No license plate? No VIN? PBOT will tow no questions asked

PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) — Under a new Portland city code now in effect, a vehicle without license plates or a visible vehicle identification number can be towed by the Portland Bureau of Transportation, no questions asked and without notification.

The new ordinance includes RVs and trucks but does not include vehicles that people live in.

PBOT's Dylan Rivera told KOIN 6 News this is an issue that's gotten worse since the COVID-19 pandemic.

"This has been really a disturbing and, unfortunately, growing problem on our streets," Rivera said. "People started removing their plates and obscuring their VIN number, either physically scratching it off or hiding it somehow."

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Though they won't tow the vehicles with people living in them, Rivera said PBOT will help people learn more about their options and working with vehicle owners directly.

But Portland resident Mikey Greer said he's seen unoccupied cars not being moved in the area around Southeast 11th.

"If it's there, and it's unoccupied and it's not being moved, then that I kind of have a problem with" it not being towed.

There is an unmarked Ford Explorer camped in a parking spot for a few days, he said.

"It's probably been posted up there for maybe like a week," Greer said. "Going more that way towards Inner Southeast, there's a lot more cars out there that are unoccupied or have been there for a long time."

"What most what most folks really need to know," Rivera said, "is this is focused on trying to catch the bad actors" who are "really undermining the community."

PBOT is working with a number of licensed towing companies to get these unmarked vehicles off the streets. Crews will look for any illegal vehicles that can be towed.