Cal. Veh. Code § 10656

The director, deputy director, registrar, deputy registrar, investigators of the department, and members of a city police department or county sheriff’s office whose primary responsibility is to conduct vehicle theft investigations, may inspect any vehicle of a type required to be registered under this code in any garage, repair shop, parking lot, used car lot, automobile dismantlers lot, or other similar establishment for the purpose of investigating the title and registration of vehicles and inspection of vehicles wrecked or dismantled.