California Towing and Impound Rules Under Vehicle Code 22658

Vehicle Code Section 22658 is the statewide framework governing a private property owner's right to have an unauthorized vehicle towed and the towing company's duties once it does. Under subdivision (a)(1), before a tow company can remove a car under a general authorization agreement, the property must display a sign not less than 17 inches by 22 inches, with lettering not less than one inch high, posted in plain view at every entrance, warning that unauthorized vehicles will be removed at the owner's expense and listing the local police department's phone number along with the name and number of the towing company.

Subdivision (b) requires the tow operator to give the registered owner written notice of the removal, including the grounds, the location, the odometer reading if visible, and the time removed. Once a vehicle has been hooked up but not yet driven off the lot, subdivision (g)(1)(B) requires the operator to release it immediately and unconditionally on request; subdivision (g)(1)(C) makes refusal a misdemeanor. Subdivision (h) caps the 'drop fee' for that early release at one-half of the regular towing charge, and the full charge cannot be billed until the car is actually in transit.

Subdivision (i)(1)(A) defines an excessive charge as one above the rate in the local law enforcement contract or the CHP-approved rate for that jurisdiction. , except state holidays (subdivision (n)); release within 24 hours draws only one day's storage charge (subdivision (i)(2)). Subdivision (m) requires the tow company to notify local police within 60 minutes of the vehicle becoming in transit or 15 minutes of arriving at storage, whichever comes first. The law was last amended by AB 2174 (Stats. 2022, ch. 206), effective January 1, 2023.

A separate statute, Vehicle Code Section 22953, adds a one-hour grace period specifically for tows from free public-access private lots; that protection sits outside Section 22658 and does not apply to residential parking or marked hotel/motel stalls.

Skipping the signage or written-notice steps makes the property owner and tow company jointly liable for double the towing and storage charges (subdivision (e)(1)). Notifying police late brings triple charges (subdivision (m)(3)), and towing without the required written general authorization agreement multiplies the bill by four (subdivision (l)(5)). A storage facility that won't take cash or a bank credit card, or that fails to post a notice saying so, commits a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $2,500 fine, three months in county jail, or both (subdivision (k)).