Hammond, IN Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

The City of Hammond adopts and incorporates I.C. 9-22-1 et seq. for police-ordered tows, and § 72.012(B) gives the Hammond Board of Public Works and Safety broad regulatory control over the towing industry that serves the city: the Board adopts the rules and procedures for all police-ordered towing, designates which towing services may operate and the areas they cover, and bids out and approves the written contracts those companies must hold. No wrecker company can simply show up and start hauling cars for the city; it has to hold a Board-approved, competitively bid contract.

The Board also periodically reviews and sets the fee schedule those companies charge vehicle owners. As printed in the ordinance, a regular or flat-bed tow costs $180, a service call is $100, inside storage runs $50 per day and outside storage $40 per day, oil dry is $40, winching is $75, use of "Go Jack" equipment is $70, and clean-up is $40; towing a city, fire or police vehicle carries no charge. A vehicle owner reclaiming a car towed under this section must also pay a separate $75 administrative fee to the Hammond Police Department for the release, under the related § 72.016, on top of whatever the contracted tow company charges.