Towed Vehicle

The City of Pasadena will suspend the overnight parking restriction from the night of December 23rd through the morning of January 3rd. During this time you will not need a permit to park overnight on the street. All other parking restrictions will be enforced. Enforcement of the overnight parking restriction will resume on the morning of January 4th.

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

Request a Tow Hearing

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:

Complete and correct name of the person requesting the tow hearing.
Current address and daytime/contact telephone number.
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).
Report number and date of vehicle tow.
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:

Was vehicle legally towed?
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.

The registered owner is out of town/state/country.
It is my only means of transportation.
I need it to get to work.
I need it to take my kids to school.
I will never do it again.
I am disabled or need the vehicle for medical appointments.
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:

Pays the cost of towing and storing the vehicle.
Submits evidence of payment of fees as provided in Section 9561.

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.