California BAR storage fee regulations update again up for revision, public comment following OAL concerns

Proposed changes to regulations of storage fees charged by automotive repair dealers (ARDs) in California will soon be up for public comment again.

The passage of AB1263 in 2024 gave the Bureau of Automotive Repair (BAR) authority to address storage fees. It also allows BAR to codify its guidance and unify existing laws on the subject. The changes also include teardown disclosures.

BAR’s Advisory Group shared on July 30 that the final package on the proposed regulations was sent to the California Office of Administrative Law (OAL) on May 19, then withdrawn by BAR on June 26 “to address OAL concerns regarding clarity of several provisions.”

Repairer Driven News asked BAR and OAL for details regarding the concerns.

Ebenezer Arreola, California Department of Consumer Affairs public information officer, said that OAL identified several provisions where wording needed greater clarity to ensure consistent interpretation and application.

“Their feedback focused on refining language, not on issues of legality or authority,” he said. “The Bureau is modifying the specific sections identified by OAL. Once revisions are complete, the Bureau will resubmit the modified text to OAL.”

A new 15‑day comment period will begin once staff has finalized the revisions.

A notice of modified text will be sent to those who sign up here to receive email notifications, including the dates of the comment period and instructions on how and where comments can be submitted.

Public workshops were previously held on the proposed changes to the regulations on April 25, July 18, Oct. 17, 2024, and Jan. 30, 2025.

After the comment period concludes, the final package will be submitted to OAL for final approval and adoption. BAR expects the effective date to be Jan. 1, 2027.

OAL shared with RDN that when an agency withdraws a rulemaking, it may typically resubmit it within one year from the date its Notice of Proposed Action (NOPA) was published, BAR’s was published on Nov. 14, 2025.

The regulations, as currently proposed and discussed on July 30, would:

• • Establish that fees charged for the storage of a motor vehicle must be reasonable.
  • Determine when storage fees may be charged.
  • Require that an ARD store a vehicle at its primary business address as registered with the Bureau. The ARD must notify the customer of the storage location prior to moving the vehicle, and not charge to move the vehicle without customer authorization.
  • Require that an ARD provide an itemized invoice for storage fees when charged.
  • Require an ARD that provides storage services to post their current daily storage fee rate(s) in an area frequented by customers.
  • Require an ARD to report to the Bureau their maximum daily storage rate when renewing their registration. An ARD may make a change to their reported maximum daily storage rate once per registration cycle.
  • Require an ARD that maintains a motor carrier permit to display the Towing and Storage Fees Access Notice in an area of the business facility that is in plain view of the public and have copies of the notice available to the public.
  • Require BAR to create a search tool on its website showing average and median daily storage rates for a given locale based on the maximum daily storage rates reported by ARDs.
  • Define a “locale” as one of four geographic radii around each reporting ARD that is sufficient to identify average and median storage rates for that locale.

Repairers and the California Auto Body Association (CAA) have taken issue with the changes. They’ve previously said their main concerns center on language that would cap storage fees and cause a loss of storage revenue.

Patrick Dorais, BAR chief, and Mathew Gibson, BAR program manager, gave an overview of the proposed regulations during the Jan. 21, 2025 open meeting of the Society of Collision Repair Specialists (SCRS) Board of Directors. At the meeting, repairers shared that the regulations wouldn’t hold third-party payers accountable for delayed repair authorizations from insurance companies, including total loss determinations, which lead to storage fees being deducted from customers’ payments.

Dorais returned to this year’s January open board meeting to highlight the history of towing and storage fee regulations in California. He shared that the issue dates back to the 1960s.

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Featured image: California Bureau of Automotive Repair Chief Patrick Dorais speaks at SCRS open meeting in Palm Springs on Jan. 20, 2026/RDN file photo