Lacey, WA Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)
Key Facts
- Licenses required
- Base license plus one tow truck license per wrecker
- Issuing department
- City of Lacey finance department
- License expiration
- December 31st of each year
- Covered storage threshold
- Vehicles valued at fifty dollars or more
- Public liability minimum
- One hundred thousand dollars per person, three hundred thousand per accident
- Tow bill retention
- Copy kept six months
Summary
In the City of Lacey, Washington, a towing operator needs a towing operator's base license plus a separate tow truck license for every wrecker, both issued by the finance department. All licenses expire December 31st, and any towed vehicle valued at fifty dollars or more needs locked, closed, covered storage.
A. No operator shall engage in business within the city or offer such service therein without first applying for and obtaining from the city’s finance department a “towing operator’s base license” and a “tow truck license” for each wrecker or towing truck operated by such operator. The annual fee for such licenses shall be established by resolution of the city council; provided that the expiration date for all such licenses shall be December 31st of each year, and should application be made for such license within thirty days of the effective date of the ordinance codified in this chapter, the annual license fee shall be prorated on the basis of the number of months remaining in the license year from the date of application for the license. B. To operate a tow truck or storage business in the city, the operator must have locked, closed, covered storage on any vehicle valued at fifty dollars or more, the value to be set by the chief of police or an authorized officer; vehicles worth less than fifty dollars may be locked in a fenced enclosure.
Full Breakdown
Chapter 5.28 of the Lacey Municipal Code regulates wrecker and towing services in the City of Lacey. A towing operator is anyone engaged in the business of offering towing service by vehicle wrecker or by a vehicle adapted to that purpose, whereby disabled motor vehicles are towed or otherwise removed from the place where they are disabled (§ 5.28.010).
Section 5.28.020 requires the base license and a tow truck license for each truck. The annual fee is set by resolution of the city council. Storage is regulated in the same section: vehicles valued at fifty dollars or more need locked, closed, covered storage, with the value set by the chief of police or an authorized officer, while cheaper vehicles can be locked in a fenced enclosure.
Applications are sworn and list the business name, home address, proposed business address, and the make, model, serial number and company number of each truck (§ 5.28.030). The chief of police investigates the applicant and the trucks for safe and lawful operation (§ 5.28.040). The finance department issues a license on findings that the required insurance is in place, the applicant is qualified, and the chapter's requirements are met (§ 5.28.050).
Insurance under § 5.28.060 has two parts. A garage keeper's legal liability policy covers fire, theft, explosion and collision, with minimum coverage of ten thousand dollars for each of fire, theft and explosion and a collision deductible of one hundred dollars. A public liability policy carries at least one hundred thousand dollars for any one person and three hundred thousand dollars for more than one person in any one accident, plus ten thousand dollars for property damage. Every policy needs a ten days' notice endorsement to the finance department.
Under § 5.28.080 each truck displays plates or tags prominently. After every tow the operator prepares a bill in duplicate: the original goes to the vehicle owner and the copy stays at the place of business for six months. The bill lists the operator, the person who engaged the truck, the state license number and vehicle description, the wrecker's company number, the total for towing and storage, and the time and place towing began and ended. Operators cannot go to an accident scene unless called by the owner, an authorized representative or a police officer, and cannot monitor police calls (§§ 5.28.110, 5.28.120).
Violations & Fines
Under § 5.28.140, anyone violating or failing to comply with Chapter 5.28 is guilty of a misdemeanor; the chapter prints no separate fine. The finance director can revoke or suspend a license under § 5.28.100, and revocation does not relieve the licensee of the criminal penalties. Revocation grounds in § 5.28.090 include fraud on the application, paying anyone for a disabled vehicle's location, breaking § 5.28.080 or the department's rules, and any city employee holding an interest in the business. A licensee has five days to appeal in writing to the city council, whose resolution is final.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does each tow truck need its own license in the City of Lacey?
Can a tow company show up at a Lacey crash scene uninvited?
What insurance must a Lacey tow operator carry?
How does a towing operator appeal a revoked Lacey license?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lacey
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