California Vehicle Code 22651: Towing, Impound, and Release Rules

California Vehicle Code 22651 is the statute that lets peace officers and authorized parking enforcement employees remove a vehicle from a public road, public land, or certain off-street parking facilities. It lists more than a dozen specific grounds, ranging from blocking traffic to driving away in handcuffs after an arrest. If your car has been towed under this section, you also have the right to a post-storage hearing to challenge whether the tow was justified, but you have to ask for it within 10 days.

When Police Can Tow Your Vehicle Under 22651

The grounds fall into a few practical groups. Knowing which one applies to you matters, because it shapes both your argument at a hearing and what you need to fix before you can get the vehicle back.

Traffic Hazards and Obstruction

A vehicle left unattended on a bridge, viaduct, causeway, or inside a tunnel can be towed if it obstructs traffic. The same goes for any vehicle parked or standing on a highway in a position that blocks normal traffic movement or creates a hazard for other drivers.¹

A vehicle illegally parked across a private driveway entrance can be towed when it is impractical to push it to a nearby spot on the road. A vehicle blocking firefighting equipment from reaching a fire hydrant can also be removed. On a freeway with full access control and no at-grade crossings, a vehicle left for more than four hours is subject to towing if the driver cannot move it under its own power. And if a driver is physically incapacitated by injury or illness and cannot arrange for someone else to take the car, an officer may have it towed for safekeeping.¹

Parking Violations and Registration Problems

72-hour parking. A vehicle parked on a public street for 72 or more consecutive hours in violation of a local ordinance authorizing removal can be towed.¹
Posted street cleaning or construction. If local authorities need a stretch of road for cleaning, repair, construction, or utility work, and signs were posted at least 24 hours ahead of time, illegally parked vehicles can be removed.
Five or more unpaid parking tickets. A vehicle on a highway or public land with five or more outstanding parking citations can be impounded, as long as the owner has not responded within 21 days of issuance or 14 days of a delinquency notice.¹
No plates or visible registration. A vehicle found illegally parked with no license plates or other visible evidence of registration may be impounded until the owner provides identification and a California address.
Registration expired more than six months. A vehicle displaying registration that expired more than six months ago can be towed, but the officer must first check DMV records. If DMV shows a current registration, the vehicle cannot be removed on this basis even if the sticker on the plate is outdated.¹
Fraudulent registration. Displaying a forged, altered, or counterfeit registration card, license plate, sticker, or temporary permit is grounds for immediate towing.

Arrests and Stolen Vehicles

If the driver is arrested and taken into custody, the officer can tow the car. This provision does a lot of work in practice because it covers any arrest situation, from DUI to an outstanding warrant.¹ An officer who serves a notice of license suspension or revocation at a traffic stop can also have the vehicle removed. Recovered stolen vehicles and vehicles subject to an embezzlement warrant are towed to secure them as evidence and for the rightful owner to reclaim.

What Happens Right After the Tow

When an agency orders a tow under Section 22651, it must mail or personally deliver a written notice to the registered and legal owners within 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays.² That notice has to include:

The name, address, and phone number of the agency that ordered the tow
The storage location and a description of the vehicle, including make, license plate, and mileage if available
The legal authority and purpose for the removal
A statement explaining how to request a post-storage hearing within 10 days²

If the agency cannot identify or locate the owner, it must report the removal to the Department of Justice’s Stolen Vehicle System immediately. For vehicles not registered in California, a written report must go to the Department of Justice if the vehicle is not returned within 120 hours.³

How to Contest the Tow

If you believe your vehicle was towed without proper grounds, request a post-storage hearing. The request can be made in person, in writing, or by phone, and it has to reach the agency within 10 days of the date on your notice. Once you request a hearing, the agency must hold it within 48 hours, excluding weekends and holidays.²

The hearing officer cannot be the same person who ordered the tow. You can bring evidence and explain why the removal was unjustified. If the hearing officer finds there were no reasonable grounds for the storage, the agency that ordered the tow is responsible for all towing and storage costs. You get reimbursed, or the charges are dropped.²

One detail that catches people off guard: failing to request the hearing within 10 days, or failing to show up for a scheduled hearing, satisfies the hearing requirement. The agency is then considered to have met its due process obligation, and you lose your chance to challenge the tow’s validity. If you think the tow was wrong, do not sit on the notice.

Getting the Vehicle Back

You need to pay all outstanding towing and storage fees before the impound lot will release the car. Accepted payment methods vary. Some facilities require cash or certified funds; others take credit or debit cards, sometimes at a slightly higher rate to cover processing costs as permitted under California Civil Code 1748.1.⁴

Costs vary across the state because cities and counties set their own rate schedules. In Los Angeles, which publishes uniform rates for its Official Police Garages, the first hour of a standard vehicle tow runs roughly $215 to $220, each additional half hour runs about $106 to $109, and daily storage runs $66 to $68 for a standard vehicle, with higher rates for larger trucks, boats, and trailers.⁴

To pick the car up, bring proof of ownership (current registration), a valid driver’s license or a licensed driver who can take the wheel, and personal identification. Specific documentation requirements vary slightly by lot, but those are the baseline. If your registration has lapsed, you may need to renew with the DMV before the lot releases the vehicle. Act quickly: every extra day in storage adds to the bill.

One right people rarely know about: you can retrieve your personal belongings from the vehicle without charge during normal business hours (Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 5 p.m., excluding state holidays), even before paying towing or storage fees. The impound lot cannot hold your personal property hostage. After hours, the lot can charge a gate fee capped at half the hourly tow rate.⁵

Related Impound Rules People Confuse With 22651

Several other statutes authorize impounds that look like a 22651 tow but operate under different rules. If your situation falls under one of these, the 22651 hearing framework is not necessarily what applies.

30-Day Impound for Driving on a Suspended License

Vehicle Code 14602.6 authorizes a 30-day impound when an officer determines you were driving on a suspended or revoked license, driving without ever having been issued a license, or driving with an ignition interlock restriction in a car that lacks a functioning interlock device. Thirty days of storage at typical California rates can easily exceed $2,000. Early-release exceptions include a stolen vehicle, a vehicle driven by an unlicensed employee of a business, a driver who reinstates their license and obtains proper insurance, and a lienholder release where a bank or credit union pays all fees and shows proof of its security interest.⁶

Abandoned Vehicles

Vehicle Code 22669 handles abandoned vehicles. A peace officer or designated city or county employee with reasonable grounds to believe a vehicle has been abandoned can order its removal from any highway, public property, or private property.⁷ Before most abandoned-vehicle tows, authorities must attach a notice giving the owner at least 72 hours to move it.⁸ The exception: vehicles missing an engine, transmission, wheels, tires, doors, windshield, or other equipment needed to operate safely are treated as an immediate hazard and can be towed on the spot without notice.

Tows From Private Property

Vehicle Code 22658, not 22651, governs tows from apartment complex lots, shopping centers, and office buildings. For a private-property tow to be lawful, the property must display signs at every entrance that are at least 17 by 22 inches with lettering at least one inch tall, stating that unauthorized vehicles will be towed at the owner’s expense and listing the phone number of the local traffic enforcement agency and the towing company.⁹

The towing company cannot begin removing the vehicle without written authorization from the property owner or their agent, who generally must be present at the time of removal and verify the violation. That authorization must list the vehicle’s make, model, VIN, and license plate; the name and signature of the person authorizing the tow; the grounds for removal; and the time the vehicle was first observed. If any of these pieces are missing, you have strong grounds to contest the tow.⁹ The tow operator must also notify the registered and legal owners in writing, stating the reason for removal and where the vehicle was taken.¹⁰

Protections for Active-Duty Service Members

If you or the vehicle’s owner is on active military duty, federal law adds a layer of protection. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, no one holding a lien on a service member’s property, including a storage lien from a tow, can foreclose on or enforce that lien during the member’s period of military service and for 90 days afterward without first getting a court order.¹¹ The term “lien” explicitly covers liens for storage, repair, or cleaning.

A towing company cannot auction off an active-duty member’s vehicle through a lien sale without going to court first, even if state-law timelines have been met and proper notices were sent. Knowingly violating this protection is a federal misdemeanor punishable by up to one year in prison.¹¹ If you are deployed and get notice that your vehicle has been impounded, tell the towing company and the agency about your active-duty status in writing right away.

1
California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 22651 – Authority to Remove Vehicles
2
California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 22852
3
California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 22853
4
Official Police Garages Association of Los Angeles, Inc. Costs and Fees for Official Police Garages
5
California Legislative Information. California Code Vehicle Code 22851
6
California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 14602.6
7
California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 22669
8
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Disposition of Abandoned Low Value Vehicles (VC 22851.3)
9
California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 22658
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California Legislative Information. California Code Vehicle Code 22658
11
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3958 – Enforcement of Storage Liens