Yuba City, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)
Key Facts
- Section
- Yuba City Municipal Code § 4-9.822
- Sign size required
- At least 17 in. by 22 in.
- Prerequisite
- Phone notice to police before towing
- Paid-lot grace period
- 12 hours past expiration
- No-sign liability
- Owner liable per Veh. Code § 22658(e)
Summary
A Yuba City property owner can have an unauthorized vehicle towed from private property only after phoning police, and only if a posted sign at least 17 by 22 inches warns that parking is prohibited and vehicles will be removed at the owner's expense.
An owner or person in lawful possession of any private property may subsequent to notifying by telephone, or if impractical, by the most expeditious means available, the City police authorities, cause the removal of a vehicle parking on the private property nearest public garage if: (a)There is displayed in plain view at all entrances to the property a sign not less than 17 in. by 22 in. in size with lettering not less than one in. in height prohibiting public parking thereon and indicating that vehicles will be removed at the owner's expense and containing the telephone number of the local traffic law enforcement agency.
Full Breakdown
822 sets the local conditions for towing under California Vehicle Code Section 22658. Before removal, the property owner or person in lawful possession must notify City police authorities by telephone, or by the most expeditious means available if a call is impractical. The property must display, at all entrances, a sign not less than 17 by 22 inches in size, with lettering not less than one inch high, prohibiting public parking, stating that vehicles will be removed at the owner's expense, and listing the local traffic law enforcement agency's phone number.
A single-family-dwelling lot gets a narrower path: subsection (b) lets the owner have a vehicle towed after the same police notification, treating residential lots separately from the general commercial-lot sign requirement. Whoever causes the tow must also follow the state notice requirements of Vehicle Code Sections 22658(b) and 22853(c). The section separately caps how a paid parking facility can act: it may not remove a vehicle from a fee-paid space until at least 12 hours after the paid period expires, though that grace period does not apply to a stall that is rented and clearly marked or reserved for one person.
Any property owner who fails to post the required sign is liable under Vehicle Code Section 22658(e) for the towing and storage charges the vehicle owner ends up billed.
Violations & Fines
A property owner or tow operator who orders a private-property tow without posting the required sign, where a sign is required, is liable under Vehicle Code Section 22658(e) for the resulting towing and storage charges, meaning the vehicle owner can recover those costs. Section 4-9.822 does not itself impose a separate City fine on the property owner; liability instead runs through the state Vehicle Code remedy the section incorporates.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a Yuba City business tow my car from its lot without warning?
Is a single-family home lot held to the same sign rule?
What if the lot never posted the required sign and towed me anyway?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Yuba City
California rules heatmap·Compare Yuba City to another location·View the California business licensing & operations overview
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