of the Florida Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers; for over 25 years as a private defense attorney who is Trusted, Experienced, Aggressive in Criminal Defense as a Trial Attorney, Criminal Lawyer, Criminal Defense Lawyer for the accused in Florida State Courts located in Tallahassee, Florida but handling cases throughout the State of Florida.

Don Pumphrey, Jr. and the Tallahassee criminal defense lawyers at Pumphrey Law have decades of experience fighting drug charges on behalf of clients and winning. Call Pumphrey Law now at (850) 681-7777 to learn more about what we can do for you. Our lawyers will be happy to provide you with a free consultation.

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