Joliet, IL Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

City Code Chapter 30, Article IV governs tow trucks operating inside Joliet. Section 30-81 defines a tow truck as any vehicle used to tow or transport another vehicle on a street or highway within the municipal city limits, and defines the owner or operator as the person named on the vehicle's title as registered with the Illinois Secretary of State. Section 30-82 requires every owner or operator to register the tow truck with the Joliet Police Department before it is used, submitting the owner's or operator's name, the vehicle's serial number, and the name, address, and telephone number of the owner's principal place of business.

Section 30-83 makes it unlawful for any vehicle to tow or transport another vehicle within the city until this registration is complete. Section 30-84 layers on a reporting duty: once a tow truck moves a vehicle within city limits, the operator must furnish the police department with the vehicle's body style, serial number, and state license number within one-half hour of the vehicle being moved from its original location. That reporting duty does not apply when the vehicle is towed at the owner's own request or while the owner is present for the move, which covers most routine roadside-assistance calls but not repossessions or unrequested tows from private lots.

Because Article IV sits inside Chapter 30, which also licenses taxicabs and other vehicles for hire, tow operators should expect the police department, rather than a separate licensing board, to be the point of contact for both registration and the incident reports this article requires.