Island County, WA Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

090 set the county's non-consent towing scheme for license-suspension arrests. 345; the vehicle goes to the business location of a registered tow truck operator, not just any lot. Commercial and farm transport vehicles get one protection: if the driver isn't the owner, the Sheriff must make a reasonable, timely attempt to reach the owner and can release the vehicle to them instead of impounding it. 070 sets the hold periods before redemption: 72 hours for a first DWLS/DWLR offense in the past five years, 10 days for a second, and 30 days for a third or subsequent offense; third-degree DWLS carries a shorter scale, from immediate release up to 72 hours for a repeat offender.

The Sheriff can cut a hold short only for spousal economic or personal hardship, or where the vehicle's owner wasn't the driver and didn't know the license was suspended; every other request must be denied to avoid discriminatory application. 080, the registered owner pays the tow truck operator's towing, removal, and storage charges in commercially reasonable tender, and if the owner was the arrested driver, provides written confirmation from Island County District Court that all fines and forfeitures are paid in full. 090 gives anyone contesting the impoundment, or the towing and storage bill itself, the right to a hearing in Island County District Court, where the Sheriff or a designated deputy, not the prosecuting attorney, appears to defend the impoundment.