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Guides / Car towed and sold at a lien sale? Money may be held for you

Car towed and sold at a lien sale? Money may be held for you

When a California tow yard or storage lot sells an unclaimed car to cover what it is owed, that is a lien sale. If the car sold for more than the bill and a capped cost, the law sends the rest to the DMV, and an owner or other interested person may claim it within three years.

Start here. The California DMV runs an official lookup, which it calls Lien Sale Excess Fees. Enter your plate number or the last 5 digits of the VIN to see if money is held for your car.

Sold recently? The lienholder has 5 or 15 days after the sale to forward the money, and the DMV says its lookup data is refreshed on the 2nd business day of every month. If nothing shows yet, try again next month.

Open the DMV lookup →

This site cannot look up your car and does not see what you type at the DMV. The DMV decides every claim. This page is information, not legal advice.

Steps

  1. Find your plate number or VIN. Use the plate or VIN of the car that was towed. The lookup takes the plate number, or the last 5 digits of the VIN.
  2. Use the DMV lookup. The DMV describes what it does.

    “Enter your License Plate or Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) to see if a refund is available. Refund data is refreshed on the 2nd business day of every month. If eligible, excess fee details and step-by-step instructions to request a refund will be revealed.”

    California DMV, Lien Sale Excess Fees Lookup, read 14 November 2026.
  3. Follow the steps the lookup shows. When the lookup finds your car, it shows the date of sale, the amount and the date fees were paid, and tells you what to do. The DMV's results page says this:

    To request a refund for Lien Sale Excess Fees, complete and submit an Application for Refund (ADM399) (PDF):

    In Section 1, check the box for “Registration”

    In Section 2, check the boxes for:

    “Vehicle/Vessel was” and “Sold”

    “Other” and write:

    “Vehicle was sold in a lien sale. Requesting a refund of excess fees from the sale.”

    Complete Section 3 and Certification section.

    Mail the form with supporting documentation to:

    Registration Department of Motor Vehicles PO Box 942869, MS A235 Sacramento, CA 94269-0001

    California DMV, Lien Sale Excess Fees Lookup, read 14 November 2026.
  4. Open the form and read its instructions. Application for Refund (ADM 399), PDF. Collect the documents in the checklist below.
  5. Sign the form yourself and mail it as the DMV's results page says. The address is in the DMV's steps above. The form itself also allows you to submit it at a DMV office.
  6. Wait for the DMV to decide. The DMV decides every claim. The form says you will be told what it decided.

    “If you qualify, refunds are typically issued by check, mailed to the address associated with your vehicle within 4–6 weeks after the request is approved.”

    California DMV, Lien Sale Excess Fees Lookup, read 14 November 2026.

Questions the page does not answer go to the DMV Lien Sale Unit.

“These FAQs are designed to answer most common lien sale questions. For other questions, contact the DMV’s Lien Sale Unit at (916) 657-7617.”

California DMV, Lien Sales For Vehicles, read 14 November 2026.

What happens to the money after a lien sale

A tow yard or storage lot that is owed money on a vehicle can sell it at a lien sale. Civil Code §3073 says where the sale money goes.

“The amount necessary to discharge the lien and the cost of processing the vehicle shall be paid to the lienholder. The cost of processing shall not exceed seventy dollars ($70) for each vehicle valued at four thousand dollars ($4,000) or less, or one hundred dollars ($100) for each vehicle valued over four thousand dollars ($4,000).”

California Civil Code §3073, leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, read 14 November 2026.

“The balance, if any, shall be forwarded to the Department of Motor Vehicles within 15 days of any sale conducted pursuant to Section 3071 or within five days of any sale conducted pursuant to Section 3072 and deposited in the Motor Vehicle Account in the State Transportation Fund, unless federal law requires these funds to be disposed in a different manner.”

California Civil Code §3073, leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, read 14 November 2026.

In this site's reading: if the car sold for more than the lien and the allowed processing cost, the statute sends the balance to the DMV, not to the tow yard. The DMV's lookup page calls this money excess lien fees.

“Excess lien fees are monies received in excess of the lien amount, when a towed vehicle is sold at auction.”

California DMV, Lien Sale Excess Fees Lookup, read 14 November 2026.

Who may claim

“Any person claiming an interest in the vehicle may file a claim with the Department of Motor Vehicles for any portion of the funds from the lien sale that were forwarded to the department pursuant to subdivision (b).”

California Civil Code §3073, leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, read 14 November 2026.

The DMV's lookup page is written for owners. It says a former owner can still claim if the person was the registered owner when the fee was paid.

“You may still be eligible for a refund. As long as you were the registered owner during the time the fee was paid, you can still look up your information and submit a claim.”

California DMV, Lien Sale Excess Fees Lookup, read 14 November 2026.

The DMV decides whether you are entitled to an amount. The statute caps the payment at the amount forwarded for that sale. Some of the DMV's text is about owners, and the statute says any person claiming an interest. If you are not the registered owner, ask the DMV Lien Sale Unit.

The three-year clock

“The department shall not honor any claim unless the claim has been filed within three years of the date the funds were deposited in the Motor Vehicle Account.”

California Civil Code §3073, leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, read 14 November 2026.

The DMV's lookup page gives two three-year statements.

“These fees are available for 3 years after the lien sale.”

California DMV, Lien Sale Excess Fees Lookup, read 14 November 2026.

“Currently, the tool checks for excess lien fees paid within the last 3 years from the date of your search.”

California DMV, Lien Sale Excess Fees Lookup, read 14 November 2026.

This site's reading: the lienholder must forward the money within 5 or 15 days of the sale, so the two counts are close. Plan on three years from the sale date, and do not wait. The statute says the DMV does not honor a late claim. The DMV's general refund form also says it will not honor a refund request received more than three years after the DMV received the payment.

Documents checklist

This list follows what the DMV's refund form asks for, plus some suggestions from this site. The DMV's steps say to mail the form with supporting documentation. The form's own instructions list proof the DMV may ask for, such as proof of payment and receipts. The DMV Lien Sale Unit can say which proof applies to your refund.

Optional worksheet: line up your details for DMV form ADM 399

Use this only after the DMV lookup shows money for your car. It runs in your browser. Nothing you type is sent anywhere, and it does not file a claim. It puts your details in the order the DMV's refund form asks for them, so you can copy them onto the form.

What to do if you were not notified

Before a lien sale, California law tells the tow yard or lot to find the owners through the DMV and write to them. Different sections cover different kinds of sales. Two of them are quoted here. Your sale may fall under another rule. If you have a notice, see what a notice of pending lien sale must say.

“For vehicles with a value determined to be four thousand dollars ($4,000) or less, the lienholder shall apply to the department for the names and addresses of the registered and legal owners of record.”

California Civil Code §3072, leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, read 14 November 2026.

“The lienholder shall, within 15 working days following the date of possession of the vehicle, make a request to the Department of Motor Vehicles for the names and addresses of all persons having an interest in the vehicle.”

California Vehicle Code §22851.8, leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, read 14 November 2026.

“By certified mail with return receipt requested or by United States Postal Service Certificate of Mailing, the lienholder shall immediately, upon receipt of this information, send the following prescribed forms and enclosures to the registered owner and legal owner at their addresses of record with the Department of Motor Vehicles, and to any other person known to have an interest in the vehicle:”

California Vehicle Code §22851.8, leginfo.legislature.ca.gov, read 14 November 2026.

The notice goes to the address the DMV has on record. If you moved and did not update it, the notice may not have reached you.

A news report said the DMV does not notify owners and says the law does not require it. We did not find that in the law we read. We point you to the DMV's lookup.

What this site cannot do

Sources

Quotations are copied word for word from the source named under each. Text outside a quotation is this site's reading. The DMV decides every claim. This is not legal advice.

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