Decatur, AL Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Wrecker work in the City of Decatur, Alabama runs through Chapter 24.5, administered by the Decatur Police Department through the chief of police. Sec. 24.5-21 bars anyone from engaging in the wrecker business, operating a wrecker or offering wrecker services on a city street without a city business license. Sec. 24.5-22 adds a vehicle inspection permit for each wrecker, issued by the police department. A permit lasts one year (Sec. 24.5-24), depends on an annual inspection by a licensed garage or mechanic with no interest in the operator (Sec. 24.5-25), and is shown by a decal on the right front passenger-side windshield (Sec. 24.5-26).

The rate caps apply to the rotation list, the list of voluntary participants the police call when an owner has not or cannot pick a wrecker. For a wrecked or disabled vehicle, Sec. 24.5-55 caps a tow at $200 for a two-axle vehicle of 10,000 pounds or less, $250 for 10,001 to 26,000 pounds, and $500 above that or for any vehicle with more than two axles. Towing a vehicle that is not wrecked or disabled is capped at $125, $250 and $500 in the same weight bands. The tow price includes debris cleanup, oil dry and a haul of up to ten miles from the scene. Righting and winching cost $150 an hour for the lightest class, storage is free for the first 24 hours and $40 per day after that, and an after-hours release costs $50.

Rotation operators must keep a fenced storage yard, at least six feet high with a locked gate, that holds at least 10 vehicles (Sec. 24.5-48). They must provide service 24 hours a day, seven days a week (Sec. 24.5-43), and reach the scene within 20 minutes of dispatch, or 30 minutes with immediate notice of delay (Sec. 24.5-51). Insurance starts at $100,000 per person and $300,000 per accident for bodily injury and $100,000 for property damage (Sec. 24.5-50). Chapter 24.5 states that it does not regulate the price, route or provision of consensual towing, where the owner picks a specific operator.