Clifton, NJ Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Clifton Code § 425-22A bars towing a vehicle for an unauthorized purpose from a private lot, other private property, or a common driveway without the owner's or operator's consent unless a sign at least 36 inches high and wide is posted at every vehicular entrance, disclosing the parking rules, that unauthorized vehicles will be towed at the owner's expense, the towing company's name and contact information, the charges (capped at 150% of the maximum contract rates official towers charge under § 425-12), and the storage facility's address and redemption hours.

Section 425-22B additionally requires the towing company to obtain written authorization from the property owner, lessee, or their employee or agent, who must be present at removal and verify the violation, during the premises' normal business hours; general written authorization suffices only for vehicles blocking a fire hydrant, fire lane, or entrance/exit, or towed outside business hours. Subsection D exempts single-family lots, owner-occupied buildings of six units or fewer, and driveway-blocking situations from the signage requirement entirely. Fees must be fair and reasonable, and § 425-23B presumes a nonconsensual towing or storage fee unreasonable if it exceeds the consensual-tow price by more than 25%, exceeds other local towing companies' nonconsensual rates by more than 50%, or tops the § 425-12 official-tower schedule.

at least five days a week and must be lit from dusk to dawn if outdoors (§ 425-24A), may not release fees be charged after hours or on weekends (§ 425-24B), may not store vehicles on public streets (§ 425-24C), and may not sit more than one mile beyond Clifton's municipal boundary (§ 425-24E). Section 425-25 bars any decoupling fee if the owner arrives and requests release before the vehicle is actually moved.