Marion, OH Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Chapter 780 of the Marion Codified Ordinances licenses tow trucks. Section 780.02 requires any owner or operator conducting towing services and related activities to obtain all licenses before engaging in the business. Section 780.01 sets two classes: a Class I license for a tow vehicle with a gross vehicle weight under 15,000 pounds and a Class II license for 15,000 pounds or more. Under § 780.03 the application is made in person at the Safety/Service Director's office, under oath. Misrepresentation means mandatory rejection or revocation. A towing owner or business pays $40 per year for each classification, and a tow truck operator license costs $15, with renewals at $8. Replacing a lost license costs $5. After July 1 the owner fee drops to one-half (§ 780.035). All licenses expire on the last day of December (§ 780.05).

Section 780.04 gives the owner a license and a window sticker for the lower right corner of the windshield of every covered truck, and gives each operator an I.D. card to carry while in control of a tow truck. Section 780.065 is the rule on non-consent business: no one can respond to the scene of an accident, breakdown or disabled vehicle to solicit towing unless summoned by a person with a direct interest in the vehicle or dispatched under the Director's rules. Violations of the volunteer towing list rules remove a business or operator from the list immediately (§ 780.07(B)).

Insurance is a condition of licensing. Under § 780.15 liability limits cannot be less than $50,000 for one person, $100,000 for any one accident with more than one person hurt, and $25,000 for property damage, plus a $10,000 fire, theft and explosion policy under § 780.14(B). Policies need a ten-day notice endorsement to the municipality. Trucks carry the owner's name in lettering at least four inches high and a visible telephone number (§ 780.16). Operators keep a Towed Vehicle Authorization Form (§ 780.17). Records of all vehicles towed are kept, and after 15 days in storage the owner files the forms for disposal (§ 780.18). A Wrecker Advisory Board advises the Director under §§ 780.09 and 780.10. The chapter prints no rate schedule.