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

Chapter 66's Article II, the 'Cherokee County, Georgia Wrecker Ordinance' at Section 66-36, most recently reorganized by Ordinance No. 2007-O-007, governs towing in the unincorporated county. Section 66-38 requires any wrecker service, approved or not, to hold a Cherokee County business license before operating on county streets, plus proof of Georgia Public Service Commission documentation, a USDOT number, and minimum PSC-required insurance. 00 in liability and cargo/garage-keepers' liability coverage, with the county named as certificate holder and additional insured, and bars use of independent-contractor drivers on county calls (Section 66-50).

The county divides itself into zones matching sheriff's office precincts (Section 66-37), and 'approved' wrecker services assigned to a zone get first call from the marshal's office or sheriff's office for nonconsent tows; Section 66-46 specifically requires any wrecker dispatched by a county agency as a nonconsent tow to meet Georgia Public Service Commission requirements on file with 911 dispatch, while a vehicle owner in an ordinary, nonemergency situation may instead choose his own wrecker service, and the responding officer must advise the owner of that option.

Section 66-45 confines an approved wrecker's dispatched calls to its assigned zone absent an emergency. A five-member wrecker service advisory and appeals board, one appointee per commissioner (Section 66-51), recommends fee-schedule changes and hears complaints, with the board of commissioners setting the actual maximum fee schedule after a public hearing on 15 days' notice (Section 66-52). 00 and prohibits any unlisted 'recovery' or 'bird dog' fee.