California 72-Hour Parking Rule: Fines, Towing, and Hearings

The California 72-hour parking rule lets police and parking enforcement cite and tow any vehicle that has been parked on a public street for 72 or more consecutive hours, as long as the local city or county has adopted an ordinance authorizing removal. The authority comes from California Vehicle Code Section 22651(k), and nearly every city in the state has passed the required ordinance, so the rule is effectively statewide.¹

What the Rule Actually Requires

Two things have to be true before your car can be towed under this rule. A local ordinance authorizing removal must exist, and the vehicle must have sat in the same spot for at least 72 consecutive hours. The state statute doesn’t ban three-day parking on its own; it hands the enforcement power to cities and counties.

Because the state delegates the work, your experience depends on where you park. Some cities respond only to neighbor complaints. Others send officers on regular patrols. A residential parking permit or disabled placard does not exempt you.² The permit lets you park in a restricted zone; it does not let you park indefinitely.

How Officers Prove the Car Hasn’t Moved

The old method is tire chalking: an officer marks the tire and the curb, then returns 72 hours later to see if the marks still line up. Many California departments have moved to digital tools that photograph vehicles with timestamped GPS data or log tire valve positions and license plates on handheld devices. Digital evidence is harder to challenge and creates a cleaner record.

Some agencies place a warning notice on the windshield giving you 24 hours to move, or try to reach you by phone. A pre-tow warning is a departmental policy, not a legal requirement. In San Francisco, vehicles left beyond 72 hours “may be issued a warning, cited and/or towed.”² That “may” means a warning is possible, not guaranteed.

How Far You Have to Move Your Car

Nudging your car forward a few feet doesn’t reset the clock, and the state code doesn’t set a minimum distance. Your city’s ordinance controls. Lomita requires vehicles to move at least 100 feet, roughly six car lengths, or to the opposite side of the street.³ Some cities set the bar at one-tenth of a mile (528 feet). If you’re leaving town or storing a car you rarely drive, the safest option is to keep it off the public street entirely — a driveway, garage, or storage lot removes the problem.

What a Violation Costs

A 72-hour violation can bring a citation, a tow, or both. The citation itself typically runs somewhere between $35 and $90 depending on the city. The real expense begins when the vehicle is towed.

Towing fee. California doesn’t cap towing rates statewide. The California Highway Patrol requires rates to be “reasonable” compared to similar services in the area, with local CHP offices approving the specific charges tow contractors can bill. The base tow commonly runs from about $150 to $350 or more depending on the city and vehicle size.⁴
Daily storage. Storage is charged per calendar day, or any part of a day, after the first 24 hours. Rates are set locally but commonly fall between $40 and $75 per day.⁴
Lien sale preparation fee. If you don’t collect the car quickly, the tow company can begin lien paperwork. The fee is capped at $70 for vehicles worth $4,000 or less, and $100 for vehicles worth more. No lien prep fee can be charged if you reclaim the vehicle within 72 hours of the initial storage.⁵

A car left unclaimed long enough is eventually sold at a lien sale to recover the charges.

Your Right to a Post-Storage Hearing

This is the piece most drivers don’t know about, and it can save you hundreds of dollars. When a public agency orders your vehicle stored, CVC 22852 requires it to mail or personally deliver a notice to the registered and legal owners within 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays.⁶

The notice must state where the vehicle is stored, describe it, cite the authority for the removal, and explain how to request a hearing. You have 10 days from the date on the notice to make that request, and you can do it in person, by phone, or in writing.

Once you request the hearing, it must be held within 48 hours, again excluding weekends and holidays. The agency has to show that reasonable grounds existed for the storage. If the hearing officer finds the tow was not justified, the agency that ordered it pays the towing and storage costs, not you.⁶ That outcome is uncommon when the car really did sit for three days, but it happens when the timing evidence is thin, the officer misidentified the vehicle, or enforcement was sloppy.

Contesting the Parking Citation

Even if you accept the tow, you can still fight the ticket. California uses a three-step administrative process under CVC 40215 and 40230.

Initial review. Request it within 21 calendar days of the citation, or within 14 calendar days of the first delinquent notice. A reviewer looks at your evidence and either dismisses or upholds the ticket. Paying the citation without requesting a review within that window ends your right to contest.
Administrative hearing. If the initial review goes against you, you have 21 calendar days from the mailing date of that decision to request a hearing. State law requires you to pay the fine before the hearing proceeds, though a pre-payment waiver is available if you meet low-income criteria.
Superior Court appeal. If the hearing officer upholds the citation, you have 30 days to appeal to Superior Court. A filing fee applies, and the court can impose the original penalty if it rules against you.

You can’t skip steps. Superior Court will not hear the case unless you’ve completed the initial review and the administrative hearing first, and missing a deadline at any stage ends the process.⁷

Getting Your Car Back

First, find out where it went. Call the non-emergency line for the police or sheriff’s department with jurisdiction over the block where you parked, and have your license plate number or VIN, plus the make and model, ready.⁸ Some cities also offer online lookup tools through services such as AutoReturn.

At the impound lot, bring:

A valid government-issued photo ID.
Current vehicle registration, or a one-day moving permit from the DMV if registration has lapsed.
Current proof of auto insurance.

Some cities add a step before you can pick up the car. In San Bernardino, you first visit the police department’s traffic unit, pay a separate city vehicle release fee, and receive a release authorization before the tow yard will hand over the vehicle.⁹ Ask the agency that ordered the tow whether your city does this.

Paying at the Tow Yard

You do not have to pay in cash. Under CVC 22658(k), every storage facility holding a vehicle towed under this chapter must accept both a valid bank credit card and cash, and must post a visible notice in its office stating that both are accepted. A facility that refuses your credit card or fails to post the notice commits a misdemeanor punishable by a fine of up to $2,500, up to three months in county jail, or both. The facility is also civilly liable to you for four times the towing and storage charges.¹⁰

The yard must also keep enough cash on hand during business hours to make change. During business hours, it cannot charge you a release fee just to hand over the vehicle. After-hours releases are capped at half the hourly tow rate.⁴ Any separate city-imposed release fee, like San Bernardino’s, is charged by the city and follows its own payment rules.

If You Can’t Afford to Pay

Many California cities offer indigent payment plans for parking citations. Eligibility is typically based on income at or below 200% of the federal poverty guidelines, or on receiving public benefits such as Medi-Cal, CalWORKs, SNAP, SSI, or unemployment compensation. Approved applicants commonly receive a waiver of late fees and penalty assessments and can spread payments over up to 24 months. Contact the parking citation processing office for the city that issued your ticket to ask what’s available.

For towing and storage, the post-storage hearing is your main avenue for relief. If the hearing officer finds the tow unjustified, you owe nothing. When the tow was valid, speed is what saves money. Every day the car sits on the lot adds another storage charge, and the lien preparation fee kicks in shortly after. Retrieving the car within the first 72 hours of storage avoids the lien prep charge entirely.⁵

1
California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 22651
2
SFMTA. San Francisco Parking Tips: The 72-Hour Rule
3
City of Lomita. Lomita Defines Distance Parked Vehicles Must Move Every Three Days
4
California Highway Patrol. Tow Service Agreement 2025-2026
5
California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 22851.12
6
California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 22852
7
LADOT. Contest a Parking Citation
8
City of San Diego Official Website. Vehicle Impounds and Towing
9
San Bernardino. Vehicle Release Procedures
10
California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 22658