Georgia Gov. Kemp signs vehicle booting regulations into law

May 15th, 2025

A car with a boot is seen in Chicago, Tuesday, Feb. 7, 2022. Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation on Wednesday setting up the first statewide regulations of vehicle booting. (AP Photo/Nam Y. Huh)

Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp signed legislation on Wednesday setting up statewide regulations of vehicle booting.

Vehicle booting occurs when a company uses a device, often a metal clamp around the wheel of a car, to prevent a trespassing or unauthorized vehicle from moving off a property without first paying a fee.

The new law would prohibit local governing bodies from setting maximum costs for the removal of such devices that are higher than the costs set by the Georgia Department of Public Safety.

It would also ban payments from booters back to property owners for the right to boot vehicles on their property.

In addition, the law would require a notice be posted at the private property that includes the full legal names of the company that conducted the booting and the property owner, contact information to get the device removed and the amount it would cost for removal.

Booters would only be allowed to boot vehicles if they receive a permit issued by the Department of Public Safety and if they are “operating in a jurisdiction” where vehicle booting was authorized “by ordinance or resolution of the governing authority.”

Democratic State Sen. Josh McLaurin, who proposed an amendment to House Bill 551 that added regulations around booting, said he is excited about this first step.

“Obviously, there’s more work to be done because technically monitoring of lots will still be legal, so people may still see those folks waiting in the lots to swoop in and throw a boot on the car quickly,” McLaurin told WABE. “But my hope is that with regulation, it won’t be done in a way it’s currently being done, which is oftentimes to cars that are not even in violation in the first place.”