California Private Property Towing Laws: Signs, Fees, and Recovery

Under the private property towing laws in California, your car cannot be removed from a private lot, apartment complex, or similar space unless the property has proper no-parking signs at every entrance and the owner or an authorized agent provides written authorization for that specific tow. If you catch the truck before it leaves the property, the operator must release your vehicle, and the most you can be charged is half the standard tow rate. When the rules are broken, you can recover two to four times the towing and storage charges in civil damages.

When a Tow from Private Property Is Legal

Vehicle Code Section 22658 sets the ground rules. Two things generally have to be true before a vehicle can be towed: compliant signs at every entrance, and written authorization for the specific removal from the property owner or an authorized agent. A separate pathway allows a tow if a parking violation notice has been on the vehicle for at least 96 hours.¹

The person authorizing the tow generally has to be on the property when the vehicle is removed, though not standing next to the car. The only carve-out is for small residential rental properties with 15 or fewer units and no one on-site: in that case, a tenant can authorize a tow of a vehicle in the tenant’s own assigned space using a signed written or email request that verifies the violation.¹

What the Signs Have to Say

Signs must be posted in plain view at every entrance, measure at least 17 by 22 inches, and use lettering at least one inch tall. They must state that unauthorized vehicles will be towed at the owner’s expense, list the phone number of the local traffic law enforcement agency, and name every tow company authorized to remove vehicles from the property along with each company’s phone number. A missing sign, a sign at the wrong entrance, undersized lettering, or a missing tow-company name can invalidate the tow.¹

Three Situations Where a Tow Company Can Act on Standing Authorization

In three narrow scenarios, a property owner can give a tow company blanket written authorization to act without case-by-case approval:

The vehicle is parked within 15 feet of a fire hydrant.
The vehicle is in a marked fire lane.
The vehicle blocks an entrance to or exit from the property.

When a tow proceeds under this kind of standing authorization, the tow company has to photograph the vehicle in place, clearly showing the violation, and give you a copy of the photo free of charge when you pick up the car.¹

How to Stop the Tow, or Cut the Bill in Half

This is the protection most drivers don’t know about. If you come back to your car before the tow truck has left the property with it, the operator must release the vehicle immediately and without conditions. Refusing to unhook the car at that point is a misdemeanor.¹

If your vehicle is already hooked up but the truck hasn’t left the lot, you can still take the car, and the operator can charge no more than half the regular tow rate as a drop fee. Once the truck has left the property, the full charge applies. Two minutes on either side of that line can be the difference of hundreds of dollars.¹

What the Tow Yard Can Charge

California does not set a single statewide dollar cap on private property tow fees. The rate can’t exceed what the law enforcement agency with primary jurisdiction over the location has approved, or the tow company’s approved California Highway Patrol rate, whichever applies. Those approved rates have to be posted at the storage facility, so the actual ceiling varies from city to city.

Storage is billed by calendar day. Pick the car up within 24 hours and you owe one day. After that, each additional day or partial day counts as a full day.² The storage lot has to be within 10 miles of the location where the vehicle was towed unless the local law enforcement agency has given prior written approval to store it farther out.¹

Every storage facility must accept cash and any valid bank credit card in the name of the person presenting it. A payment notice has to be posted where customers pay. Refusing a valid card or failing to post the notice exposes the operator to a misdemeanor charge with fines up to $2,500, up to three months in jail, or both, plus civil liability of four times the towing and storage charges.¹

Getting Your Car and Belongings Back

You can retrieve personal property from a towed vehicle at no charge during normal business hours, Monday through Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., excluding state holidays. You don’t have to pay any towing or storage fees to get your belongings.³

To take the vehicle itself, you’ll need to pay the outstanding fees. Ask for an itemized invoice showing every charge separately, and compare each line to the posted approved rate. If any charge is above the posted rate, that’s a civil claim. Keep the receipt and the invoice. Also ask for a copy of the written authorization the tow company should have on file; a tow without valid written authorization is one of the strongest violations for a later claim.

What You Can Recover If the Tow Was Improper

California pairs different violations with different damage multipliers, so which rule was broken decides how much you can recover.

Bad signage or a property owner who refused to state the grounds for removal when asked: double the towing and storage charges.
A tow company that charged more than the approved posted rate: four times the amount charged.
A storage operator that refused a valid credit card or failed to post the payment notice: four times the towing and storage charges.
A tow with no valid written authorization, or a tow that violated the presence-and-verification requirements: four times the towing and storage charges.
Failure to notify law enforcement within 30 minutes of the removal: three times the towing and storage charges.
Damage to the vehicle from intentional or negligent acts during removal: actual damages.

These penalties can stack. A single tow that violated several provisions can carry several layers of liability at once.¹

If you plan to pursue a claim, document everything early. Photograph the entrances and any signs, or the lack of them. Save the invoice, receipt, and any written authorization the yard produces. In small claims court, that paperwork trail is usually what decides the case.

If You Can’t or Don’t Pick Up the Vehicle

A tow yard that isn’t paid can eventually sell the vehicle at a lien sale, and the timeline turns on the car’s value. For vehicles worth $4,000 or less, the yard must begin lien sale proceedings within 15 days of the tow. Storage can accrue for up to 60 days if the paperwork is filed with the DMV on time, and up to 120 days in specific situations such as out-of-state registration or an altered VIN.²

For vehicles worth more than $4,000, the yard has 30 days to apply for lien-sale authorization or file a court action. Miss that deadline and the lien becomes invalid. The legal owner also has to be notified before storage charges exceed $1,025 on lower-value vehicles or $1,250 on vehicles worth more than $4,000.⁴

The lien is wiped out entirely if the yard charged more than its posted rates or refused to let the legal owner inspect the vehicle within 24 to 72 hours of a written demand.² If the auction brings in less than what’s owed, the tow company can pursue the registered owner for the shortfall, and that debt can sit on your credit for up to seven years.

Extra Protection for Active-Duty Servicemembers

Federal law adds a layer that overrides California’s ordinary lien-sale rules. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, no one can foreclose on or enforce a storage or towing lien against an active-duty servicemember during their military service or for 90 days afterward without first getting a court order. The tow yard cannot sell the vehicle through a lien sale on its own, regardless of what state procedure would otherwise allow. A court can stay the proceedings or adjust the payment obligation. Knowingly violating this protection is a federal misdemeanor, punishable by a fine, up to one year in prison, or both.⁵

1
California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code VEH 22658 – Removal of Vehicles From Private Property
2
California Legislative Information. California Civil Code CIV 3068.1 – Towing and Storage Liens
3
California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code VEH 22651.07
4
California Department of Motor Vehicles. 18.065 Liens
5
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3958 – Enforcement of Storage Liens