Signage That Makes a Private Tow Lawful
The sign is not a courtesy to drivers. In most states it is the condition on which the property owner's authority to remove a vehicle rests at all, and the statutes specify its dimensions, its lettering height, its content and exactly where it must stand.
The rule in short
Statutes authorizing removal of a vehicle from private property without the owner's consent generally require a sign posted in plain view at each entrance, of a stated minimum size with lettering of a stated height, prohibiting unauthorized parking, stating that vehicles will be removed at the owner's expense, and giving telephone numbers. Where the sign does not comply, the tow is unauthorized and statutes commonly impose double charges or other liability.
Towing a car from private property is a self-help remedy, and self-help remedies come with conditions. In most states the central condition is a sign. Not a sign in general terms, but a sign of a stated size, with lettering of a stated height, carrying stated content, standing in a stated place. If the sign fails, the removal was not authorized, and the statutes attach real consequences to that.
The sign as the source of authority
The typical provision is drafted as a permission with conditions attached. The owner or person in lawful possession of private property may cause the removal of a vehicle parked on the property under any of several listed circumstances, and the first of those is that a compliant sign is displayed.
The signage circumstance is one route among a few. Others include a vehicle that has been issued a notice of parking violation with a stated number of hours elapsed, a vehicle lacking major parts necessary to operate safely where law enforcement was notified and a stated interval has passed, and a lot improved with a single-family dwelling.
Where none of the listed circumstances applies, the removal is outside the statute. That does not mean the property owner has no remedy at all, but it does mean the fast, private remedy is unavailable and the owner is exposed to whatever liability the statute imposes for using it anyway.
Dimensions, lettering and placement
Statutes describe the sign physically. One requires a sign not less than seventeen inches by twenty-two inches in size, with lettering not less than one inch in height, displayed in plain view at all entrances to the property.
Another approaches it differently, requiring the notice to be prominently placed at each driveway access or curb cut allowing vehicular access, within ten feet of the road, with the requirement that where there are no curbs or access barriers there must be no fewer than one sign for each twenty-five feet of lot frontage. The lettering must be at least two inches high and light-reflective on a contrasting background, with the words identifying the tow-away zone in letters of at least four inches. The sign structure must be permanently installed with those words between three and six feet above ground level.
These numbers are enforceable as written. A sign one inch short, or placed at the main entrance while a second access point is unposted, does not comply, and the argument that drivers could plainly see it does not answer the statute.
| Element | What statutes typically require | Common failure |
|---|---|---|
| Placement | Plain view at every entrance or driveway access | A secondary or rear entrance left unposted |
| Size and lettering | Minimum dimensions and minimum character heights | A sign that met the rule before it was replaced with a smaller one |
| Content | Parking prohibition, removal at owner's expense, telephone numbers | Towing company number missing or belonging to a former contractor |
| Height and mounting | Permanently installed within a stated height range | A sign attached to a fence at knee height or leaning against a wall |
| Duration | Continuously maintained for a stated period before any tow | Signs put up the same week enforcement began |
What the sign has to say
Content requirements are as specific as the dimensions. The sign must prohibit public parking and indicate that vehicles will be removed at the owner's expense. It must contain the telephone number of the local traffic law enforcement agency. And it must give the name and telephone number of each towing company that is party to a written general towing authorization agreement with the property owner.
That last element is the one that decays. A property that changes towing contractors and does not change its signs is displaying the number of a company that will not have the vehicle, which both fails the statute and defeats the purpose of the requirement.
Other statutes require the notice to provide the name and current telephone number of the person or firm towing the vehicles, which carries the same maintenance obligation in different words.
Some statutes require the sign structure to have been continuously maintained on the property for a stated period, commonly twenty-four hours, before any vehicle is towed. That provision exists to stop a property owner from posting a sign in the evening and towing overnight. Where it applies, the operative question at a hearing is not whether a sign was up when the vehicle was removed but when it went up, and the property owner is the party who has to answer.
What an inadequate sign costs
Statutes do not treat signage failure as a technicality. A representative provision makes the owner or person in lawful possession who causes a removal liable for double the storage or towing charges where the signage condition was not met, or where the grounds for removal were not stated on request by the vehicle's owner.
Another provides that a person who improperly causes a vehicle to be removed is liable to the owner for the cost of removal, transportation and storage, any damages resulting from the removal, attorney fees and court costs. Certain violations of the towing provisions are made criminal offenses.
The allocation between the property owner and the tow operator is usually clear in the statute. A towing company that removes a vehicle in compliance with the statutory conditions is generally not responsible for the validity of the removal. It remains responsible for damage to the vehicle in transit and storage, and for removing a vehicle other than the one specified.
Obligations that attach at the moment of the tow
Signage is the beginning of a sequence that continues while the truck is still on site.
Several statutes require the property owner to notify local law enforcement within a short window after authorizing the tow, and require the tow operator to notify the police department or sheriff within a stated number of minutes after completing the removal, supplying the storage site, the time and a description of the vehicle, and recording the name of the person who took the report.
A driver who returns before the vehicle is in transit is protected. Statutes require immediate and unconditional release of a vehicle not yet removed from the property, and permit only a reduced charge, commonly not more than half the regular towing charge, where the vehicle has already been coupled to the truck. Failing to release in those circumstances is an offense in some states.
What happens after the vehicle reaches the storage lot, including the notice to the registered owner and the right to a hearing, is set out under getting a towed vehicle back and contesting the charge. The charges that then begin to accrue, and the limits on them, are covered under vehicle storage charges and the caps on them, and the lien that ultimately supports a sale of the vehicle is described under the possessory lien on a vehicle.
Points to carry away
- Signs must be posted in plain view at every entrance to the property, not only at the main one.
- Minimum dimensions and lettering heights are specified, and a sign below them does not satisfy the statute.
- Content requirements usually include the towing company name and telephone number and a law enforcement number.
- Some statutes require signs to have been continuously in place for a stated period before any tow.
- Noncompliance commonly makes the person authorizing the tow liable for double the towing and storage charges.
Questions readers ask
Are there situations where no sign is needed?
Yes, and they are narrow. Statutes commonly dispense with signage where the lot is appurtenant to and obviously part of a single-family residence, where the vehicle blocks a driveway or obstructs the normal operation of a business, or where notice was personally given to the driver that the area is unavailable. Some allow a tow after a notice of parking violation has been issued and a stated number of hours have elapsed, or where the vehicle is plainly inoperable and law enforcement was notified in advance.
Does a small business have to post full-size signs?
Some statutes provide a scaled alternative. One representative provision allows a business with a small number of parking spaces to satisfy the notice requirement by prominently displaying a single sign reserving parking for customers and stating that unauthorized vehicles will be towed at the owner's expense, in lettering of a stated height on a contrasting background. The alternative is available only where the space count qualifies, and a business relying on it should be able to count the spaces.
Who is liable when the sign is inadequate?
Primarily the person who authorized the tow, which is usually the property owner, lessee or an association. A representative provision makes that person liable for double the storage or towing charges where the signage condition was not met or where the grounds for removal were not stated on request. The towing company that removes a vehicle in compliance with the statutory conditions is generally not responsible for the validity of the removal, though it remains responsible for damage in transit and for towing the wrong vehicle.
Sources
- California Vehicle Code § 22658 — Removal from private propertySets sign dimensions, lettering, content and the double charge liability for noncompliance.
- Florida Statutes § 715.07 — Vehicles parked on private propertySets placement at each driveway access, lettering heights and sign height above ground.
- California Vehicle Code § 22853 — Notice after removalRequires notice to the registered and legal owners once a vehicle has been stored.
- California Vehicle Code § 22651 — Circumstances permitting removalThe separate public authority grounds for removal that do not depend on signage.
- Florida Statutes § 713.78 — Liens for recovering, towing or storing vehiclesGoverns the lien and notice obligations that follow a lawful removal.
- California Vehicle Code § 22656 — Removal from railroad propertyAn example of a category-specific removal power with its own posting rules.
Metro Law Advisors is a publication, not a law firm. This article states general rules and cites its sources; it is not advice about any particular case, and the law differs by state and changes over time.
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