Getting a towed car back in San Diego County, or deciding to let it go
To get a towed or impounded car back in San Diego County, find the agency that ordered the tow, clear any release it requires, then pay the tow yard, usually with the registered owner and a licensed driver there. Each agency sets its own release fee, and the yard bills towing and storage on top. A car nobody claims heads to a lien sale. This guide covers the City of San Diego, the Port, the Sheriff, city police, the CHP and the Perris-to-Temecula corner of Riverside County.
Sources re-checked .
Short answer
Find the agency that ordered the tow first: AutoReturn for City of San Diego tows, Harbor Police on Port land, the Sheriff in the unincorporated area and its nine contract cities, a city police department, or the CHP. Clear any release it requires, then pay the yard; most agencies want the registered owner and a licensed driver there.
SDPD: Vehicle Impounds and Towing; DMV: Lien Sales for Vehicles
Start with the agency that ordered the tow
City of San Diego police tows show up on AutoReturn, online or at 619-527-4392, and SDPD notes that "AutoReturn searches for vehicles towed by the City of San Diego only". If it finds nothing, try the SDPD non-emergency line, 619-531-2000. A new impound can take three hours or more to appear. A private-lot tow may not be in City records; check what is posted where it was parked.
If it vanished from an area under Port of San Diego Harbor Police jurisdiction, Harbor Police take calls 24/7 on 619.686.6272. A County environmental report, citing 2009 County data, names the Sheriff as the law enforcement agency for the unincorporated area and lists nine cities that contract with it: Vista, San Marcos, Santee, Lemon Grove, Imperial Beach, Poway, Encinitas, Del Mar and Solana Beach. For Sheriff release steps, use sdsheriff.gov (it refused this guide's requests) or the number on your notice. For a CHP tow: (645) San Diego covers the cities of San Diego, Chula Vista, National City and Coronado; (650) Oceanside, based in Vista, North County; (680) El Cajon, East County.
Source: SDPD: Vehicle Impounds and Towing; Port of San Diego: Vehicle Towing and Impound; County of San Diego EIR, 2.15 Public Services; San Diego County Sheriff; CHP (645) San Diego; CHP (650) Oceanside; CHP (680) El Cajon.
Collecting a car from a City of San Diego impound yard
City tows go to the City's contracted impound yard, and you pay there. Bring the registered owner's ID and a driver's license. SDPD's tow manual (version dated April 30, 2024) releases cars only to the registered owner or an agent carrying the owner's notarized letter. A car towed for unpaid parking tickets also needs proof every citation is paid or cleared.
On top of the yard's tow and storage charges, the yard collects the City's Tow Impound Cost Recovery fee: $115 per impound in the City's Fiscal Year 2026 User Fee Schedule (effective July 1, 2025, revised December 3, 2025), up from $63 in the 2024 manual. The City's finance page links no newer schedule as of November 2026; confirm it with the yard.
To challenge the tow, ask SDPD Tow Administration (858-495-7830) for a post-storage hearing, or mail back the City's notice, within 10 days of its mailing. If the tow is ruled invalid, the City pays the impound fees.
Source: SDPD: Vehicle Impounds and Towing; SDPD Tow Administration Unit Operations Manual, April 2024; City of San Diego FY2026 User Fee Schedule; City of San Diego Department of Finance.
Harbor Police, Escondido, La Mesa and Lemon Grove
Amounts are as each page printed them on November 8, 2026.
- Port of San Diego: every fee is paid at the yard, including a $232 vehicle release fee the page calls current and subject to change. A car on a hold first needs a signed release from Harbor Police headquarters, 3380 N. Harbor Drive.
- Escondido: a $180 impound processing fee, paid at the police department, 1163 North Centre City Parkway, by cash, cashier's check or money order on weekdays. The city adds that "Payment of the fee does not release you from your obligation to the tow agency for their fees".
- La Mesa: the police department must release the car before the tow company will. Its Records page lists $308 for an impounded vehicle and $15 for a repossessed one, undated; La Mesa calls its FY 2024-2025 schedule (effective April 1, 2025) current.
- Lemon Grove: its FY2025-26 master fee schedule, effective September 1, 2025, lists a $70.00 Administrative Fee for Release, without saying where it is paid.
For a Chula Vista, Oceanside, Carlsbad, El Cajon, National City or Coronado police tow, whose pages would not load here, call the department on your paperwork.
Source: Port of San Diego: Vehicle Towing and Impound; Escondido Police: Tow Information; La Mesa FAQ: impounded car; La Mesa Police: Records; La Mesa: Fee Schedule; Lemon Grove FY2025-26 Master Fee Schedule.
Stored versus impounded, and the 30-day hold
For the CHP, a stored car, such as one left on a freeway more than four hours, comes back straight from the tow company. An impounded car, such as one towed because the driver had no valid license or the registration was unpaid, needs a release from the CHP office that ordered the tow: "Tow companies will not release the vehicle unless they are directed to by the CHP."
The Port lists a 30-day impound under Vehicle Code section 14602.6 for driving unlicensed or on a suspended license. In the City of San Diego, such a car leaves early only with SDPD Tow Administration approval. Escondido's post-storage hearing lets an owner ask for early release. San Diego Superior Court form SUPCT CIV-88 (Rev. 7-97) is a court order for release; the registered owner shows registration, a license, insurance and a declaration of necessity, and still owes the towing charges.
No agency page here prints a daily storage rate; ask the yard, and ask for the itemized invoice SDPD says a yard must give after a private-lot tow. To prepare for a lien sale, a City yard requests DMV ownership records for every car stored at least 72 hours.
Source: CHP: Rotation Tow Program FAQ; Port of San Diego: Vehicle Towing and Impound; SDPD Tow Administration Unit Operations Manual, April 2024; Escondido Police: Tow Information; San Diego Superior Court form CIV-88; SDPD: Know Your Towing Rights.
Perris to Temecula: Sheriff and city police releases
The Riverside County Sheriff's list of contracted agencies includes Canyon Lake, Lake Elsinore, Perris, Temecula and Wildomar. Its FAQ has the registered owner collect a Vehicle Release Form at a Sheriff's front counter, with a valid license (or a licensed companion) and current registration. As of November 8, 2026, the Temecula substations list a towed or stored vehicle release at $175.75, cash or check only.
Murrieta police charge $75.30 for a standard tow and $245.85 after a 30-day impound, paid at the front counter before release paperwork is issued, and says fees are subject to change; the car must be registered or carry a DMV Temporary Operating Permit. Menifee releases go through police Records at (951) 723-1500, only to the registered owner on DMV file, and after a 30-day impound Records takes requests for a validity hearing. Both cities want a licensed driver present, and the yard's fees are paid separately.
Source: Riverside County Sheriff: contracted agencies; Riverside County Sheriff FAQ: towed vehicle; Riverside County Sheriff: Temecula Substations; Murrieta Police: Release a Vehicle from Impound; Menifee Police FAQ.
If nobody pays: the lien sale and any money left over
An unpaid tow yard holds a lien on the car; the California DMV says it starts at the tow for a public-agency impound or a private-property tow. A notice of pending lien sale goes to the registered and legal owners and to any buyer named on a Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability (NRL). The DMV describes a 10-day window to oppose the sale; after that it is a civil matter.
The City of San Diego's manual has lien notices warn that an unclaimed car does not cancel towing and storage costs above the sale price, which can go to collection. The City Auditor's November 2022 audit found about 27 percent of City tows ended in a lien sale (FY2017 to FY2021); lien-sold cars averaged $1,174 in fees against a $526 sale price (FY2017 to FY2022).
If an auction brings in more than the lien, the DMV can refund the extra to the registered owner, and "These fees are available for 3 years after the lien sale." Search its Lien Sale Excess Fees Lookup by plate or VIN, and claim on form ADM399.
Source: DMV: Lien Sales for Vehicles; DMV: Lien Sale Excess Fees Lookup; SDPD Tow Administration Unit Operations Manual, April 2024; City Auditor: Performance Audit of the City's Towing Program.
Selling a car that is still in a tow yard
The yard holds the car until its bill is paid and the release rules are met. You can clear the release and sell the car once it is home. Or send a request through the request form naming the agency that towed it, the yard holding it, any 30-day hold and what the title shows, or call (657) 699-0008. A person from Sell My Car SoCali calls back, and whether anything can happen while the car sits at the yard is a question for that call.
Sold it already, and a lien notice still came? The DMV says its records still show you with an interest, and you can stay listed until the buyer changes the ownership. If you never filed the NRL, file it now; the release of liability guide covers it.
Source: SDPD Tow Administration Unit Operations Manual, April 2024; DMV: Lien Sales for Vehicles.
Two questions people ask about San Diego impounds
Can someone else pick up my car from a City of San Diego impound yard?
Yes. SDPD's tow manual lets an agent collect it with a notarized letter from the registered owner, proper identification and payment of the fees, and the yard may not demand a waiver first. Other agencies set their own rules: the Riverside County Sheriff and Murrieta police also accept a notarized letter naming the person who will claim the car.
Do I pay the police or the tow yard?
Often both, and it depends on the agency. For City of San Diego and Port of San Diego tows, the agency fee is paid at the yard along with towing and storage. Escondido, La Mesa and Murrieta collect their release fee at the police department, and the yard then bills its own charges on top.
Where to go once the car is free
If the car comes home in rough shape, the junk car guide covers the DMV junk steps and the City of San Diego's street rules. If it is going to a buyer, keep the release of liability filing on your list. Questions about selling it: (657) 699-0008.
More on selling a car in San Diego
- PaperworkEvery paper in a San Diego County car sale: the California title lines you sign, REG 227 and REG 262, the REG 135 bill of sale, and the DMV offices that do transfers.
- Smog checkWho gets the smog test when you sell a car in San Diego County, how long the 90-day pass lasts, which sales skip it, and what to do with a car that failed.
- Release of liabilityThe 5-day NRL or REG 138 a San Diego County seller files with the DMV: what it covers, what to keep, and how to answer a later ticket, tow or toll notice.
- Junk carHow to junk or sell a dead car in San Diego County: DMV junk status, the City's 72-hour and 4-hour street limits, and county yard rules.
- Title problemsLost pink slip, a loan still on it, an owner who died, or two names joined by AND: the California forms that clear each title problem before a San Diego sale.
- Any conditionSelling a car in San Diego County that will not start, flooded, burned, lost its catalytic converter or shows high miles: what to disclose, smog, and where it can wait.