If you are the registered owner, legal owner or agent for the owner, in accordance with California Vehicle Code 22852, you may request a post storage hearing to determine the validity of the impoundment. You have ten days from the date of impoundment to request a hearing. Failure to request a hearing within ten days shall satisfy the post-storage hearing requirement.

In order to receive a post-storage hearing, you must make a formal request by letter or by phone to the Santa Monica Police Department. To request a hearing by mail, send a letter to the Santa Monica Police Department – Office of Special Enforcement care of the Traffic Enforcement Division, 333 Olympic Drive, Santa Monica, CA 90401. To request a hearing by phone, telephone 310.458.8993 and choose option 4. The Santa Monica Police Department does not conduct any “walk in” hearings.

A hearing officer shall conduct the post-storage hearing within 48 hours of receiving the request, excluding weekends and holidays. In requesting a post-storage hearing, please include your name, day and/or nighttime phone number, license plate, incident or report number and date of tow.

The post-storage hearing shall not apply to vehicles removed under the following conditions: the Abandoned Vehicle Abatement Program, vehicles impounded for investigation, vehicles removed from private property, and to abandoned vehicles which are determined by the public agency to have an estimated value of three hundred dollars or less.

This page was last modified on 01/26/2008