What We Heard at the 2025 Baltimore Tow Show
Posted November 25th, 2025 by Peter Lukevich, JD
We’ve been on the road during November. I just got back from The American Towman Show in Baltimore. This weekend, we met towers from all over the country. This is truly a spectacle and is billed as the “World’s Greatest Tow Show” for a reason.
I thought it would be helpful if I shared some of the common misconceptions we have heard from towers about the SCRA.
An operator in North Carolina told us “. . . we just have to give notice to the RO and if nothing happens, we can sell the vehicle in 90 days” While this might be nice, this sale would violate the SCRA. Federal law prevents you from selling the vehicle in your impound yard to satisfy a lien or debt for towing and storage at any time the service member is on active duty and for 90 days after release from active duty. This law applies in every state.
Some towers believe that selling a car for scrap or parts is somehow not the same as selling the car at auction or a lien sale when it comes to the SCRA. WRONG! A vehicle belonging to a U.S. active-duty service member cannot be legally disposed of in any way—crushed, scrapped, parted out, or sold—while the owner is on active duty or for 90 days after discharge. Federal law prohibits disposal during this period, regardless of the method used.
One last common statement we heard at Baltimore and throughout the nation, “. . . the state approved my sale”. This conclusion fails to account for the fact that your state has not done anything to verify if the vehicle you are “approved to sell” is or is not owned by an active-duty member of the US military. The state will not protect you from the lawsuit that could be filed against you by the DOJ or your state attorney general for violating the SCRA.
While you might not be able to count on notice, or scrapping a vehicle or your state DOL or DMV. What you can count on is that Service Member Data is available to you to help you stay in compliance with the law and avoid lengthy litigation and costs. Reliable, accurate, timely, and affordable, SMD will provide you with a DOD certificate that will tell you whether the RO of a vehicle is or is not on active duty. You don’t have to guess or rely on your state or a magistrate court for what you need to allow you to sell, scrap, crush, part out or otherwise dispose of a vehicle to try and recover your costs for towing and storage.
Check back in with us in the new year to ready about all the roll-out of the new Service Member Data customer portal. We have built a system that will be easier for you to use and help us process your files even more efficiently. You can find all the information you need at our website at servicememberdata.com.
We had a great time in Baltimore, thank you for all of those that came by the booth and for American Towman for putting on a wonderful show. Happy holidays to all of our customers and readers.
Peter Lukevich, CEO
Service Member Data
