Elyria, OH Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Section 351.065 of the Elyria Traffic Code, enacted by the Elyria City Council, regulates non-consent towing from private property in the City of Elyria, Lorain County, Ohio. Under division (a), the chief of a law enforcement agency can order into storage a vehicle left on private residential or agricultural property for at least four hours without permission, and the towing service must deliver it to the location the chief designates within two hours of removal. Division (b) requires the towing service to tell an owner who arrives before the vehicle is removed that release costs not more than one-half of the removal fee.

Private tow-away zones are covered by division (h). The sign must be at least 18 inches by 24 inches, visible from all entrances, and must state that the property is a tow-away zone, who may park, the enforcement times if the zone is not enforced at all times, the telephone number and address for recovery, and a warning that failing to recover a vehicle can mean loss of title. Under (h)(2)B, if the City requires tow trucks and operators to be licensed, an owner cannot use an unlicensed one. Before towing, the towing service must make all reasonable efforts to take photographs of the vehicle parked in violation, with the time and date recorded, and keep them for at least 30 days after recovery or two years after the tow, whichever is earlier. Within two hours of removal it must notify the law enforcement agency of the vehicle's license number, make, model and color, the location, the date and time, and where it can be recovered. A processing fee of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) applies when owner notice has been sent.

Section 335.15(d) through (f) adds an estimate rule for tows not authorized under the listed Ohio sections: the operator must get a written estimate on request, and a towing service that fails to provide one cannot charge more than 25% of the applicable fees.