Berkeley, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Before a Berkeley property owner can have a vehicle towed, § 13.52.040 requires signs at all entrances stating the conditions under which parking is allowed; the wording and posting must be approved by the Berkeley Police Department. Once that signage is posted, § 13.52.050 lets a Police Department employee designated by the Chief cite the vehicle, and § 13.52.060 lets that same officer, the property owner, or the owner's authorized agent remove any vehicle parked in violation of § 13.52.040.

A towed vehicle must go to the nearest garage or other place of safety, or to a garage the City designates, under § 13.52.070. The person who removed the vehicle must then notify its owner as required by the state Vehicle Code (§ 13.52.080), and the garage keeper holds a lien on the vehicle for towing and storage charges, enforceable under the conditions the Vehicle Code sets (§ 13.52.090).

Section 13.52.100 shifts the financial risk onto whoever wrongly triggers a tow: if a vehicle removed from private property was actually parked there rightfully, the person who complained about it, or who caused its removal, is personally liable for all towing and storage charges, not the tow company or the property owner acting in good faith. Any violation of the chapter, including towing outside these rules, is a misdemeanor under § 13.52.110, punishable as set out in Chapter 1.20.