Chesapeake, VA Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Sec. 74-314(a) sets the base rate: a towtruck service "shall not charge a hookup and initial towing fee greater than...$200.00 for any vehicle of 11,000 pounds or less gross weight and $350.00 for any vehicle of greater than 11,000 pounds," whether the tow starts in Chesapeake or elsewhere. Add-ons are capped too: up to $25.00 for a tow between 7:00 p.m. and 8:00 a.m. or on a weekend or holiday, up to $100.00 for a vehicle resting off its wheels or wedged in water or a structure, and up to $100.00 to search out an unredeemed vehicle's owner after 72 hours. Storage is free for the first 24 hours, then capped at $60.00 per day for vehicles under 10,000 pounds, $75.00 for 10,001-17,999 pounds, and $100.00 for 18,000 pounds and up.

Before a private lot can be enforced by towing, Sec. 74-309 requires signs at least 36 by 30 inches at every entrance stating the property is private and towing is enforced, with a phone number to call. Sec. 74-310 requires the tow company to hold a business license under chapter 18 and to letter its name, address and phone number on both sides of every truck. Sec. 74-317 bars a long list of practices: towing from a public street without consent or police authorization, cruising or waiting on public or private property to solicit business, hauling a vehicle out of the city without consent, and blocking an owner who returns before the hookup is complete. A decal-controlled residential lot or private commercial lot may still contract for active patrol towing, but only with photo documentation and, for commercial lots, 48 hours' windshield notice first. Sec. 74-313 lets the police chief maintain a rotating wrecker list for accident and hazard scenes.