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

Sec. 9-13 of the Hoover Code of Ordinances, adopted by Ord. No. 96-1452 on January 16, 1996, regulates how wrecker services may respond to accidents. Subsection (a) makes it unlawful to send, operate or direct a motor vehicle wrecker to an accident or disabled-vehicle scene in the city based on information obtained directly or indirectly from Hoover police short-wave radio calls or transmissions; the ban does not apply when the police department or an officer calls a particular wrecker service directly and asks it to respond.

Subsection (b) separately bars any wrecker service or its employees from soliciting patronage at the scene of a motor vehicle accident within one hour after the accident occurs, regardless of how the wrecker learned of the crash.

Subsection (c) requires consent: it is unlawful to send, operate or direct a wrecker to an accident or disabled-vehicle scene unless the owner or person in charge of the vehicle requested it, and the wrecker operator must obtain that person's name and residence address. An operator who removes a disabled vehicle from a scene must furnish a police officer at the scene with the name and address of the person who requested the tow, if the officer asks for it.

Subsection (d) makes any violation of the section, by a person, firm or corporation, punishable upon conviction as provided in Sec. 1-5 of the Municipal Code. Chapter 8's business license schedule separately sets an annual license fee of $35.00 per wrecker for each person, firm or corporation operating an automobile wrecker, hauling only, in the city.