Car Lockout in Chattanooga, TN

A lockout or a boot?

If a boot is clamped to a wheel, the car is not locked out; it is being held for unpaid citations, and the Chattanooga Parking Authority, not a locksmith, releases it.

Under City Code Sec. 24-337(a), the Authority may boot a vehicle with three or more parking citations delinquent over 60 days and not under appeal. The owner pays the outstanding fees plus the boot fee and receives a six-digit release code by email. The code goes into the keypad on the boot, and the boot has to be returned within a day to the Authority's Market Street location or CARTA's Northshore Garage on Frazier Avenue. After two days booted, a car can be towed. This is general information, not legal advice.

Garages and lots

A car locked in a downtown garage is easy to describe badly. Give the garage or lot name, the level, the nearest stairwell or elevator, and the row or space number if there is one. Say whether the garage has a gate or ticket machine at the exit, and whether you have the ticket or it is inside the car.

On a street, give the block, the side of the street and the nearest cross street.

Heat and cold inside the car

NOAA describes moderately large temperature swings across Tennessee. A closed car heats far above the outside air on a warm afternoon and loses heat on a cold night.

If a child, a pet or anyone who cannot get out is locked inside, call 911 first.

Details that identify the car

• Where the car is, with the details above
• Year, make, model and color, and the plate if you know it
• Whether the keys are visible inside and whether the engine is running
• Proof the car is yours: photo ID, plus a registration or other document; if the registration is in the glove box, say so

For the service, see car lockout and the Chattanooga page. Keys that are gone for good, not just inside the car, are a matter for car key replacement.