California Private Parking Enforcement Laws: AG Opinion, Local Ordinances, and Towing

The California Attorney General concluded in Opinion No. 07-804 (December 22, 2011) that no state law lets private property owners issue parking citations with monetary sanctions, and that posting signs does not create that power. The exception is a city or county that has adopted an ordinance under Vehicle Code §21107.8, which since 2015 can authorize private lot operators to issue parking invoices with dispute rules and a fee cap. Towing from private property, by contrast, is expressly authorized and closely regulated by Vehicle Code §22658.

Summary

California is a tow-first state with a local-option exception for private invoices. Outside a jurisdiction with a §21107.8 private-regulation ordinance, the Attorney General's opinion describes private "citations" as unenforceable against the vehicle owner. Where an ordinance exists, it sets the terms for private invoices. We found no statute authorizing booting. Towing is authorized under detailed statutory conditions.

Private parking citations and invoices

The Attorney General's 2011 opinion answered four questions from a state senator, and the conclusions are blunt. Neither §22658 nor any other state law authorizes private owners to issue parking citations imposing monetary sanctions. Owners cannot acquire that right by posting signs or issuing written warnings. Tow operators cannot require payment of private citations. And while vehicle owners have no special remedy against such citations, the citations "are unenforceable against the vehicle owners."

Renaming the paper does not help under the opinion's reasoning. It lists "notice of unauthorized parking fee," "notice of charge for violation," "notice of parking charge," and "mail-in parking fee," and treats all of them as sanctions for unauthorized parking rather than fees for authorized parking. The opinion does set aside two settings: common interest developments, which can fine their own members under their governing documents and the Civil Code, and private nonprofit schools, which have separate Vehicle Code authority. It also says that questions about the terms of a contract for parking services were outside its scope, which is why paid lots that charge for the time actually used are a different question from penalty notices.

Courts treat an Attorney General opinion as persuasive rather than controlling, and that gap produced the Walnut Creek episode. Walnut Creek had an ordinance letting private lot operators issue invoices, and a 2013 Contra Costa Superior Court ruling upheld it, reasoning that invoicing for unauthorized parking on private lots "is not such a public function and may be a power granted by ordinance to private lot owners." The Senate committee analysis of AB 2381 notes the ruling was limited to that ordinance and "does not set a statewide precedent," and quotes the author that ambiguity in state law was holding lot owners back. AB 2381 passed the Assembly 75 to 0 in May 2014, but its Senate hearing was canceled at the author's request, per the bill history.

The follow-up passed. AB 451 was approved by the Governor on August 11, 2015 (Chapter 168, Statutes of 2015) and amended Vehicle Code §21107.8. A city or county that declares private offstreet lots subject to certain traffic laws may now also authorize the lot operator "to regulate unauthorized parking in that facility." Where it does, the statute requires the operator to put contest instructions on every invoice and bars sending unpaid invoices to the DMV for registration holds. It requires the local ordinance itself to include:

• a written, public dispute policy with set time periods, plus a hearing by a trained, independent third-party examiner, in person or by mail, with authority to allow installment payments;
• a ban on incentives tied to the number of invoices issued or disputes upheld;
• a cap on the invoice fee "commensurate with the most nearly equivalent municipal parking fine"; and
• measures to keep the operator from posing as a government agency, including a statement on the invoice that it is not issued by the local government.

The statute requires a public hearing and 10 days' written notice to the lot's owner and operator before adoption. We found no statewide list of cities and counties that have adopted one; the city or county clerk keeps the ordinance record. This is the main way California differs from the contract approach described in can private companies issue parking tickets.

What signs must say

For towing, §22658(a)(1) calls for a sign at least 17 by 22 inches, with letters at least one inch high, in plain view at all entrances, and requires it to prohibit public parking, say vehicles will be removed at the owner's expense, and list the phone number of the local traffic law enforcement agency and the name and phone number of each towing company with a written towing agreement for the lot. The sign may also say that a citation may be issued, which refers to public citations for Vehicle Code violations such as fire lanes and disabled spaces.

For a lot operating under a §21107.8 ordinance, the ordinance does not apply at all unless a notice at least 17 by 22 inches with one-inch letters is posted at each entrance, stating that the lot is subject to public moving vehicle laws and that violators may be subject to a parking invoice fee. The statute requires any parking receipt handed to drivers to say the same. General sign placement practice is covered in parking lot signage for enforcement.

Towing from private property

Section 22658 authorizes a tow when the sign above is posted, when the vehicle was issued a notice of parking violation and 96 hours have passed, when the vehicle is missing major parts and police were notified 24 hours earlier, or when the lot is a single-family home.

The authorization rules are the most detailed. Under the statute, a tow company may not start a tow without written authorization from the owner, lessee, or their employee or agent, who must be present at the time of removal and verify the violation. The authorization must list the vehicle's make, model, VIN, and plate; the authorizing person's name, signature, job title, address, and phone; the grounds; the time the vehicle was first seen; and the time the tow was authorized. The statute permits blanket authorization only for vehicles within 15 feet of a hydrant, in a fire lane, or blocking an entrance or exit, and then the tow company must photograph the violation first. Small rentals of 15 or fewer units with no onsite staff have a narrow exception for tenant-requested tows from assigned spaces.

The statute adds other duties. The property owner must notify local police within one hour after authorizing the tow. The tow company must notify police once the vehicle is in transit; failing to do so within 60 minutes, or 15 minutes after reaching storage if sooner, is a misdemeanor. A vehicle not yet removed from the property must be released immediately and unconditionally on request, and if it was already hooked up, the company may charge no more than half the regular towing charge. Storage must be within 10 miles unless police approve otherwise.

For lots open to the public for free parking, Vehicle Code §22953 adds a one-hour rule: no tow within one hour of the vehicle being parked, except for hydrants, fire lanes, blocked entrances or exits, and disabled spaces. Residential parking and hotel stalls marked for a specific room are exempt.

Booting

We found no California statute authorizing private booting. Opinion 07-804 recalls that in 2004 the Attorney General concluded a private security firm hired by a parking lot owner "could not legally immobilize an improperly parked vehicle by affixing a 'boot' device to it," and noted that the Legislature had instead expressly authorized towing. We found no later statute changing that. The tradeoffs between the two tools in states that permit both are covered in booting vs. towing.

Fees, caps, and driver remedies

A towing or storage charge is excessive under §22658(i) if it exceeds the greater of what the local police agency's towing contract would charge or the rate the California Highway Patrol approved for that operator. Vehicles released within 24 hours pay one day of storage. Storage facilities must accept cash and valid bank credit cards.

The statute's penalties fall on tow companies and property owners. Excessive charges make the tow company civilly liable for four times the amount charged, and knowing overcharges are misdemeanors punishable by up to $2,500 and three months in jail. Towing without proper written authorization carries the same criminal exposure and four-times civil liability. A property owner who tows without meeting the sign, 96-hour, or parts-missing conditions is liable for double the towing and storage charges, and a violation of the one-hour rule is also double. Vehicle owners can recover for damage caused by intentional or negligent acts during a tow.

For private invoices under a §21107.8 ordinance, the cap is set locally but the statute ties it to the nearest equivalent municipal parking fine. Outside such an ordinance, the Attorney General's opinion described private citations as unenforceable against vehicle owners.

Local ordinances to check

• Whether the city or county has adopted a §21107.8 ordinance authorizing private parking regulation, and its dispute process and fee cap.
• Local tow permit, rotation, and rate rules, since police rotation rates help define the §22658 cap.
• Any local sign permitting or placement rules on top of the state minimums.
• Rules for common interest developments, which enforce through their governing documents rather than private citations.

Questions to raise with your attorney

California's rules turn on Opinion 07-804, Vehicle Code §21107.8 and §22658, and local ordinances. An attorney licensed in California can work through questions like these for a specific lot:

• Has the city or county where each lot sits adopted a §21107.8 ordinance, and what dispute process, fee cap, and signage does it set?
• Where no such ordinance exists, how does Opinion 07-804 bear on the notices, warnings, and permit rules we use?
• Does our invoice wording meet §21107.8's rules against posing as a government agency?
• Do our tow signs meet §22658(a)(1)'s size, lettering, and content rules at every entrance?
• Does our written tow authorization include every item §22658 lists, and who is present on site to verify each violation?
• Do any of our lots count as open to the public for free parking under §22953's one-hour rule?
• What local tow permit, rotation, and rate rules apply to our lots?

Lotably supports warnings before citations, photo evidence on every record, and online contests. Booting and towing records start switched off in Lotably and are turned on when the operator asks. Lotably does not check whether booting or towing is allowed where an operator enforces; the operator is responsible for following the law and assumes all risk of using them. For other states, see the private parking enforcement laws by state hub.