Davis, CA Parking Rules: Abandoned Vehicles (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing law
- DMC Article 23.06, § 23.06.070
- Notice period
- 10 days from mailing to remove
- Hearing request window
- 10 days after notice
- Disposal
- Scrap yard/dismantler; cannot be re-registered
- Exemptions
- Enclosed in building; licensed dismantler/dealer/junkyard
Summary
An abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicle on private or public property in Davis is a public nuisance under Municipal Code Article 23.06. The owner of the land and the vehicle's registered owner get a ten-day notice to remove it before the city hauls it to a scrapyard and bills the cost.
A notice of violation to abate and remove a vehicle or parts thereof as a public nuisance, as required by Section 23.04.020, shall be served by registered or certified mail on the owner of the land as shown on the last equalized assessment roll and the owner of record of the vehicle, unless the vehicle is in such condition that identification numbers are not available to determine ownership. ... You are hereby notified to abate the nuisance by removing the vehicle (or parts of the vehicle) within 10 days from the date of mailing of this notice. If you fail to remove the vehicle or parts within 10 days, the city will abate the nuisance by removing the vehicle or parts to a scrap yard or automobile dismantler's yard, after which the vehicle or parts shall not again be made operable or reconstructed. Removal costs and administrative costs will then be assessed to you as owner of the land on which the vehicle or parts are located.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: rev 4915048; v22 updated 2026-05-19).
Full Breakdown
06 supplements Chapter 10 of the California Vehicle Code, starting at Section 22650, to let Davis abate an abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicle or its parts from private or public property as a public nuisance. 070 requires the notice of violation to be served by registered or certified mail on both the owner of record of the land, taken from the last equalized county assessment roll, and the registered or legal owner of the vehicle, using a form set out in the statute. That notice gives the recipient ten days from mailing to remove the vehicle or its parts; if it is not removed in that window, the city removes it to a scrap yard or automobile dismantler's yard, after which the vehicle cannot be made operable or reconstructed again, except for a vehicle carrying horseless-carriage or historical vehicle plates under Vehicle Code Section 5004. 080, or to submit a sworn written statement denying responsibility, which is treated as a hearing request that does not require their presence. 020.
Violations & Fines
If the landowner does not pay the administrative and removal costs within thirty days of the hearing officer's order, Section 23.06.150 assesses those costs against the parcel under Government Code Section 38773.5 and transmits them to the tax collector with the same priority as other city taxes. A landowner who proves the vehicle was dumped without consent and was not later acquiesced to is not charged for removal.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much notice do I get before Davis tows an abandoned vehicle?
Can I fight a notice to remove a vehicle from my land?
Is a car I'm restoring exempt from abandoned-vehicle enforcement?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Davis
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Abandoned Vehicles in Nearby Cities
How other cities in Yolo County handle abandoned vehicles.