Yes. When an officer arrests you and takes you into custody, the car you were driving can be towed, and other laws allow longer impounds depending on your license status, any DUI conviction in the last 10 years, and, after a conviction, a court order. A DUI arrest by itself does not come with one fixed impound period; which rule applies decides how long the car can be held and how you get it back.
Just being arrested: routine towing
If an officer arrests you and takes you into custody, the officer may have the vehicle you were driving removed under general authority that applies to any custodial arrest, not just a DUI (Vehicle Code section 22651(h)(1)). That authority does not set a minimum number of days. To get a stored vehicle back, the owner must show proof of current registration (Vehicle Code section 22850.3), and local agencies can set release procedures and charge an administrative fee (Vehicle Code section 22850.5).
If your license was suspended, revoked, or never issued
If you were driving on a suspended or revoked license, on a license restricted to interlock-equipped vehicles in a car without a working interlock device, or without ever having been issued a license, an officer may impound the vehicle, and the statute sets a 30-day impound (Vehicle Code section 14602.6). The agency must release it sooner if the vehicle was stolen; it was driven by an unlicensed employee of a business holding it, such as a parking service or repair garage; the license was suspended or revoked under a law other than the court and DMV suspension provisions the statute names (DUI-related suspensions are among those it names); the seizure was for an offense that does not authorize it; or the driver reinstates the license, or obtains a license and proper insurance. Early release also requires the owner’s or agent’s valid driver’s license and proof of current registration, or a court order.
If you have a recent DUI conviction and this stop involved a high result or a refusal
If you have a conviction under Vehicle Code section 23140, 23152, or 23153 for a violation within the preceding 10 years, and on this stop you had a blood alcohol level of 0.10 percent or more or refused to submit to or complete a chemical test, an officer may impound the vehicle: 5 days for one such conviction, or 15 days for two or more (Vehicle Code section 14602.8). Early release is required if the vehicle was stolen, was driven by an unlicensed employee of a business holding it, or, when you are not the sole registered owner, is released to another registered owner who agrees not to let you drive it until the period ends. This impound happens at the stop and is not a sentence, but if a court later orders impoundment after a conviction, the days already served count toward the court’s order.
If you evaded police, drove recklessly, or raced
A different tool applies when an officer saw the vehicle used to evade police, to drive recklessly, or in a speed contest or exhibition of speed. On the officer’s sworn affidavit showing reasonable cause, a magistrate issues a warrant or court order to seize the vehicle, and it may be impounded for up to 30 days (Vehicle Code section 14602.7). A DUI arrest alone does not trigger it.
If you are convicted
On a conviction under Vehicle Code section 23152 or 23153, if you are a registered owner of the vehicle used in the offense, the sentencing court may order it impounded at the registered owner’s expense for 1 to 30 days. If the offense occurred within 5 years of a prior DUI offense that resulted in a conviction under section 23152 or 23153, and that prior is charged and admitted or found true, the court must order impoundment for 1 to 30 days; with two or more such priors within 5 years, for 1 to 90 days. Either way, the court can decline in an unusual case where the interests of justice favor not ordering impoundment, stating its reasons on the record (Vehicle Code section 23594). It can weigh whether impoundment would cost you or your family a job, interfere with school or medical care, lead to losing the car because the fees cannot be paid, or unfairly affect community property rights, along with any other relevant facts. A vehicle is exempt if someone other than you holds a community property interest in it and it is the only vehicle available to your immediate family that can be driven with a regular (class C) or motorcycle (class M) license.
So an impound of more than 30 days under this section requires two or more prior DUI offenses within 5 years, a different window from the 10-year lookback used for DUI sentencing. Serious repeat cases can also lead to a separate and more severe process: after notice and a hearing, the court may declare the vehicle a nuisance, if you are its registered owner, and order it sold (Vehicle Code section 23596). For how prior convictions affect the rest of your case, see second-time DUI defense.
Getting the car back
After a tow on arrest, or an impound under section 14602.6 or 14602.8, the registered and legal owners have a right to a poststorage hearing on the validity of the storage (Vehicle Code section 22852); for those two impounds, the hearing can also consider mitigating circumstances. Notice must be mailed or personally delivered within 48 hours, not counting weekends and holidays. You must request the hearing in person, in writing, or by phone within 10 days of the date on the notice, and it is held within 48 hours of the request, again not counting weekends and holidays. Not requesting or not attending the hearing satisfies the agency’s obligation, so act promptly and keep the notice. The registered owner is responsible for towing and storage charges unless the hearing finds there were no reasonable grounds for the storage, in which case the agency pays them. Those costs are on top of the other expenses of a DUI case; see DUI defense costs.
For a warrant impound under section 14602.7, you request the hearing from the magistrate who issued the warrant within 10 days of the notice, and it is held within two court days. Impoundment under section 23594 is decided by the sentencing court, which is where the interests-of-justice factors above are raised.
If your car was impounded or towed after a DUI arrest, the Law Offices of David S. Chesley can help you identify which rule applies and pursue a hearing. Call (800) 755-5174 to discuss your situation.