Yolo County enforces abandoned-vehicle rules through California Vehicle Code Sections 22523 (prohibition on abandoning), 22651 (impound authority), and 22658 (removal from private property), administered by the Yolo County Sheriff's Office and the county's Abandoned Vehicle Abatement (AVA) program. A vehicle left more than 72 hours on a public roadway, or any vehicle abandoned on public or private property, may be tagged and towed.
Yolo County, like every California county, draws its abandoned-vehicle authority from the California Vehicle Code. Under Veh. Code Sec. 22523 it is unlawful to abandon any vehicle on a public highway or on public or private property without the owner's consent, and the last registered owner is presumed responsible for the costs of removal. Under Veh. Code Sec. 22651, a peace officer may remove a vehicle that has been parked on a highway for 72 or more consecutive hours without being moved (the standard '72-hour' rule), and Sec. 22658 governs removal of unauthorized vehicles from private property. Yolo County participates in California's Service Authority for Abandoned Vehicle Abatement (SAAVA) - funded through a $1 annual vehicle-registration surcharge under Veh. Code Sec. 22710 - which provides the county with dedicated dollars to fund abandoned-vehicle tagging, towing, and lien-sale processing. Day-to-day enforcement in the unincorporated area is handled by the Yolo County Sheriff's Office; complaints can be filed online or by phone. The standard process is: tag vehicle, wait the statutory period, tow to a contracted yard, mail notice to the registered owner, and conduct a lien sale if unclaimed.
Penalties under the Vehicle Code include impoundment, lien-sale forfeiture of the vehicle, and reimbursement of all tow, storage, and abatement costs by the last registered owner. Knowingly abandoning a vehicle is an infraction under Veh. Code Sec. 22523 and can be charged as a misdemeanor on repeat. Property owners who fail to abate a junked or abandoned vehicle on their parcel can also receive a nuisance citation under the County Code.
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