Lynnwood, WA Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)
Key Facts
- Response time
- 20 min (Class A/B), 30 min (Class C)
- Appointment term
- Two years, city clerk issued
- Insurance minimum
- $1,000,000 liability, $100,000 cargo
- Storage location
- Within one mile of city limits
- Record retention
- Three years of towed-vehicle records
- Enforcement
- City clerk; appeals to city council
Summary
Lynnwood dispatches police-ordered tows only to companies holding a city clerk letter of appointment, not a business license, under LMC Chapter 10.21. Appointed operators must reach the scene within 20 minutes for Class A/B trucks and 30 minutes for Class C trucks, post approved rates, carry $1,000,000 liability and $100,000 cargo insurance, and store vehicles within one mile of city limits.
This chapter governs the contracting for towing services by the city of Lynnwood for the purpose of towing abandoned, damaged or disabled vehicles or to otherwise impound vehicles as authorized by city ordinance, which are considered nonconsensual tows. This chapter doses not regulate the price, route or service of private consensual tows. ... Except as otherwise provided herein, a letter of appointment shall be valid for two years unless superseded or revoked by the city clerk. ... A. When called by the police department, the tow truck operator will arrive at the scene within 20 minutes for Class A or B trucks and within 30 minutes for Class C trucks. ... Any violation of these rules and regulations may result in the suspension, revocation or denial of the letter of appointment by the city clerk.
Official source re-checked September 8, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: current through Ordinance 3512, passed May 26, 2026).
Full Breakdown
21 governs nonconsensual tows: vehicles the police department orders removed as abandoned, damaged or disabled, or otherwise impounded under city ordinance. 005 states the chapter does not regulate the price, route or service of private consensual tows; those remain a matter between the vehicle owner and any towing company. 020(C) expressly states that nothing in the chapter requires a permit to engage in towing operations within Lynnwood. 050(E)) and are issued per place of business, which must post the current letter and its approved rates conspicuously.
060). 100(D)), and calls where the operator never actually removes the vehicle carry no charge to the city or owner. 110, an appointed operator must reach the scene within 20 minutes for Class A or B trucks and 30 minutes for Class C trucks or forfeit its turn, and must keep secured, lit, fenced storage within one mile of city limits plus three years of towing and release records for police inspection. 110(O)). 900.
Violations & Fines
Failing an arrival-time deadline, refusing calls, overcharging beyond council-approved rates, or otherwise breaking Chapter 10.21's terms exposes an operator's letter of appointment to suspension, revocation or denial by the city clerk under LMC § 10.21.130, after notice and a hearing before the mayor (a temporary seven-day suspension is allowed for good cause). Price-gouging complaints go to the police department for investigation, and a denied or revoked operator may appeal to the city council within 10 days.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a tow company need a Lynnwood business license to operate?
How fast must an appointed tow truck reach an accident scene?
Can I pick which tow company removes my car after a crash?
What happens if a Lynnwood tow operator overcharges?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Lynnwood
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