Parking Ticket on a Rental Car in California: Who Pays and What to Do

You returned a rental car in California and later received a notice — either from the rental company or directly from the city — about a parking citation. Or maybe you're holding a ticket that was issued to a rental car you're currently driving and wondering what happens next. Here is how the system actually works and what your options are.

How California Handles Rental Car Parking Tickets

California Vehicle Code § 40209 establishes the framework for parking ticket liability on rented vehicles.

When a parking citation is issued to a vehicle, it is issued against the registered owner — which for a rental car is the rental company (Hertz, Avis, Enterprise, Budget, etc.). The citation is mailed to the rental company's registered address.

Upon receiving the citation, the rental company has two options: 1. Pay the fine (and pass the cost to you as a charge on your credit card, often with an administrative fee added) 2. Transfer liability to the renter by providing your name and address to the issuing agency under CVC § 40209

Nearly all major rental companies choose option 2: they transfer liability to the renter. Once liability is transferred, the city mails a new notice directly to you — and you become the responsible party for all subsequent steps.

What the Rental Company Charges You

Before or along with the liability transfer, rental companies typically: 1. Charge your credit card directly for the citation amount 2. Add an administrative processing fee — usually $30 to $50 per citation

This means you may receive the charge before you even receive the official notice from the city. The rental company's charge covers their internal processing cost; it does not resolve the citation with the city.

Read your rental agreement. It almost certainly contains language authorizing the company to charge your card for traffic and parking violations incurred during your rental period and to add administrative fees for processing. This clause is standard.

When Does the 21-Day Clock Start?

The 21-day contest window under CVC § 40215(a) starts from the citation date — not from when you receive the notice.

If a citation was issued on the 8th of the month but the rental company doesn't process and transfer liability until the 20th, and you don't receive the notice until the 25th — you may have already missed the 21-day contest window.

This is the most common problem with rental car parking tickets. By the time you receive any paperwork, weeks may have passed.

If you receive a notice and the 21-day window has passed, immediately contact the city's parking enforcement agency and explain the timeline. Some agencies will accept a late contest request when the delay was caused by the liability transfer process and not by the renter's inaction. This is discretionary and not guaranteed — but worth attempting.

How to Contest a Rental Car Parking Ticket

Once the city mails a notice to you (after the liability transfer), you have the same contest rights as any other registered owner:

Step 1: Request an Initial Administrative Review

Go to the issuing city's citation portal: - Los Angeles: ladotparking.org - San Francisco: sfmta.com → Citations → Contest Citation - San Diego: sandiego.gov/parking/citations/appeal - Sacramento: SacPark.org - San Jose: pticket.com/sanjose - Oakland: oaklandca.gov

Request an Initial Administrative Review. No payment is required at this stage. The deadline is 21 days from the citation issue date (or 14 days from the delinquency notice, whichever is later — see below).

Step 2: Write Your Protest

Your defense options are the same as for any parking citation — the vehicle was rented, but the underlying violation either occurred or it didn't, and the same CVC defenses apply.

Common defenses for rental car citations: - Missing or obscured signage (street sweeping, time-limit restrictions) - Broken meter (CVC § 22508.5) - Factual error on the citation (wrong plate, wrong location, wrong violation code) - You were not driving the vehicle at the time (if the vehicle was operated by another authorized driver)

If you believe the citation was issued in error, the fact that it's a rental car doesn't change the analysis. Write the same evidence-based protest you would write for your own vehicle.

Step 3: Address the Administrative Fee Separately

Contesting the citation with the city does not automatically reverse the rental company's administrative fee. These are two separate charges: - The fine itself (city's claim) - The processing fee (rental company's contractual charge)

If you successfully get the city to dismiss the citation, contact the rental company's customer service with the dismissal documentation and request a refund of the fine amount charged. The administrative fee is typically non-refundable regardless of outcome.

If you dispute the rental company's charge on your credit card (via chargeback), the rental company will typically respond with your signed rental agreement authorizing the charge. Chargebacks on rental car citation fees rarely succeed.

What If You Don't Pay?

If you ignore a parking citation that has been transferred to your name:

Late fees: The city applies late fees to unpaid citations on the standard schedule.

DMV registration hold: Under CVC § 4760, a hold is placed on the vehicle's registration. For a rental car, this hold hits the rental company's registration — which then creates liability back to you under your rental agreement.

Credit impact: Unpaid parking debts can go to collections and affect your credit score.

Your credit card is already at risk: The rental company's authorization on your credit card means they can charge you for the citation regardless of what you do with the city notice. Your dispute is with both parties simultaneously.

Practical Tips for Rental Car Situations

Before returning the car: Photograph the vehicle's location at your last parking spot. This creates a timestamp record that could be useful if a citation was issued after you returned the car (which does happen — enforcement officers sometimes issue citations after a vehicle has already been picked up).

Keep your rental receipt: The rental agreement shows the exact return date and time. If a citation was issued after your rental period ended, this is strong evidence that you are not liable.

Request a copy of the citation from the rental company: Before paying their charge, request to see a copy of the actual citation. Verify the date, time, location, and vehicle plate match your rental. Errors occur.

Act quickly: The 21-day window is already compressed by the time any notice reaches you through the rental company's processing. If you intend to contest, do so as soon as you receive any documentation.

Rental car parking tickets in California add complexity to an already bureaucratic process. The liability transfer mechanism works in the city's favor — by the time you know about the ticket, the contest window may be half-expired. Our California Parking Ticket Dispute Guide includes the full three-stage California dispute process, city-specific portal links, and templates for the most common violation defenses — including situations where you need to move quickly because the clock is already running.