Janesville, WI Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Section 38-4 defines an "immobilization device" as a mechanism that locks around a wheel or covers the windshield to make a vehicle inoperable, and defines an unregistered motor vehicle as one lacking valid plates or a temporary operation plate for more than 31 days past expiration. Any Janesville police officer, sheriff's deputy, state traffic officer or authorized parking enforcer who finds such a vehicle on a highway can have it immobilized with a locking device or towed to impoundment. The Janesville Police Department, or a towing service under contract with the City, carries out the placement and removal of devices, towing, storage and disposal; contracts can allow remote unlocking.

No one other than a Janesville police officer is permitted to remove, disconnect or tamper with an immobilization device, except the vehicle's owner making necessary repairs to a malfunctioning device, or upon the vehicle's release. To reclaim an immobilized or impounded vehicle, the owner must pay every forfeiture, cost and expense of immobilization or impoundment and show proof of current registration, a pending registration application, or an exemption. If towing, storage and disposal costs would exceed the vehicle's fair market value, the Chief of Police can authorize junking or sale before the impoundment period runs.

Unclaimed vehicles are held a minimum of ten days after certified mail notice to the owner and lienholders before the City sells them by sealed bid or auction, and vehicles over 19 model years are disposed of under the subsection covering that category. Within five days of a sale, the police department must report the disposition to the Wisconsin Department of Transportation on a DOT-supplied form.