Getting a towed or impounded car back in Riverside County, or letting it go

Which agency has your car: Sheriff, city police or CHP

The agency that ordered the tow writes the release. The Riverside County Sheriff patrols unincorporated communities and the cities on its contract list: Calimesa, Canyon Lake, Coachella, Eastvale, Indian Wells, Jurupa Valley, Lake Elsinore, La Quinta, Moreno Valley, Norco, Palm Desert, Perris, Rancho Mirage, San Jacinto, Temecula and Wildomar, plus the Morongo Indian Reservation. Riverside, Corona, Murrieta, Menifee, Beaumont and Hemet police release their own tows. For any other city, call its police department.

The CHP's Riverside Area office, 8118 Lincoln Ave. (951) 324-7210, covers most of western Riverside County, including State Routes 60, 71 and 91. A CHP stored car, such as one left on a freeway over four hours or one that cannot be driven from a crash, comes straight back from the tow company. An impounded car, for example one whose driver had no valid license, does not: "Vehicles impounded by the CHP require a release from the office that caused it to be impounded."

Other CHP offices cover the rest of the county: Temecula Area, (951) 466-4300, for southern Riverside County; San Gorgonio Pass Area, (951) 846-5300, for Banning, Beaumont, Hemet and San Jacinto; Indio Area, (760) 772-5300, for the desert cities from Desert Hot Springs and Palm Springs to Coachella; and Blythe Area, (760) 640-2200, for East Riverside County.

To find a car Riverside police towed, call (951) 826-5700, allow a full day after the impound, and have the plate, VIN or report number ready.

Source: Riverside County Sheriff: contracted agencies; Riverside County Sheriff: Palm Desert Station; CHP: Riverside Area office; CHP: Temecula Area office; CHP: San Gorgonio Pass Area office; CHP: Indio Area office; CHP: Blythe Area office; CHP: Rotation Tow Program FAQ; Riverside Police: Traffic FAQ.

The release comes first, then the tow yard

Unless the CHP only stored the car, get the release and pay the agency first, then take that paper to the yard. The Rancho Mirage police page, which sends owners to the Palm Desert Sheriff's Station, says: "The VICR fee is in addition to the fee charged at the tow yard." What to bring:

• Sheriff: the registered owner at a station front counter, a valid driver's license or someone along who has one, and current registration. A notarized letter can authorize someone else.
• Murrieta: current registration or a paid DMV Temporary Operating Permit, and the registered owner with a licensed driver, or a designee holding an original notarized letter.
• Menifee: the current registered owner on DMV records plus a licensed driver; call Records at (951) 723-1500.
• Beaumont: the registered or legal owner, current registration and a valid driver's license.
• Riverside: a Vehicle Release Form from Records, with the fee waived if the car was reported stolen.
• Corona and Hemet: call first. Corona releases by appointment at 951-736-2330 (option 3 for the document list); Hemet's Records number is (951) 765-2410.

Source: Rancho Mirage Police FAQs; Riverside County Sheriff: towed vehicle FAQ; Murrieta Police: release a vehicle; Menifee Police FAQ; Beaumont Police: Records; Riverside Police: Traffic FAQ; Corona Police: Records Section; Hemet Police: Records Bureau.

Release fees by agency, with the page and year

No single countywide fee appears on these pages. Amounts are as printed on November 8, 2026, and cover the agency's release only:

• Riverside police: $126.00, or $393.00 per vehicle for Safe Streets Act tows (city fee schedule, fiscal year 2026/27).
• Corona police: $319 for arrest, expired registration, abandoned and traffic-hazard tows; no charge for stolen-car victims; $218.00 at release after a 30-day impound.
• Murrieta police: $75.30 for a standard tow, $245.85 after a 30-day impound; fees are subject to change, and cards add a 2.9% processor fee.
• Hemet police: a $225 Vehicle Impound Fee (2025/2026 schedule); cards add 3.5%, with a $2.50 minimum.
• Beaumont police: $175, or $290 for a DUI; after business hours, the exact amount, cash only.
• Sheriff, Temecula substations: $175.75, cash or check only.
• Sheriff, Palm Desert station (Rancho Mirage): a $145.00 Vehicle Impound Cost Recovery fee, by cash, money order or cashier's check.
• Menifee police and the CHP: no fee printed on the pages checked.

The yard's towing and storage charges come on top and are paid to the yard, as Murrieta and Menifee both state; ask the yard for its total. A CHP rotation tow operator must accept a valid bank card, need not take a check, and may add a gate fee after 6 p.m. on business days and on weekends and holidays.

Source: City of Riverside: Fees and Charges, FY 2026/27; Corona Police: Records Section; Corona Police: Traffic Bureau; Murrieta Police: release a vehicle; Hemet Police: Records Bureau; Beaumont Police: Records; Riverside County Sheriff: Temecula Substations; Rancho Mirage Police FAQs; Menifee Police FAQ; CHP: Rotation Tow Program FAQ.

30-day holds for unlicensed or suspended drivers

A car driven by an unlicensed or suspended driver can be held for 30 days under Vehicle Code section 14602.6. Each city runs its own hearing:

• Riverside: the hold is usually not waived. The registered owner or lienholder can have an impound hearing within 10 business days of the impound; book it at (951) 351-6398. If the impound is upheld, the release form fee is owed even after an early release.
• Corona: tow hearings run Tuesdays and Thursdays by appointment at 951-736-2330, option 5, for the registered owner or an agent, who needs current registration, a valid driver's license and proof of insurance.
• Menifee: request a validity hearing through the records department.
• Beaumont: a post-storage hearing form needs department approval, which can take up to 72 hours.

The Sheriff pages checked describe no 30-day process, so ask the station that writes your release.

Source: Riverside Police: Traffic FAQ; Corona Police: Traffic Bureau; Menifee Police FAQ; Beaumont Police: Records; California Vehicle Code 14602.6.

If you let it go: California's lien sale

If nobody pays, the yard can sell the car. The DMV says anyone who tows or stores a car and is not paid holds a lien on it, and after a police impound or a private-property tow the lien starts at the tow.

The notice of pending lien sale goes to the registered and legal owners, to any buyer named on an NRL filed with the DMV, and to anyone else the yard knows has an interest. The DMV refers to a 10-day window to oppose the sale; once it has passed, the dispute is a civil matter.

A past owner can get this notice. The DMV explains why: "You received the notice because DMV records indicate you still have an interest in this vehicle." Even with an NRL on file, you may stay listed as owner until the buyer transfers ownership, and if you never filed one, you may file it now. The release of liability guide covers how.

Before walking away, collect your things. After a CHP rotation tow, personal property is released to the registered owner or an agent without charge during normal business hours.

Source: DMV: Lien Sales for Vehicles; DMV: Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability; CHP: Rotation Tow Program FAQ.

Money left over after the sale: three years to claim it

If the auction brings in more than the lien, the extra is called excess lien fees, and "These fees are available for 3 years after the lien sale." The DMV's lookup takes a plate or VIN and refreshes on the 2nd business day of every month. You can claim even after the car is gone, as long as you were the registered owner when the fee was paid. File an Application for Refund, ADM 399, marked for a vehicle sold in a lien sale; the DMV says refund checks are typically mailed within 4 to 6 weeks after approval.

Source: DMV: Lien Sale Excess Fees Lookup.

Selling a car that is still in a tow yard

Some agencies release only to the owner of record: Menifee to the registered owner on DMV records, Beaumont to the registered or legal owner. So whoever the record names must get the release, and the yard's unpaid towing and storage bill is a lien on the car.

After a sale, tell the DMV within 5 calendar days, online (print the confirmation) or on a REG 138 (keep a photocopy). Only the buyer's transfer, made with the title you signed, takes your name off the record.

To sell rather than keep it, tell Sell My Car Riverside County on the request form which agency ordered the tow, whether the car is still in storage, and what the title shows; a person calls back. Or call (951) 404-1640 with the yard's name at hand.

Source: Menifee Police FAQ; Beaumont Police: Records; DMV: Lien Sales for Vehicles; DMV: Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability.

Once the car is out of the yard

When the release is paid and the car can move again, what to finish after a California sale covers the NRL, insurance and toll accounts. If selling beats paying to keep it stored, use the request form or call (951) 404-1640.