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Manual of Policy and Procedures / Volume 5 - Line Procedures / Chapter 1 - Motor Vehicles

5-01/060.10 - Impounded Vehicles (Vehicle Hold)


5-01/060.05 - Stored Vehicles
5-01/060.15 - Storage of Unidentified Vehicles and Vehicle Parts

An impounded vehicle report shall be made on a CHP-180 form by this Department when a vehicle is impounded for one of the following reasons:

  • Vehicle held for investigation;
  • Vehicle is involved in a civil case where fees and penalties are due;
  • Vehicle has been involved in a hit and run violation as covered in Section 22655 CVC;
  • Vehicle has altered or missing identification numbers (also requires an SH-R-49);
  • Vehicle held for fingerprinting (latent prints);
  • Vehicle is unidentifiable (also requires an SH-R-49); or
  • Vehicle is seized pursuant to 14602.6 CVC, (a 30-day impound).

A vehicle may be considered stripped when any major items of equipment or accessories have been removed from the vehicle, see section 5‑01/100.05 for Recovered‑Impounded Vehicle Report.

Deputies impounding a vehicle under any of the above circumstances shall be responsible for the following:

  • Preparing an original and one copy of a CHP-180, including inventory of any personal property and the contents of any closed containers within the vehicle;
  • Giving the carbon copy to the garage/tow truck operator at the time of impound;
  • Preparing any necessary incident reports;
  • Notifying the station/unit as soon as possible so that the “Station Daily Log of Stolen, Stored, Repossessed and Impounded Vehicles” may be updated; and
  • Assigning an URN if one has not already been assigned to the case.

For any vehicle with an altered or missing vehicle identification number (VIN), the impounding deputy shall complete a CHP‑181 form, "Notice of Impoundment of Vehicle and/or Component Parts" (in duplicate) whenever a vehicle/part is taken from the immediate possession of an individual.  This is in addition to other required reports, such as the CHP‑180 form. The deputy shall give a copy of the CHP‑181 (which shall serve as a receipt) to the person from whom the property is seized and advise that a "Notice of Hearing" (CHP‑181A), providing a hearing date, will be received within five working days if a positive identification of the vehicle/part is not made.  If the individual refuses to sign the form, "REFUSED TO SIGN" shall be entered in the space provided and the report processed as if it were signed.

The deputy shall notify the Taskforce for Regional Autotheft Prevention (TRAP) unit immediately by telephone of any vehicle with an altered or missing VIN.  Station/unit detectives should notify TRAP if they need assistance identifying a vehicle due to an altered and/or missing VIN.

Distribution, after entry in SVS and indicating the FCN on the CHP-180 form, shall be as follows:

  • Image into the Sheriff’s Electronic Criminal Data Archive (SECDA);
    • The original CHP-180 form and any incident report;
  • For the Unit;
    • Sufficient copies for unit needs and subsequent release of the vehicle.