Augusta-Richmond County, GA Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)
Key Facts
- Administering agency
- Richmond County Sheriff's Office
- Roadside solicitation
- Prohibited without sheriff dispatch
- License required
- Business Tax Certificate before operating
- Regulatory fee
- Set under Sec. 2-2-3(c)
- Max penalty
- $1,000 fine or 60 days jail
Summary
Augusta-Richmond County lets the Sheriff's Office control wrecker calls at accident scenes, barring any tow company from soliciting business roadside unless the Sheriff dispatched it there.
The manner and means of wrecker service at accident scenes in Augusta, Georgia, shall be administered and governed by the sheriff. ... No wrecker service, its agents, servants, employees or individuals, shall stand on or in the proximity to a street or highway for the purpose of soliciting employment of business for the towing of a vehicle or vehicles at an accident or wreck scene without having been called to the scene of the wreck or accident by the Sheriff's Department.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Recodification).
Full Breakdown
Under Sec. 6-7-1, the sheriff administers wrecker service at accident scenes countywide. Sec. 6-7-2 bars any wrecker service, agent, or employee from standing near a street or highway to solicit towing work at a wreck scene unless the Sheriff's Department called that company to respond. Operators must also hold a Business Tax Certificate before doing business as an accident-scene wrecker service (Sec. 6-7-3) and pay the regulatory fee set in Sec. 2-2-3(c) (Sec. 6-7-4). The Planning and Development Department can suspend a certificate for deviating from normal operations or violating the law (Sec. 6-7-5).
Violations & Fines
Violating this article is a misdemeanor punishable by a fine up to $1,000, up to 60 days in jail, or both, under the Code's general penalty section 1-6-1; certificates can also be suspended or revoked.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can a tow truck solicit business at a crash scene in Augusta-Richmond County?
Do wrecker services need a license to operate in Augusta-Richmond County?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Augusta-Richmond County
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