Howard County, MD Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Title 17, Subtitle 6 of the Howard County Code regulates trespass towing, meaning the towing of a vehicle from private property without the owner's consent; it doesn't authorize towing on its own, since the underlying authority to remove a vehicle has to come from another statute or the common law, and this subtitle only restricts how that authority is exercised. 601, a towing service can charge no more than the maximum rates the County Council sets each year by resolution for attaching a vehicle to the tow truck, towing it to storage (billed by distance), and storing it in 12-hour blocks, with no charge accruing until at least six hours have passed.

602 requires every trespass towing service to register with the Office of Consumer Protection, pay an annual January registration fee, file its rate schedule, and keep a signed contract on file with each property owner it tows for. 603 requires the property owner to post signs at least 24 hours in advance listing the towing company, its phone number, the maximum charge, and the Office of Consumer Protection's number, unless the property is residential and the owner instead tags the offending vehicle. 607 for no more than half the attachment fee. 602(g)-(i).