California Vehicle Code 22651: Tow Triggers, Impound, and Recovery

California Vehicle Code 22651 lists more than two dozen situations in which a peace officer or a city, county, or state parking enforcement employee can have your vehicle towed without your consent. The triggers range from blocking a driveway or fire hydrant to driving on a suspended license, and storage fees start accumulating the moment the truck pulls away. Knowing which situations authorize a tow, what it will cost you, and how to challenge one is often the difference between a few hundred dollars and a few thousand.

Who Has the Authority to Order a Tow

Section 22651 gives tow authority to two groups. Peace officers — local police, county sheriffs, and California Highway Patrol officers — can order a removal when they encounter a qualifying violation. Regularly employed, salaried city, county, or state employees whose duties include directing traffic or enforcing parking laws can also remove vehicles, but only inside their own jurisdiction.¹ A parking enforcement officer from one city has no power to tow your car in the next town over.

Section 22651 governs tows from highways and public land. Tows from private parking lots are handled under a separate statute, CVC 22658, with its own signage and notification rules, so if you were towed out of a shopping-center lot the analysis below is not the one that applies to your situation.

Situations That Authorize a Tow Under CVC 22651

Blocking Traffic, Bridges, and Tunnels

A vehicle left unattended on a bridge, viaduct, causeway, or inside a tunnel can be removed immediately if it obstructs traffic. Any vehicle parked or standing on a highway in a way that blocks the normal flow or creates a hazard is also subject to removal. On freeways with full access control and no at-grade crossings, a vehicle that has been stopped for more than four hours and cannot move under its own power can be towed, with an exception for highway maintenance or construction equipment.¹

Blocking Driveways, Hydrants, and Other Vehicles

Blocking a private driveway or a fire hydrant will get you towed when it is impractical to reposition the car along the curb instead. The impracticality standard is low, and hydrant tows in particular happen quickly. If you illegally park in a way that traps a legally parked vehicle — double-parking behind someone in a tight lot, for instance — your car can also be removed.¹

Posted Tow-Away Zones

Local authorities can designate temporary tow-away zones for street cleaning, road repair, construction, utility work, or special events. Signs warning that vehicles may be removed must be posted at least 24 hours before the tow.¹ If signs were not posted with the required lead time, that is a solid ground to challenge the tow at a post-storage hearing. Permanent no-parking zones established by local ordinance also require posted signs before any vehicle can be removed.

Vehicles Left on the Street for 72 or More Hours

Many California cities prohibit leaving a vehicle in the same spot on a public road for 72 or more consecutive hours, and Section 22651 authorizes towing to enforce those ordinances.¹ This is the provision that catches people who store an undriven car curbside or leave town for a long trip. The clock resets if the vehicle actually moves, but rocking it forward a few inches will not satisfy most enforcement officers.

Arrest of the Driver

When a peace officer takes a driver into custody, the officer can have the vehicle towed. This comes up most often with DUI arrests but applies to any custodial arrest. Nothing in the statute requires the officer to look for a licensed passenger to drive the car home, though some officers will allow it as a courtesy.¹

Driving Without a Valid License

Section 22651 authorizes towing when a driver is cited for never having obtained a license, driving on a suspended or revoked license, or violating other licensing restrictions. The vehicle cannot be released until the registered owner or their agent presents a valid driver’s license and proof of current registration.¹ A related statute, CVC 14602.6, escalates the consequences considerably. That section is covered below.

Expired Registration

If your registration has been expired more than six months, the vehicle can be towed from a highway, public land, or even an off-street parking facility. Before removing the car, the officer must verify through DMV records that no current registration exists. If you renewed but forgot to affix the sticker and the DMV database shows active registration, the car should not be towed under this provision. The same subsection covers vehicles displaying forged, counterfeit, or altered registration documents, plates, or stickers.¹

No Plates and No Visible Registration

An illegally parked vehicle displaying no license plates and no visible registration evidence can be impounded until the owner provides proof of identity and a California address. Both conditions have to be met — a legally parked car without plates would not qualify under this subsection alone.¹

Stolen or Embezzled Vehicles

A vehicle found on a highway or public land can be removed if it has been reported stolen or if a warrant has been issued alleging embezzlement.¹ If your car was stolen and later recovered, expect it to be held as evidence until the investigating agency issues a release.

Five or More Unpaid Parking Tickets

A vehicle carrying five or more unpaid parking citations can be impounded the next time it is found on a highway or public land. The citations must have gone unanswered for at least 21 days from the citation date, or 14 days after a delinquent notice was mailed. The same rule applies if the registered owner personally has five or more outstanding traffic violations.¹ Recovery is more involved than a routine tow: you must provide proof of identity, a California address, and satisfactory evidence that every parking penalty and traffic violation tied to you or the vehicle has been cleared, including on other cars registered in your name.

Incapacitated Driver

When a driver is too injured or ill to arrange for the vehicle’s custody, an officer can have it towed to keep it from becoming a road hazard.¹ This one is protective rather than punitive.

The 30-Day Impound Under CVC 14602.6

License-related tows can escalate under a separate statute. If a peace officer determines the driver was operating with a suspended or revoked license, a restricted license without a required interlock device, or no license at all, the officer can seize the vehicle and impound it for 30 days.² The hold runs regardless of whether a licensed friend or family member could otherwise pick up the car, and storage fees accrue every day of it.

The 30-day hold is not absolute. The impounding agency must release the vehicle early if:

The car was stolen and the registered owner had nothing to do with the violation.
An unlicensed employee of a business, such as a parking service or repair shop, was driving.
The license suspension falls outside the most serious categories (DUI-related or major driving offenses).
The vehicle was impounded for an offense that does not actually authorize seizure.
The driver obtains a valid license and proper insurance during the impound period.

Even with an early release, you still need to present a valid driver’s license and current registration, or produce a court order.²

The agency must send certified notice to the legal owner within two working days. If it misses that deadline, it cannot charge the legal owner (such as a bank or credit union) for more than 15 days of impoundment when the owner redeems the vehicle. A lender holding a security interest can recover the vehicle before the 30 days expire by paying towing and storage fees and providing documentation; those costs typically get added to your loan balance.²

What It Will Cost You

California does not set a single statewide tow rate. For law enforcement tows, rates are fixed by agreement between the agency and the tow operator and must be posted at the storage facility. Many jurisdictions cap tow charges at the CHP’s maximum allowable rates. For the 2025–26 fiscal year, the CHP maximums for a standard passenger vehicle (Class A) run $326.55 per hour for the tow itself and roughly $78 to $81 per day for storage, depending on whether the vehicle is kept inside or outside. Larger vehicles cost far more; a tractor-trailer tow can exceed $600 per hour.³

Storage is what turns an impound into a financial emergency. At roughly $80 a day, a 30-day hold accrues over $2,400 in storage alone, on top of the initial tow. Even a routine same-day pickup runs a few hundred dollars. Every day of delay adds to the bill, so retrieving the car quickly is always the cheaper move.

Getting Your Car Back

Start by calling the law enforcement agency that ordered the tow. They will tell you which lot has the vehicle and, for law enforcement holds, issue a release authorization. Bring:

A valid photo ID
Proof of current vehicle registration
A valid driver’s license for whoever will drive the vehicle out of the lot

If the tow was based on outstanding parking violations, you will also need proof that every fine has been cleared before the agency issues a release.¹

If your vehicle is on a 30-day hold under CVC 14602.6, paying the fees is not enough on its own. You must either wait out the hold, qualify for one of the early-release exceptions, or obtain a court order.

Challenging the Tow: The Post-Storage Hearing

If you believe the tow was not justified, you have the right to a post-storage hearing. The agency that directed the storage has to offer you one and must include hearing information in the notice mailed to you.⁴

You must request the hearing within 10 days of the date on the storage notice. The request can be made in person, in writing, or by phone. Once requested, the hearing must be held within 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays, and the hearing officer cannot be the same person who ordered the tow.⁴

Bring anything that supports your argument: photos showing missing or obscured signage, proof of current registration, a valid license if the tow rested on an alleged licensing issue, or documentation that the vehicle had been stolen. If the hearing officer finds the tow was not justified, the vehicle must be released immediately and the agency that ordered the tow becomes responsible for the towing and storage fees.⁴ Miss the 10-day window or skip a scheduled hearing and you waive the right to challenge.

If You Leave the Car Sitting

An unclaimed vehicle eventually goes to lien sale so the tow company can recover what it is owed. For vehicles valued at $4,000 or less, the tow operator can conduct the sale without applying to the DMV. Vehicles worth more require additional steps and DMV involvement.⁵ You will be notified before the sale and given a 10-day window to oppose it. After that window closes, the dispute becomes a civil matter between you and the tow company, and the vehicle is gone. Any loan balance stays yours. Between lost equity and continued payments on a car you no longer have, ignoring an impound notice is one of the most expensive mistakes a driver can make.

1
California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 22651
2
California Legislative Information. California Code Vehicle Code 14602-6
3
City of Pomona. California Highway Patrol Maximum Allowable Tow and Storage Rates
4
California Legislative Information. California Code Vehicle Code 22852
5
California DMV. Lien Sales Frequently Asked Questions