Customer Rights & Responsibilities

Important information

This page provides a general California overview, not legal advice or a repair authorization. Your signed estimate, later authorizations, final invoice, insurance policy, and current law control your specific transaction. Translations are provided for convenience; review the linked official California sources for the governing English text.

THE REPAIR TRANSACTION

Your rights with a repair shop

Except for limited statutory exceptions involving specified, customer-authorized preventive-maintenance services, receive a written or electronic estimate before repairs begin, showing the expected price for parts and labor.
Authorize the specific work before it begins. Authorization may be written, oral, or electronic and must be documented by the shop.
Be contacted and separately authorize additional repairs before the authorized price or scope is increased.
Receive a copy of every document requiring your signature when you sign it.
Ask for replaced parts to be returned by making the request before authorizing the repair.
Receive a final itemized invoice identifying the shop, repairs performed, parts supplied, and total parts and labor charges.
For collision repairs, see whether each replacement crash part is identified as new OEM, non-OEM aftermarket, used, rebuilt, or reconditioned, as applicable.
Contact the California Bureau of Automotive Repair and request a no-cost collision repair inspection if a concern cannot be resolved directly with the shop.

CLEAR COMMUNICATION

Your responsibilities

Provide accurate owner, vehicle, contact, and insurance information and keep the shop updated if any of it changes.
Read the estimate and any towing, teardown, storage, or payment terms before authorizing them.
Keep copies of estimates, authorizations, claim communications, invoices, payment records, and pickup or storage notices.
Respond to requests for authorization, insurer decisions, and completion or pickup notices without unreasonable delay.
Promptly arrange payment and pickup after the vehicle is ready, or identify any disputed charge in writing and preserve the supporting records.
Do not assume an insurer's estimate, inspection, or payment approval authorizes the shop to perform work; repair authorization comes from the customer.
Unless the written repair agreement says otherwise, pay the deductible and all lawfully authorized charges not paid by the insurer.
If an insurer pays you for covered towing or storage, pay the provider the towing or storage amount that is due.

Some customer responsibilities arise from the signed repair agreement or insurance policy rather than from a separate statute. The applicable documents and law control.

CLIENT AND BODY SHOP

Body-shop rights and legal duties.

What the body shop may require or pursue

Rely on the customer's documented authorization and the payment terms in the signed repair agreement.
Request payment of the deductible and other lawfully authorized charges that an insurer or other third-party payor does not pay, unless the written agreement provides otherwise.
Request an insurer inspection or supplemental estimate and provide documentation supporting safe, proper repairs.
Decline to perform work that has not been authorized or for which payment terms have not been agreed.
For an unpaid lawful balance, pursue contract remedies and, when all legal requirements are met, a possession-dependent lien, court action, or DMV lien-sale process.

What the body shop must do

Maintain a valid California BAR automotive repair dealer registration.
Provide the required estimate, obtain and document authorization before work, and give the customer a copy of each document requiring a signature at signing.
Record the requested and authorized repairs and the vehicle's odometer reading on the work order.
Obtain and document additional authorization before changing the repair method, parts, scope, or authorized price.
Provide a complete invoice and properly identify supplied parts, including collision crash-part classifications.
Charge only for supplies used on the vehicle and itemized in the documents; generic “shop supplies” or “miscellaneous parts” charges are prohibited.
Honor a replaced-parts request made at authorization, subject to core-exchange and warranty-return exceptions and the customer's applicable inspection right.
Disclose authorized sublet repairs on the estimate, remain responsible for them, and provide the sublet facility's name and location when requested.
Keep estimates, authorizations, work orders, invoices, and related transaction records for at least three years.
Avoid false or misleading statements, fraud, gross negligence, and willful departure from accepted trade standards for good and workmanlike repair.

When an insurer estimate is used

If a shop bases its repair estimate on a third-party payor's estimate, California regulations require specified notices and claim information, attachment of the third-party estimate, and compliance with BAR estimate rules. If the customer authorizes a change that alters cost, the shop must notify the third-party payor before performing that repair.

Key legal references: Business and Professions Code sections 9884.7–9884.11 and 9884.16; California Code of Regulations, title 16, sections 3352–3358.

WHEN INSURANCE IS INVOLVED

The customer chooses the shop. The policy controls coverage.

01

Your choice of repair facility

A California insurer cannot require you to use a specific automotive repair dealer. An insurer may recommend a shop only under the conditions permitted by Insurance Code section 758.5.

02

Authorization and payment are different

The customer authorizes repairs. The insurer decides coverage and payment under the policy. An insurer's estimate or inspection does not, by itself, authorize the shop to perform additional work.

03

Reasonable covered repair costs

When an insurance contract provides that the insurer may suggest or recommend a particular repair shop, and the customer instead chooses another shop, the insurer may not limit or discount reasonable repair costs based on what its chosen shop would have charged. Coverage, deductible, exclusions, and accepted trade standards still apply.

Auto Body Repair Consumer Bill of Rights

California's standardized Auto Body Repair Consumer Bill of Rights explains, among other protections, the right to select the auto body repair shop, receive an itemized written estimate and detailed invoice, be informed about towing, storage, and rental coverage, know where to report concerns, and obtain an independent repair estimate. An insurer issuing automobile liability or collision coverage must provide the notice at one of the times specified by California Code of Regulations, title 10, section 2695.85, with additional delivery requirements after a reported accident or loss and at renewal in specified cases.

Review the official consumer notice rule ↗

Inspection delays and third-party payment

For a first-party claim, when an insurer elects a physical inspection, the six-business-day period generally runs from notice of the claim or a supplemental-estimate request, assuming the vehicle is reasonably available. Different three- and six-business-day triggers apply when photographs or an estimate are initially requested instead of an inspection. For a third-party claim, the six-business-day period generally runs from the insurer's decision to inspect. When the insurer's payment amount is unknown, the customer remains responsible for contacting the insurer or other third-party payor about payment for repairs the customer authorizes. Globus Auto Repair can provide authorized repair documentation, but it does not decide policy coverage.

General California claim-handling timelines

15 days

Generally, acknowledge the claim, begin the investigation, provide necessary forms and reasonable assistance, and respond to claim communications no later than 15 calendar days after receipt.

40 days

Generally, accept or deny a claim no later than 40 calendar days after receiving proof of claim, subject to regulatory exceptions and lawful extensions. This 40-day rule does not govern automobile repair bills subject to Insurance Code section 560.

10 days — section 560

When Insurance Code section 560 applies, an insurer generally must issue payment to the repairer or joint payees within 10 days after receiving an itemized bill for insurer-authorized, satisfactorily completed repairs, provided the section's other conditions are met.

6 business days

The inspection period depends on whether the claim is first-party or third-party and whether the insurer elected inspection, photographs, or an estimate. Review the detailed rule before calculating a deadline.

For other accepted claims not governed by Insurance Code section 560, the general rule may require payment immediately and no later than 30 calendar days after settlement, subject to regulatory exceptions. These are general California fair-claims benchmarks, not automatic guarantees of coverage or payment. Policy terms, requested information, lawful extensions, and the facts of the claim can affect the process. Key legal references include California Code of Regulations, title 10, sections 2695.5, 2695.7, 2695.8, and 2695.85, and Insurance Code sections 560 and 758.5.

Customer or insured responsibilities

Promptly report the loss and provide accurate information, requested claim documents, estimates, photographs, and other available proof.
Reasonably cooperate with the insurer's investigation, inspections, and requests permitted by the policy and law.
Read the policy, deductible, exclusions, rental limits, towing and storage coverage, and any deadlines.
Take reasonable steps to avoid unnecessary additional loss or storage while preserving evidence and safety.
Keep the insurer and shop informed and separately authorize the shop's repairs; insurer approval alone is not repair authorization.

Insurance-company duties

Explain applicable benefits, coverage, time limits, and other policy provisions and provide reasonable claim assistance.
Investigate and communicate fairly, provide required written explanations or status notices, and offer a fair settlement when coverage applies.
Respect the customer's lawful choice of repair shop. If the customer accepts the insurer's recommended shop, the insurer must stand behind the repairs as required by Insurance Code section 758.5.
Provide its repair estimate. If the customer's written estimate is higher, follow the regulatory options: pay the difference, identify on request a facility that will perform the repair for the insurer's estimate, or reasonably adjust the estimate and provide the line-item changes.
Not require the claimant to supply replacement parts. If non-OEM crash parts are specified, comply with the applicable quality, identification, disclosure, modification-cost, and insurer-warranty requirements.
Pay reasonable towing expenses when required, and pay reasonable accident- or stolen-recovery storage charges when the policy provides that coverage.
Give reasonable notice before terminating covered storage payments. In a third-party claim, payment may be adjusted to reflect comparative fault.
For a covered total loss, include applicable taxes, license and transfer fees and use a comparable-vehicle valuation as required by California rules.

STORAGE CHARGES

When storage may—and may not—be charged.

California permits reasonable storage charges in defined circumstances. The applicable start date depends on why the vehicle is at the facility and what work has been completed.

Situation	General California rule
Accident or stolen-vehicle recovery	Reasonable towing and storage charges may apply when the vehicle is taken into possession for those services, subject to the Vehicle Code and lien rules.
Authorized repairs completed	Storage may begin only after the contracted repairs are complete, the customer is notified that the vehicle is ready, and the applicable lien conditions are met.
Inspection or teardown completed	After the required itemized estimate is provided, storage may begin if the customer does not authorize repairs or retrieve the vehicle within the disclosed or specified timeframe.
Active repair or teardown	Storage cannot be charged while the vehicle is undergoing the authorized repair or teardown transaction.
Total loss after repair work began	Storage may begin only after the customer is notified that the authorized work is complete and the vehicle is ready for retrieval.

Rates and invoices

A storage rate must be reasonable. Comparable storage rates charged by other facilities in the same locale are one statutory benchmark, but a higher or lower rate is not excluded if it is otherwise reasonable. Towing and storage charges must be itemized. The actual rate and the date charges may begin should be reviewed in the applicable signed documents and notices.

Examples of presumptively unreasonable fees

For accident or stolen-recovery towing and storage, California identifies several fees as presumptively unreasonable, including most security, dolly, load/unload, pull-out, and administrative fees; most gate fees unless an after-hours release is requested; storage after all due fees are paid when the facility fails to release the vehicle; and more than 50% of the daily storage rate when a vehicle is recovered within the first four hours. The 2026 rules also address holiday storage above the posted daily rate, certain after-hours towing add-ons exceeding 10% of the normal tow rate, and specified emergency roadway-clearing tows.

Towing authorization, notices, and access

A customer's written authorization for towing must be on a form separate from the repair estimate and repair authorization. Towing charges must be provided on a separate document rather than embedded in the repair estimate or repair invoice. Before collecting towing or storage charges, the facility must provide an itemized statement and the required notice about the Towing and Storage Fees and Access Notice. A facility that charges vehicle storage is generally required to be open and accessible Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m.–5:00 p.m., except state holidays, and provide an after-hours message number with calls returned within six business hours. A registered repair dealer that does not provide towing is exempt from the office-posting requirement, but not from other applicable access and itemization duties.

Vehicle access and covered storage

Before payment, the owner or authorized agent generally may retrieve personal property without charge during normal business hours, inspect the vehicle without a fee, and allow the insurer to inspect it at the facility without a fee. A lien fee generally cannot be charged when the vehicle is retrieved during the first 72 hours of storage. If the policy covers storage resulting from an accident or stolen-vehicle recovery, the insurer is responsible for reasonable covered storage. A customer or repair shop may complain to CDI when an insurer elects to inspect but misses the applicable six-business-day deadline.

Payment and release where Vehicle Code section 22651.07 applies

The facility generally must permit payment by cash, an insurer's check, or a valid bank credit card. After all towing and storage charges are paid and the claimant presents valid photo identification, reliable proof of entitlement to the vehicle, and any applicable law-enforcement release, the vehicle is entitled to immediate release. A violation may create civil liability of up to twice the amount charged, capped at $500 per vehicle.

Key legal references: Vehicle Code sections 10652.5, 22524.5, and 22651.07; Civil Code sections 3068 and 3068.1.

UNPAID AUTHORIZED CHARGES

What a body shop may do if payment is not made.

Available legal remedies

A validly registered California automotive repair dealer may have a possession-dependent lien for compensation legally due for authorized repairs, labor, parts, supplies, towing, or storage. Subject to the signed agreement and California law, the shop may retain possession while a valid lien exists, subject to applicable tender and release requirements, legal-owner or lessor limits, inspection rights, and statutory notice requirements. The shop may also request payment, pursue a court judgment, or timely begin the DMV lien-sale process.

Limits still apply

A lien does not make unauthorized, undocumented, or unreasonable charges valid, and it does not permit an immediate sale. A shop must hold a valid BAR registration to benefit from a repair lien, lawful storage charges, or a lawsuit on the repair contract, and it must comply with documentation, notice, deadline, inspection, and lien-sale requirements.

Insurance delay does not automatically cancel the customer's repair contract

Unless the written agreement provides otherwise, the customer remains responsible for lawfully authorized charges even when an insurer delays, denies, or pays less than expected. Coverage disputes should be raised promptly with the insurer and, when appropriate, the California Department of Insurance.

VEHICLE REPAIR LIEN / MECHANIC'S LIEN

When a lien arises—and when the shop files for a lien sale.

Important distinction:

The lien itself generally arises by operation of law; the body shop does not create it simply by “filing a lien.” To enforce it, the shop must timely commence the lien-sale procedure that applies to the vehicle's value or, when permitted, file a court action. For a vehicle valued at $4,000 or less, the process begins by requesting owner information and completing the notice procedure; for a vehicle valued over $4,000, it begins with an application to DMV for authorization.

Lien

A possession-dependent legal claim securing compensation lawfully due for covered repairs, labor, parts, towing, storage, or related services. It is not an automatic transfer of vehicle ownership.

Lien sale

The statutory process for selling the vehicle to satisfy a valid lien after all required filings, notices, opposition rights, waiting periods, and sale rules are followed.

Registered owner

The person identified by DMV as the vehicle's registered owner.

Legal owner or lessor

The lender, lienholder, or leasing party shown in the ownership record; this may be different from the person using or registering the vehicle.

1

Lawful services and possession

The shop must possess the vehicle and the claimed amount must arise from legally compensable repairs, labor, parts, supplies, storage, safekeeping, parking, or towing under the applicable rules. Repair work must be properly authorized and documented.
2

Identify when the lien arises

For completed repair work or services, Civil Code section 3068 states that the lien arises when a written statement of charges is presented to the registered owner or 15 days after the work or services are completed, whichever occurs first. A towing/storage-only lien governed by Civil Code section 3068.1 generally arises when possession begins.
3

Meet the first filing deadline

For a consented repair lien, the shop must timely commence the DMV lien-sale procedure applicable to the vehicle's value or file a court action within 30 days after the lien arises; otherwise that repair lien is extinguished. For a towing/storage-only lien on a vehicle valued at $4,000 or less, lien-sale proceedings generally must begin within 15 days after the lien arises or storage does not accrue beyond that 15-day period. For a towing/storage-only lien on a vehicle valued over $4,000, DMV instructs the lienholder to submit the REG 656 authorization application within 30 days after the lien arose.
4

Notice and right to oppose

The procedure differs for a vehicle valued at $4,000 or less and one valued over $4,000. The registered owner, legal owner, and known interested parties must receive the notices required for the applicable process and generally have 10 days from mailing to oppose the proposed sale.
5

An opposed sale is not automatic

If DMV receives a timely Declaration of Opposition, the lien sale cannot proceed unless the lienholder obtains the required court judgment, receives a release of the opposition, or qualifies under the statutory unsuccessful-service procedure. After DMV mails its opposition notice, the lienholder generally has 30 days to file the court action.
6

Sale, proceeds, and final steps

A vehicle may be sold only after the required authorization, notices, waiting periods, public-sale access, and commercially reasonable sale procedures are completed. Sale proceeds pay the valid lien and permitted sale costs; any required excess is sent to DMV rather than kept by the lienholder.

Vehicle-value procedures

DMV uses one procedure for vehicles valued at $4,000 or less and another for vehicles valued over $4,000. The required forms, notice dates, sale schedule, posting or advertising, and redemption rules are different. Value should be determined before beginning the applicable process.

Legal owner or lessor limits

Civil Code section 3068 limits the portion of a lien enforceable against a legal owner or lessor when repairs or services exceed $1,500, or storage exceeds $1,025 (up to $1,250 in the specified timely-filed over-$4,000 process), unless advance written notice and written consent requirements are met. These figures are lien limits involving a legal owner or lessor—not general caps on the customer's authorized bill.

If release is requested within 24 hours after the vehicle is placed in storage, storage charged to a legal owner or lessor generally cannot exceed one day. After the first 15 days of possession, Vehicle Code section 10652.5 generally prevents additional parking or storage charges to the legal owner until the period beginning three days after the required certified-mail notice, subject to the applicable lien-duration limit.

$4,000 OR LESS

Civil Code section 3072 process

No DMV authorization application is required for this value category. Submit the DMV owner-information request, generally using INF 1126, and the fee within 15 days for a public-agency or private-property towing/storage lien and within 30 days for other liens, then promptly complete the Notice of Pending Lien Sale process (REG 668). Certify a completed sale with REG 168A.
Mail the completed notice, a blank Declaration of Opposition, and the required return envelope to the listed parties and send the required copy to DMV.
Set the sale not less than 31 and not more than 41 days after mailing; post notice for at least 10 consecutive days through the day of sale.
The Declaration of Opposition generally must reach DMV within 10 days after the notice was mailed.
Civil Code section 3072 does not provide the 10-day post-sale redemption period used in the over-$4,000 process.
After sale, remove the plates and submit the required Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability (REG 138) to DMV within five days.

Review the DMV procedure ↗

OVER $4,000

Civil Code section 3071 process

Apply to DMV for authorization using REG 656 within 30 days after the lien arose. After authorization, use the applicable pending-sale notice and certification forms, including REG 280 and REG 168.
The registered owner, legal owner, and known interested parties receive notice and generally have 10 days from mailing to return a Declaration of Opposition to DMV.
After authorization, mail the sale notice 20 days before sale. Advertise once in a newspaper of general circulation published in the county at least five but not more than 20 days before sale; only if no newspaper is published in the county, use the statute's 10-day posting procedure instead.
Make the vehicle publicly available for inspection for at least one hour before sale and conduct a commercially reasonable sale without sealed bids.
The registered or legal owner generally has 10 days after sale to redeem the vehicle by paying the amounts specified in Civil Code section 3071.
After the redemption period, complete REG 168 and the required DMV transfer documents.

Review the DMV procedure ↗

Lien-sale preparation fees

Civil Code section 3074 caps a lien-sale preparation fee at $70 for a vehicle valued at $4,000 or less and $100 for a vehicle valued above $4,000. No more than half of the allowable fee may be charged until the required notices are mailed and the lienholder or registration service has the required processing documents. No preparation fee may be charged when the vehicle is redeemed within the first 72 hours of storage.

Storage-lien duration limits

For a towing/storage-only lien on a vehicle valued at $4,000 or less, the storage lien generally may cover no more than 60 days when the pending-sale notice is filed within 15 days after the lien arose; it may extend to 120 days only in the circumstances listed in Civil Code section 3068.1, such as a filed opposition, out-of-state registration, an altered or missing VIN, or a later-identified interested party. For a vehicle valued over $4,000, the storage lien may cover up to 120 days if the section 3071 application is filed. For a repair lien under section 3068, storage accruing after 60 days is invalid unless the lienholder has complied with Vehicle Code sections 10650 and 10652.

Legal-owner inspection and document demands

A consented repair lien may be extinguished if, after a proper written demand, the shop does not permit the legal owner or lessor to inspect the vehicle within the statutory 24-to-72-hour window during normal business hours, or does not provide requested copies of the work order or invoice and the registered owner's authorization within 10 days. A towing/storage lien may also be extinguished if the lienholder fails the applicable 24-to-72-hour inspection requirement or claims storage above posted rates.

WHO HANDLES EACH PROBLEM?

Where the customer or body shop can ask for help.

Keep the estimate, authorizations, invoice, claim communications, photographs, payment records, storage notices, and lien-sale envelope. Send important disputes in writing and keep proof of delivery.

Problem	Immediate step	Agency or forum
Estimate, authorization, invoice, parts, repair quality, or storage charged by a repair shop	Preserve all documents and ask the shop to respond in writing. A collision customer may also request a no-cost repair inspection.	California Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR)
Insurance delay, steering, coverage decision, settlement, or missed inspection deadline	Send a dated written request with the claim number, the requested action, and supporting documents.	California Department of Insurance (CDI)
Body shop reporting an insurer's missed inspection deadline or claim-handling concern	Document the claim and supplement request dates, communications, and vehicle availability.	CDI Auto Body Repair Shop Report Form
Pending lien sale	To request a court hearing, sign and return the Declaration of Opposition to DMV within 10 days from the notice's mailing date. Follow the notice exactly.	California DMV Lien Sale Unit
Lien-sale opposition period already expired	Act promptly. Payment or redemption, negotiation, or a court action may still be possible depending on the stage and facts.	California court or a licensed attorney; DMV describes the remaining dispute as a civil matter.
Legal owner or lessor requesting inspection or repair records	Serve the written demand by a method allowed by Civil Code section 3068 and retain delivery proof.	Enforce the statutory deadlines; an unresolved possession or lien dispute may require court action.
Public-agency tow-rate complaint	Identify the agency that ordered the tow and preserve the towing/storage invoice.	The police department, sheriff, CHP, or other agency that ordered the tow.

BAR and CDI can investigate or mediate matters within their authority, but they do not replace a court and do not automatically decide every contract, lien, ownership, or damages dispute.

VERIFY OR GET HELP

Official California resources.

Rules can change, and a specific lien or payment dispute can turn on documents and dates. Use these official sources for current information.

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