What Happens if You Don't Pay a Parking Ticket on a Rental Car

[Chuck77]

I understand the concerns of the OP. How can a rental car company claim non-responsibility of a parking violation? We can't do that, the owner of the vehicle is always on the hook. Is something written in the vehicle code that allows a rental car business to do that? Also, how can the DMV's pursue someone with a warrant based on the accusations of a rental car company?

Seems to me that the DMV's and the collection agency would make threatening gestures, but in the end, have no teeth. Their only legal violator would be the rental car business but they give them the pass out of courtesy.

I believe the advice the OP got from the traffic dispute specialists.

Example: If you legally drive a company vehicle or truck, get a parking ticket, who is on the hook for it? Answer: The registered owner.

Having dealt with this before, I'll tell you, the city will issue a warrant and they will send notice to the driver's state DMV.

That may be the case for a moving violation, but a parking ticket is a whole different animal.

[LegalWriter]

My brother in law got a parking ticket with a rental car along venice beach. They sent him a notice, he ignored it. Then about 6 months later he got a certified letter from the court that say pay or show up. He ignored that. Then he got a notice from his state's DMV that he had an outstanding ticket in CA and his license would be suspended if he didn't take care of it. Since there was no way I was driving all the way down there to handle it for him, he paid it and it went away.

[expertuser]

My brother in law got a parking ticket with a rental car along venice beach. They sent him a notice, he ignored it. Then about 6 months later he got a certified letter from the court that say pay or show up. He ignored that. Then he got a notice from his state's DMV that he had an outstanding ticket in CA and his license would be suspended if he didn't take care of it. Since there was no way I was driving all the way down there to handle it for him, he paid it and it went away.

Thanks, do you remember what that ticket was for, and do you know if he was present at the time of ticketing? Which state was his license from, and what year did that happen? Section 40200.1 ("A person shall not be subject to both a notice of parking violation and a notice to appear for the same violation.") was apparently added in 2010. Was an arrest warrant issued before he got that notice from his state's DMV, and what was that warrant for? Even if you don't know the answers to some of these questions, I'd appreciate any that you can provide easily.

I understand the concerns of the OP. How can a rental car company claim non-responsibility of a parking violation? We can't do that, the owner of the vehicle is always on the hook. Is something written in the vehicle code that allows a rental car business to do that?

Thanks for your input. Section 40209 quoted above at least strongly implies the rental company is no longer liable (with the city having no choice in that matter). The name “Affidavit of Nonliability” would be very misleading otherwise.

Also Section 40200(b) states: “Except as provided in Section 40209, the registered owner and driver, rentee, or lessee of a vehicle cited for any violation of any regulation governing the parking of a vehicle under this code, under any federal statute or regulation, or under any ordinance enacted by a local authority shall be jointly liable for parking penalties imposed under this article, unless the owner can show that the vehicle was used without consent of that person, express or implied.” This seems to further confirm a rental company is NOT jointly liable when Section 40209 applies (unlike a typical registered owner, who cannot use Section 40209 and would thus remain jointly liable for use by someone else, unless it was without consent).

I assumed this crosshatch ticket was not a moving violation, but I’m not sure whether this old comment by cdwjava is relevant: ”VC 22507.8 (parking in a disabled place) is a 0 point "moving" violation, NOT a parking violation. It is included in the state bail and penalty schedule with fines and fees of at least $1,000. Also, VC 42001.13 permits this offense to be cited as an infraction on a "criminal notice to appear." This seemingly need not contradict what I was previously told, if any potential arrest warrant, reporting to another state, or impact on driving privileges can only happen if the offense were cited as a criminal notice to appear, which can no longer happen per Section 40200.1.

[expertuser]

From the CA DMV online about AB 103, passed 6/27/2017: "the DMV no longer accepts FTP [Failure to Pay] notices from courts and cannot suspend or withhold a driver license for that reason” and “If you fail to pay a ticket fine or court fees, the DMV will not suspend or withhold your driver license or make a notation on your driver record.”

If unpaid tickets no longer go onto CA’s own driver records, is it correct to assume they are also no longer reported to any other state (thereby causing potential license suspensions as in the case of LegalWriter’s brother-in-law)? Has anyone heard of any such out-of-state reporting after 6/27/2017?

LegalWriter, did your brother-in-law’s case happen before or after 6/27/2017?