Garland County, AR Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)
Key Facts
- Response time
- 45 minutes from dispatch
- Service hours
- 24 hours a day, every day
- Forfeiture rule
- 3 forfeits in 30 days risks suspension
- Facility hours
- 8 a.m.-6 p.m., Monday-Friday
- Records retention
- 4 years, available to sheriff's office
Summary
Tow companies working non-consent calls for the Garland County Sheriff's Department must hold a sheriff-issued permit, respond within 45 minutes of a dispatch, and run 24-hour service every day of the year; three forfeited calls in 30 days can mean immediate suspension, per Garland County Code § 66-3.
(a)Application and permit. The provisions of this section shall apply to any person, firm, organization or other entity engaged in towing vehicles within Garland County, Arkansas, who provides or desires to provide such services pursuant to a request from the Garland County Sheriff's Department (sheriff's department). Any such entity meeting and maintaining the requirements of this section shall be granted permission at the discretion of the sheriff and shall be placed on a non-consent rotating call for service list administered by the sheriff's department. ... (2)Twenty-four-hour service and response time. The permittee shall maintain service 24 hours per day each day throughout the year, including holidays. Towing companies must respond to a scene within 45 minutes after a request for service has been issued by the sheriff's department. ... (3)Forfeited calls. Three forfeited calls in a 30-day consecutive time period will result in a violation of the sheriff's department issued permission and could result in immediate suspension.
Full Breakdown
Garland County Code § 66-3 governs any towing company that wants to work the sheriff's department's non-consent rotating call list in the unincorporated county. A permittee must maintain 24-hour service every day of the year, including holidays, and respond to a dispatched scene within 45 minutes, though the sheriff's department can allow more time for the county's extreme remote areas; failing to respond in time forces the company to forfeit that call. Three forfeited calls within any 30-day stretch counts as a violation of the company's sheriff-issued permission and can trigger immediate suspension.
Permittees must sweep and haul away debris and glass at accident scenes, provide a true, itemized statement of charges on a sheriff's-department-approved form, and submit a monthly employee list by the fifth of each month. Equipment must meet minimum standards set by the Arkansas Towing and Recovery Board: a small-wrecker permittee needs at least one 1½-ton rollback and one one-ton light-duty wrecker with lift, while a large-wrecker permittee needs at least a one-ton wrecker with a tandem rear axle and under-lift. Every service truck must carry a nine-pound ABC fire extinguisher, safety chains or straps, flares or reflective triangles, a shovel and broom, and wheel-lift safety straps.
, Monday through Friday. A towing service advisory committee, made up of a sheriff's-department lieutenant, two private wrecker representatives, one citizen and a captain who chairs it, hears complaints and suspension or revocation decisions, which can be appealed to the quorum court.
Violations & Fines
Any violation of § 66-3 or the sheriff's department's tow and wrecker procedures can bring immediate suspension or revocation of a towing permit, pending a hearing before the towing service advisory committee; that decision can be appealed to the quorum court. Losing wrecker service insurance ends a permit immediately unless new coverage is furnished without a lapse.
Frequently Asked Questions
How fast must a tow company respond to a Garland County Sheriff's call?
What happens if a Garland County tow company misses too many calls?
What equipment must a Garland County non-consent tow truck carry?
Who hears complaints against a Garland County towing permittee?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Garland County
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