Abington, PA Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Chapter 160, Towing, adopted in 2015 by Ordinance No. 2088 and last amended in 2024, regulates towing rates and towing services under authority the Township draws from 75 Pa.C.S.A. § 3353, aiming to keep the Police Department informed whenever a vehicle is towed without the owner's consent and to prevent erroneous stolen-vehicle reports. Section 160-4, amended in 2024 by Ordinance No. 2217, requires any towing service to secure a Township license before towing from any public or private property in Abington; the Police Department issues the license for $100 per calendar year after an application listing the company's owners, the properties it is authorized to tow from, its storage yard and its bonding company.

A towing service must also remove a vehicle from private property only with the written consent of the property owner, lessee or vehicle owner, maintain a $10,000 bond, and carry insurance of at least $500,000 combined single limit plus $100,000 per personal injury and $50,000 per occurrence for garage-keeper's liability. Licensed towers must notify the Police Department within 60 minutes of removing a vehicle and notify the registered owner within 12 hours, and must accept cash or electronic payment. Signage requirements under § 160-4C scale with lot size: a three-by-two-foot sign at every entrance naming the towing agency, hours and fees; additional 18-by-12-inch signs, one per four spaces, in lots under 20 spaces; and a Police-Chief-approved site plan for signage in lots over 20 spaces.

Repossession agents are generally exempt under § 160-3 if they notify the Police Department at least an hour before repossessing and prove their right to repossess, but the exemption evaporates the moment they perform ordinary towing work rather than repossession.