Chatham County, GA Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Under Sec. 10-602, a company only qualifies as a 'wrecker service' for the Chatham County Police Department's Head-Out Wrecker Service Call List if it can provide towing 24 hours a day, seven days a week, meet vehicle-storage standards under the county's junk yard and storage-area zoning rules, offer auto body repair on-site, and hold a county license as a junk yard or storage area. Sec. 10-603 sets the equipment floor: each listed company must keep at least one working wrecker able to handle light and heavy loads, stocked with fire extinguishers, chains, dollies, emergency lighting, and glass-cleanup gear, and must maintain a storage lot for at least 30 vehicles.

The code classifies wreckers into three tiers by gross vehicle weight and winch capacity: light duty (8,500 lbs GVW minimum, 5,000 lb winch), heavy duty (10,000 lbs GVW, 10,000 lb winch), and extra heavy duty (30,000 lbs GVW, 30,000 lb winch). Sec. 10-604 caps towing charges: the first hour or portion runs $55 for a regular wrecker and $75 for an extra heavy duty wrecker, with each added quarter hour billed at $10 or $15 and a matching recovery fee; storage runs $1.50 per vehicle per day, and towed cars cannot be left on any county right-of-way.

Listed companies must carry liability insurance covering bodily injury and property damage claims and must indemnify the county and its police department. A company that fails to respond to a dispatch, delays service, or monitors police radio channels for commercial gain, a violation the ordinance ties to 47 U.S.C. Section 605, is removed from the rotating list, though an owner may request a hearing before the Chief of Police.