California Private Property Towing Laws: Fees, Recovery, and Lien Sales

Private property towing laws in California, set out mainly in Vehicle Code Section 22658, let a property owner have an unauthorized vehicle towed only when strict conditions are met: proper signs at every entrance, written authorization for that specific tow, and in most cases someone from the property present to verify the violation. If you reach your car before the tow truck pulls off the lot, the operator must release it, and if you arrive after it’s hooked but still on the property, the drop fee is capped at half the regular tow rate. When a tow company or property owner skips the required steps, you can recover double or quadruple the charges.¹

When a Tow Is Actually Legal

Two things have to line up before a car can be removed from private property under Section 22658. The property needs compliant no-parking signs posted in plain view at every entrance, and the property owner or an authorized agent must give the tow company written authorization for the specific vehicle. A separate pathway allows a tow if the vehicle has received a parking violation notice and 96 hours have passed.¹

The person authorizing the tow generally has to be on the property at the time of removal, verifying the violation themselves. They don’t have to stand next to the car, but they do need to be there.

The signs are not a formality. To be valid under Section 22658(a)(1), each sign must be at least 17 by 22 inches with lettering at least one inch tall, and it must state that unauthorized vehicles will be towed at the owner’s expense, give the phone number of the local traffic law enforcement agency, and list the name and phone number of each tow company authorized to remove vehicles from the property. A missing phone number, undersized sign, or a single unposted entrance can invalidate the tow and expose the property owner to double the towing and storage charges.¹

Three Situations That Allow Immediate Removal

A property owner can give a tow company standing written authorization to remove vehicles without case-by-case approval in only three situations: when the vehicle is parked within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, when it’s in a marked fire lane, or when it blocks an entrance to or exit from the property. In those cases the tow company must photograph the vehicle before removal in a way that clearly shows the violation, and give you a copy of that photo free of charge when you pick up the car.¹

If You Catch the Tow Truck Before It Leaves

This is the single most valuable protection most drivers don’t know about. If you return to your car before the tow truck has left the property with your vehicle, the tow operator must release it immediately and unconditionally. Refusing to unhook at that point is a misdemeanor.¹

If the truck has already hooked up your vehicle but hasn’t left the lot, the company can charge a drop fee of no more than half the regular towing rate. Once the truck is off the property and in transit, the full tow charge applies. Two minutes can be the difference between a half-price release and a full tow plus storage.

What You’ll Pay and Where Your Car Can Be Held

California doesn’t set a single statewide dollar cap for private property towing. The rate cannot 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 must be posted at the storage facility, so the actual ceiling varies by city.

Storage fees run on a calendar-day basis. Pick up the car within 24 hours of it being stored and you pay for one day. After that, every additional day or partial day counts as a full day.²

The storage facility has to be within 10 miles of the property where the vehicle was towed, unless the tow company has prior written approval from the local law enforcement agency with jurisdiction over the area.¹

Every storage facility must accept cash and any valid bank credit card in the name of the person presenting it. A notice stating that credit cards and cash are accepted has to be posted in the area where customers pay. Refusing a valid card or failing to post the notice is a misdemeanor and triggers civil liability of four times the towing and storage charges.¹

Getting Your Belongings and Your Car Back

You can retrieve personal property from the vehicle at no charge during normal business hours — Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m., excluding state holidays — and you do not have to pay any towing or storage fees first.³

To get the vehicle itself, you pay the outstanding towing and storage charges. The facility has to give you an itemized invoice showing each charge separately. If any charge is higher than the posted approved rate, you have grounds for a civil claim. Keep the receipt and the invoice. They are your main evidence if you later challenge the tow.

When the Tow Was Improper: What You Can Recover

California layers the penalties based on what went wrong, and more than one can apply to the same tow.

Signage or procedural failures by the property owner, or a refusal to state the grounds for removal when asked: double the towing and storage charges.
A tow company charging more than the approved rate: four times the amount charged.
Credit card refusal or missing payment notice at the storage facility: four times the towing and storage charges.
Towing without valid written authorization or in violation of the presence and verification requirements: four times the towing and storage charges.
Failure by the tow company to notify law enforcement within 30 minutes of removing the vehicle: three times the towing and storage charges. (The tow company also commits a misdemeanor if that notification doesn’t happen within 60 minutes of removal or 15 minutes of arriving at the storage facility, whichever comes first.)
Damage to the vehicle from intentional or negligent acts during removal: the actual cost of repair.

The property owner has a parallel duty to notify the local traffic law enforcement agency by phone within one hour of authorizing the removal.¹

If you think your car was towed improperly, document everything before you leave the lot. Photograph the signage at every entrance, or the absence of it. Save your payment receipt and the itemized invoice. Ask for a copy of the written authorization the tow company is required to have on file. That paper trail is what wins or loses these cases in small claims court.

If a Vehicle Isn’t Picked Up: The Lien Sale Process

When an owner can’t pay or never comes for the car, the tow yard can eventually sell it through a lien sale, and the timeline depends on the vehicle’s value.

For vehicles valued at $4,000 or less, the tow yard must begin lien sale proceedings within 15 days of the lien arising, which for a private property tow is the moment the vehicle is towed. Storage charges can accrue for up to 60 days when the tow yard files the proper paperwork with the DMV on time, and up to 120 days in specific circumstances such as out-of-state registration or an altered vehicle identification number.²

For vehicles worth more than $4,000, the tow yard has 30 days to apply for authorization to conduct a lien sale 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 for lower-value vehicles or $1,250 for vehicles valued over $4,000.⁴

If the vehicle sells at auction for less than the total owed, the tow company can pursue the registered owner for the remaining balance, and that debt can affect credit for up to seven years.

Active-Duty Service Members

Federal law overrides California’s lien sale process for military personnel. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, no one may 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 obtaining a court order. A tow yard cannot sell a servicemember’s vehicle through the standard lien process without judicial approval, regardless of what state procedures would otherwise allow. A court reviewing the case can stay the proceedings or adjust the payment obligation. Knowingly violating this protection is a federal misdemeanor carrying a fine, up to one year of imprisonment, 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