Police tow or private tow? How to tell, and why it matters in Los Angeles

How to tell

• Police or public-agency tow: your car was on a street or freeway, or police were there. Your paperwork names an impounding agency (for example LAPD, LADOT or CHP), often with a report or DR number. In the City of LA, the car goes to an Official Police Garage.
• Private-property tow: your car was in a store lot, apartment lot or other private lot, and the owner, manager or security had it towed. The tow company is not acting for the police.

Sources: LADOT: request an impound hearing; LAPD: how can I get my car out of impound?; Vehicle Code section 22658 (private-property tows)

Police and public-agency tows

• A free hearing on whether the tow was valid: ask within 10 days of the notice. The hearing officer must not be the person who ordered the tow, and if the tow was not justified, the agency pays the towing and storage.
• Rates: in the City of LA, the Board of Police Commissioners sets the most a police tow yard may charge each year. In 2026 that is $220 for the first hour of towing and $68 a day of storage for a standard car paid by credit card.
• City release fee: $115 when a City police or traffic officer ordered the tow (Los Angeles Municipal Code section 80.77.1).
• Payment: the yard must accept cash or a valid bank credit card (and a debit card from January 1, 2027).
• A 30-day impound applies only in set cases, such as driving with a suspended or revoked license or without ever having had a license.

Sources: Vehicle Code section 22852; LA police tow yard rates, 2007 to 2026; Vehicle Code section 22651.1; Vehicle Code section 14602.6

Private-property tows

• Before towing, the tow company needs written permission from the property owner or manager, who must be present and confirm the violation. There are narrow exceptions. For example, for a car within 15 feet of a fire hydrant, in a fire lane or blocking an entrance or exit, the company may tow under a standing permission but must photograph the violation first.
• The lot needs proper signs at every entrance, or one of the other few reasons the law allows (for example a parking ticket more than 96 hours old).
• Before you pay, the company must give you a copy of the written permission.
• The car must be stored within 10 miles of where it was towed, unless the police gave written approval.
• Charges count as excessive if they are more than the charge for the same tow made at the request of the local police (or the company's CHP-approved rate, if that is higher).
• If the company does not tell the police within 30 minutes after towing, it can owe you three times the towing and storage charges.
• There is no public hearing for a private tow. Your options are a demand letter, a complaint and small claims court.

Sources: Vehicle Code section 22658; Vehicle Code section 22852 (subsection f: no hearing for private tows)

Extra City rules for private tows in Los Angeles

Tow companies with a City tow permit from the Police Commission must follow its rules. Since September 1, 2026: the driver must call police and wait 60 minutes if you dispute the tow before the car leaves (Rule #10); half a day of storage if you come within 4 hours, with no gate fee during business hours (Rule #5); and a 10-mile storage limit (Rule #6).

Sources: TOPS manual (Board of Police Commissioners); What changed: the 2026 LA tow rules; 2017 Controller audit of police permits

Rules that apply to both

• You can take your belongings out for free before paying, during business hours.
• You get an itemized invoice before paying, and a copy of the posted fee notice if you ask.
• No lien fee if you pick up the car within 72 hours.
• If the car is not picked up, either kind of yard can start a lien sale, with notices and deadlines.

Sources: Vehicle Code section 22651.07; How lien sales work

More guides

• Your car was towed in Los Angeles: what to do in the first 24 hours
• How tow yard lien sales work in California