Duluth, MN Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Chapter 33, Article XVII governs wrecker service. Section 33-246 requires a city license before any person offers emergency wrecker service in Duluth, exempting only a wrecker summoned directly by a disabled vehicle's own owner, operator or agent rather than by police. Section 33-247 requires applicants to file with the city clerk, listing their equipment, storage lot and towing zone, and to carry public liability and garage keeper's liability insurance naming the city as an additional insured, with minimums of $300,000 per person injured or killed, $750,000 per accident involving two or more injuries or deaths, $750,000 for property damage, and $50,000 for garage keeper's legal liability.

Section 33-248 has the chief of police investigate each applicant's equipment and storage facilities before the city clerk issues a license, which expires every June 30 and cannot be transferred; it also bars a licensee from asserting a lien on property inside a towed vehicle that is not owned by the vehicle's owner. Section 33-251 lists sixteen grounds for the chief of police to revoke, suspend or deny a license, including false applications, overcharging, soliciting business at accident scenes, failing to respond to a police summons within 20 minutes, and failing to release a rightfully claimed vehicle within one hour of a request when payment is tendered.

Section 33-253 gives a licensee ten days to appeal a denial, suspension or revocation, first to the chief of police and then to the city council.