Parking Citations FAQs

No. Parking tickets are not criminal offenses in the State of California and you will not be arrested for your unpaid parking ticket. However, there is an additional $27 fine for tickets that are not paid on time and you may be subject to a $3 DMV fee if a hold is placed on the registration of your vehicle. If a hold is placed on the registration of your vehicle you will be unable to register your vehicle until all your outstanding parking tickets have been paid in full. In addition your delinquent unpaid parking tickets may be referred to an outside collection agency for collection proceedings against you.

Your vehicle may be towed if you have five (5) or more unpaid parking tickets issued to your license plate.

The registered owner of the vehicle must bring their valid Driver’s License and must pay all associated fees, including past due parking citations to obtain a release form from the Parking Office. This can only be processed in person in the Parking Office. Only the owner or person with a valid rental agreement can do so.

Pursuant to Section 22852 of the California Vehicle Code (CVC), the registered owner, the legal owner of record, or his/her agent, has a right to request a post-storage hearing to determine the validity of the storage of a vehicle in which there is an interest.

The provisions of Section 22852 CVC shall not apply to the removal of vehicles abated under the Abandoned Vehicle Abatement Program pursuant to California Vehicle Code Sections 22660 through 22668 inclusive, and Section 22710, or to vehicles impounded for investigation in accordance with Section 22655, or to vehicles removed from private property pursuant to Section 22658, or to abandoned vehicles which are determined by the public agency to have an estimated value of five hundred dollars ($500) or less pursuant to the provisions contained in CVC Section 22669.

In order to receive a post-storage hearing, the registered owner, legal owner, or his/her agent must make a formal request (either by letter or in person) to the Parking Division within ten (10) days of the date appearing on the notice.  Mail the written request for a tow hearing to the following address: Parking Division, Department of Transportation, 100 N. Garfield Avenue, Room N106, Pasadena, CA 91101.  The hearing will be conducted within 48 hours of the request, excluding weekends and holidays.  Missed scheduled hearings are not rescheduled.  All hearing requests must contain the following information:

1. Complete and correct name of the person requesting the tow hearing.
2. Current address and daytime/contact telephone number.
3. Proof of interest in the concerned vehicle if you are not listed as the registered or legal owner with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
4. Report number and date of vehicle tow.
5. Vehicle license plate number, including the state.

No walk-in hearings will be conducted.  For additional questions, you may call (626) 744-7665.

A tow hearing is held to determine only two facts:
1. Was vehicle legally towed?
2. Did the registered owner fail to notify City of Pasadena of any payments made to DMV as stipulated under 22651VC and 22651.7VC?
If the answer to both questions above is yes, the vehicle will not be released without payment. The following commonly heard reasons will NOT be accepted as reasons to release the vehicle.
1. The registered owner is out of town/state/country.
2. It is my only means of transportation.
3. I need it to get to work.
4. I need it to take my kids to school.
5. I will never do it again.
6. I am disabled or need the vehicle for medical appointments.
7. I loaned the vehicle to a friend and he/she loaned it to someone else.
VC Section 22651.4 – A vehicle shall be released to the legal owner, as defined in Section 370, if the legal owner does all of the following:
(A) Pays the cost of towing and storing the vehicle.
(B) Submits evidence of payment of fees as provided in Section 9561.
(C) Completes an affidavit in a form acceptable to the impounding law enforcement agency stating that the vehicle was not in possession of the legal owner at the time of occurrence of the offenses relating to standing or parking.  A vehicle released to a legal owner under this subdivision is a repossessed vehicle for purposes of disposition or sale.  The impounding agency shall have a lien on any surplus that remains upon sale of the vehicle to which the registered owner is or may be entitled, as security for the full amount of the parking penalties for all notices of parking violations issued for the vehicle and for all local administrative charges imposed pursuant to Section 22850.5.  The legal owner shall promptly remit to, and deposit with, the agency responsible for processing notices of parking violations from that surplus, on receipt of that surplus, the full amount of the parking penalties for all notices of parking violations issued for the vehicle and for all local administrative charges imposed pursuant to Section 22850.5.
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
The information contained here is followed to the letter by the hearing officer. If you do not meet the criteria to have your vehicle returned, please DO NOT request a tow hearing. Information not related to the above criteria will not result in the return of your vehicle. The above criteria are a matter of law and policy and therefore must be followed by our department.

Yes. Only the owner or person with a valid rental agreement can do so.

The registered owner of the vehicle must bring their valid Driver’s License and must pay all associated fees, including past due parking citations to obtain a release form from the Parking Office. This can only be processed in person in the Parking Office. Only the owner or person with a valid rental agreement can do so.

Please contact the impound lot for tow and storage fees.

Vehicle Release Fees:

• Abandoned/Abated Vehicles - $170.00
• Impounded Vehicles - $150.

No. You cannot appeal the late fee, tickets must be paid within the time prescribed in the California Vehicle Code which is 21 days from the date the ticket was issued or 14 days from the date of the delinquent parking notice. If you moved and did not receive your delinquent parking notice and you failed to submit a change of address with the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) within 10 days from the date you moved, you will still be held responsible for any additional late charges.

No. You cannot appeal your parking ticket if you do not do so within 21 days from the date your parking ticket was issued or 14 days from the date of your notice of delinquent parking. The time allowed to contest your parking ticket is specified in the California Vehicle Code. There are no exceptions unless one of the following conditions exists: your vehicle was stolen at the time the parking ticket was issued or the owner of the vehicle is deceased.

No. Payment extensions are not granted. The Department of Motor Vehicle requires that you pay your ticket in full within 21 days from the date your parking ticket was issued or 14 days from the date of your delinquent parking notice. There are no exceptions.

No. Parking tickets are not criminal offenses and as such community service cannot be performed in lieu of paying your parking ticket.

No. Parking tickets cannot be cancelled due to financial hardship or inability to pay. Additional penalties will be imposed if your ticket is not paid within the prescribed time and a hold may be placed on the registration of your vehicle. In addition your delinquent ticket may be referred to an outside collection agency for collection proceedings against you.

The Parking Citation Section obtains vehicle registration information such as the name and address of the vehicle’s registered owner from the California Department of Motor Vehicles. In accordance with the California Vehicle Code you are required by law to provide them with a current mailing address within ten (10) days of a change of address. If you moved and did not provide the Department of Motor Vehicles with your new mailing address within the prescribed time, you will be responsible for any late fees charged to your citation, even if the delinquency notice or Initial Review Outcome letter is mailed to your old address.

If you were the registered owner of the vehicle at the time you received the parking ticket or notice of delinquent parking, you are responsible for paying the ticket. If you did not own the vehicle when the parking ticket was issued, then it is your responsibility to notify the Department of Motor Vehicles that you sold the vehicle. You are required to submit a release of responsibility form that includes the date you sold the vehicle as well as the name and address of the person that you sold the vehicle to. If you are still receiving parking tickets from the City of Pasadena it probably means that the Department of Motor Vehicles records are still showing that you are the vehicle owner of record. In order to clear the ticket you must complete and submit a Declaration of Non-Ownership form to the Parking Citation Section.

It is your responsibility to notify the local parking agency that all outstanding parking citations have been paid.

Go online or call the Parking Office (626) 744-7665 and provide your license plate number. Click Here