California towing laws

If you get back to your car before it has left the property, the tow company has to release it on the spot, and refusing is a misdemeanor. If the car was already hooked up or lifted, they can charge up to half their regular towing charge. Then you need to move the car right away.17

Before paying anything, you can get your personal belongings out free during normal business hours, which are Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. except state holidays. The lot has no lien on items inside the car. For police-towed cars, the lot can charge a gate fee to return items after hours, capped at half its hourly tow rate.27

Every storage lot has to accept cash, a valid bank credit card in the name of the person paying, or a check from your insurer. Store-issued credit cards don't count. Lots holding private-property tows have to post a sign saying credit cards and cash are accepted. A lot that refuses a valid card can owe four times the charges. Debit cards and personal checks are not on the required list.123

For a private-property tow, the property owner has to tell local police within one hour of authorizing it. The tow company has to report it to police within 60 minutes of leaving the property or 15 minutes after reaching the lot, whichever comes first, and missing a 30-minute report makes it liable for three times the charges. The tower also has to send the registered and legal owners a written notice right away saying why the car was towed, where it is, the mileage and the time it was removed. For police tows, the agency has to mail or hand-deliver a notice to the owners within 48 hours, not counting weekends and holidays, telling you how to ask for a hearing.156

A car released within 24 hours pays one day of storage, and after that the lot can charge each calendar day or part of a day. Lots have to be open Monday to Friday 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. and keep a phone line that takes messages after hours, with calls returned within six business hours. A lot used for private-property tows has to be within 10 miles of the property unless the police approve otherwise, and it has to release cars after hours. You can inspect the car, and have your insurer inspect it, for free. Before taking any money, the lot has to give you an itemized invoice.1213

You and your insurer have the right to immediate release once you pay, show valid photo ID and show papers proving you are the owner or are authorized, plus any required police release. For a private-property tow, the tow company has to give you a copy of the signed tow authorization before you pay, along with a notice listing the number to call if you think the tow was wrongful.12813

To tow from private property on sign authority, the property needs a sign at every entrance, in plain view. The sign has to be at least 17 by 22 inches with letters at least 1 inch tall. It has to say public parking is prohibited and that cars will be removed at the owner's expense, and list the phone number of the local traffic law enforcement agency plus the name and phone number of every tow company with a written towing agreement for the property. It may add that a citation can also be issued. Without signs, a tow is allowed only 96 hours after a parking ticket, 24 hours after police are told about a car missing major parts, or from a single-family home lot. Free customer lots open to the public can't tow within one hour of parking, except for fire hydrants, fire lanes, blocked entrances or exits and disabled spaces, and this one-hour rule doesn't apply to residential lots. Towing from a disabled space takes its own sign of the same size, either at the space or at each entrance, saying unauthorized cars will be towed at the owner's expense and giving the reclaim address and police phone number. On top of the signs, the owner or agent has to give the tow company a written, signed authorization for each tow and be on site to confirm the violation, except at rentals of 15 or fewer units with no onsite staff where a tenant's signed request is used. Tow companies can't hold blanket authority except for fire lanes, hydrants and blocked entrances, which require a written agreement. The owner has to call police within one hour of authorizing a tow. Skipping the sign or authorization rules can make the property owner liable for double the towing and storage charges. A tow company can't pay the owner for the right to tow.1111214