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

Chapter 12.50 regulates non-consensual towing from private property under authority the city council cites to Vehicle Code Section 21100. Section 12.50.020 makes it unlawful for any business enterprise to tow, remove, or store vehicles parked without the property owner's permission unless it has first secured a city license, though individual employees do not need their own license. Section 12.50.040 bars charging fees beyond those reasonably related to towing and storage, including hoisting, standby, or after-hours release fees if release falls between 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. on a business day, and requires the company to file current rates with the chief of police and post maximum rates conspicuously on-site; no fee may be charged if the owner returns before the tow truck departs.

Section 12.50.070 requires written authorization signed by the property owner naming the vehicle's make, model, and license number immediately before towing, bars towing an occupied vehicle, requires immediate notification to the La Mesa Police Department with the storage site and vehicle details, requires towing directly to the company's garage, caps storage distance at 5 miles from the point of removal unless no closer garage exists and never more than 10 miles, and sets storage-yard fencing, signage, and 24-hour release-access standards. Section 12.50.050 requires the company to keep numbered receipts for every transaction, available for chief-of-police inspection during normal business hours.

The chief of police may suspend or revoke a company's towing authorization under Section 12.50.080 for failing to comply with Vehicle Code towing and storage rules, and designated enforcement employees have arrest power under Section 12.50.090. Chapter 12.50 was adopted by Ordinance 2362, Section 1, on June 26, 1984.