California’s towing laws set clear limits on when a vehicle can be removed, who has to authorize it, and what a driver can do about it. Police can order a tow from a public street only for specific reasons listed in the Vehicle Code. Private property owners can have a car towed only after meeting strict signage, authorization, and notification rules. If any of that goes wrong, you have real remedies: a right to stop the tow before the truck leaves the lot, a right to a hearing on a public tow, and statutory damages of two to four times the towing charges when a private tow breaks the rules.
When Police Can Tow From a Public Street
Peace officers and authorized public employees can order a vehicle removed from a public road or off-street parking facility under Vehicle Code 22651. The statute lists specific scenarios; officers cannot tow on a general judgment call.1California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 22651
The common triggers:
- Registration that expired more than six months before the vehicle was found on a public road. The officer has to confirm through DMV records before towing. No records access, no tow.
- Five or more outstanding parking violation notices, or five or more unresolved failure-to-appear notices for traffic violations. To recover the vehicle, the registered owner has to show ID, a California address, and proof that all penalties have been cleared.
- The driver is arrested and taken into custody.
- The vehicle is blocking traffic, creating a hazard, or parked on a highway in a way that interferes with snow removal or emergency operations.
The 30-Day Impound Hold
Being towed for expired registration is one problem. Losing your car for a month is another. Under Vehicle Code 14602.6, an officer who determines that a driver was operating on a suspended or revoked license, or never had a license at all, can order the vehicle impounded for 30 days.2California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 14602.6
The registered owner is responsible for all towing, storage, and administrative charges. Over 30 days those can reach thousands of dollars. The impounding agency has to notify the legal owner (a bank or lienholder, for example) within two working days. If it doesn’t, it can charge for no more than 15 days of storage when the legal owner redeems the vehicle.2California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 14602.6
Early release is possible if the vehicle was stolen, if the driver reinstates or obtains a valid license and proper insurance, if the suspension was for an offense outside the serious categories in Articles 2 and 3 of Division 6, Chapter 2 (which cover DUI-related and major traffic offenses), or if the seizure wasn’t legally authorized for the offense involved.
A storage facility that refuses a valid credit card or cash during the hold faces civil liability of four times the towing and storage charges, capped at $500.2California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 14602.6
When a Private Property Owner Can Tow You
Private property towing runs under a different statute, Vehicle Code 22658, and the requirements are stricter than most property owners realize. Every step has to be followed, or the tow becomes illegal.
Signs Have to Be Posted First
The property must have signs in plain view at every entrance. Each sign has to be at least 17 by 22 inches, with lettering at least one inch tall. Each has to state that public parking is prohibited, warn that vehicles will be removed at the owner’s expense, and list the phone number of the local traffic law enforcement agency.3California Legislative Information. California Code VEH – 22658 Authority to Remove Vehicles
A property owner who skips proper signage owes the vehicle owner double the towing and storage charges.3California Legislative Information. California Code VEH – 22658 Authority to Remove Vehicles
Written Authorization Signed on the Spot
A towing company cannot start removing a vehicle without written authorization from the property owner or a designated agent, who has to be physically present at the time of the tow to verify the violation. The form has to identify the vehicle, name and identify the person authorizing the tow, state the grounds, and record the time the vehicle was first observed on the property and the time the tow was authorized.3California Legislative Information. California Code VEH – 22658 Authority to Remove Vehicles
Violating those requirements exposes the towing company to civil liability of four times the towing and storage charges plus a misdemeanor with a fine up to $2,500, up to three months in county jail, or both.
Notification to Law Enforcement
After authorizing the tow, the property owner has to notify local traffic law enforcement within one hour. The towing company then has to notify law enforcement after the vehicle is removed and in transit. Missing the 30-minute mark triggers civil liability of three times the towing and storage charges. If the towing company still hasn’t notified law enforcement within 60 minutes of leaving the property or 15 minutes of arriving at the storage facility, whichever is shorter, that’s a misdemeanor.3California Legislative Information. California Code VEH – 22658 Authority to Remove Vehicles
Faster Removal for Safety and Abandonment
Some private-property tows skip the standard notice period. Under Vehicle Code 22953, a vehicle parked in a fire lane, in a designated disabled-person parking space, within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, or blocking an entrance or exit can be towed without the usual wait.
A vehicle that has received a parking violation notice on private property must sit for 96 hours before it can be towed under 22658. And a vehicle sitting on private property without an engine, transmission, wheels, or other major components can be towed 24 hours after the property owner notifies law enforcement.4California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 22658
Stopping a Tow in Progress: The Drop Fee
If you get back to your vehicle while it’s being towed from private property and the truck hasn’t left yet, you can stop the tow. Under Vehicle Code 22658(g), the towing company has to immediately and unconditionally release a vehicle that hasn’t yet been removed from the property, if the owner or an agent asks.3California Legislative Information. California Code VEH – 22658 Authority to Remove Vehicles
If the vehicle is already hooked to the truck but still on the property, the company can charge a drop fee of no more than half the regular towing rate. You have to be ready to move the vehicle off the property right away.
A tow operator who refuses to release a vehicle in these circumstances is guilty of a misdemeanor. If a driver tells you it’s “too late,” ask whether the truck has left the property. If it hasn’t, the law is on your side.
Getting Your Towed Vehicle Back
Start by calling the local police or sheriff’s department. Both the property owner and the towing company have to notify law enforcement after a private-property tow, so the agency should know which storage yard has the vehicle. For a police-ordered tow, the ordering agency has the storage location on file. Move quickly; storage fees run daily.
Bring a valid driver’s license and proof of ownership, usually your current registration card or the title. Call the storage yard before you drive over to confirm the total due and accepted payment methods. Expect a base towing charge, daily storage, and possibly an administrative fee from the agency that authorized the tow.
Storage facilities holding vehicles towed from private property have to accept valid credit cards and cash. A facility that refuses either owes the vehicle owner four times the towing and storage charges.3California Legislative Information. California Code VEH – 22658 Authority to Remove Vehicles They must be open Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., excluding state holidays, and they have to release vehicles after hours for a gate fee capped at half the hourly tow rate originally charged.4California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 22658
Inspect the vehicle before driving away. Ask for an itemized receipt that breaks down every charge. That receipt is your evidence if you later challenge the tow or file a damage claim. Photograph any new scratches or dents before you leave the lot.
How to Contest a Public Tow: The Post-Storage Hearing
If you think your vehicle was towed by a public agency without legal justification, Vehicle Code 22852 gives you the right to a post-storage hearing. This process applies to tows ordered by a public agency, not private-property tows, which carry their own statutory penalties instead.
The agency that directed the tow has to mail or personally deliver a storage notice to the registered and legal owners within 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays. The notice has to include the storage location, a description of the vehicle, the authority and reason for the tow, and instructions for requesting a hearing.5California Legislative Information. California Code VEH – 22852
You have 10 days from the date on the notice to request a hearing, in person, in writing, or by phone. The hearing has to be held within 48 hours of the request, excluding weekends and holidays. If the hearing finds no reasonable grounds for the tow, the agency that employed the person who ordered it has to pay all towing and storage costs. Miss the 10-day deadline or skip a scheduled hearing and you waive your challenge through this process.5California Legislative Information. California Code VEH – 22852
Suing Over an Illegal Private-Property Tow
Vehicle Code 22658 builds in financial penalties that make illegal towing genuinely expensive, and the remedies stack. A single bad tow can trigger more than one liability provision.
- No proper signage or failure to state the grounds for removal: the property owner owes double the towing and storage charges.
- Excessive towing or storage rates: four times the amount charged, plus a possible misdemeanor with a fine up to $2,500 and up to three months in jail.
- Refusing a credit card or cash: four times the towing and storage charges, plus misdemeanor exposure.
- Violating the written authorization requirements: four times the towing and storage charges, plus misdemeanor exposure.
- Failing to notify law enforcement within 30 minutes: three times the towing and storage charges.
- Refusing to release a vehicle on request before it leaves the property: misdemeanor.
Small claims court is the usual venue for pursuing these statutory damages.3California Legislative Information. California Code VEH – 22658 Authority to Remove Vehicles
If You Don’t Act: Lien Sales
Storage yards don’t hold vehicles indefinitely. California law lets a lienholder sell an unclaimed vehicle to recover unpaid towing and storage charges. Within 15 days of the date the lien arises, the lienholder requests the vehicle’s registration records from the DMV, then mails a certified notice of pending sale to the registered owner, legal owner, and known interested parties at least 31 days but no more than 41 days before the sale.6California DMV. Lien Sale Procedure for Vehicles Valued At $4,000 or Less
Lien processing fees are capped at $70 for vehicles valued at $4,000 or less and $100 for vehicles worth more. No lien processing fee can be charged if you redeem the vehicle within 72 hours of initial storage.6California DMV. Lien Sale Procedure for Vehicles Valued At $4,000 or Less
Under current California law, the DMV isn’t required to notify you if your vehicle sells for more than the amount owed, so surplus funds can sit unclaimed. You have three years to claim them before the money is forfeited. If you want to keep the vehicle, act fast. Every day of delay adds storage charges that eat into your ability to recover it at all.