Medford, MA Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)
Key Facts
- Towing trigger
- 5+ unpaid tickets under M.G.L.A. c. 90, §20A
- Authorizing officer
- Sergeant or higher rank
- Method
- Towing by independent contractor
- Notice
- Written notice mailed to registered owner (§78-262)
- Abandonment window
- 30 days unpaid before disposal (§78-263)
Summary
Under Revised Ordinances § 78-261, a police sergeant or higher-ranking officer may have a vehicle towed by an independent contractor from any Medford street, way, highway, parkway or municipal parking area once it accumulates five or more unpaid tickets, with limited exemptions.
Any sergeant or officer of higher rank in the police department of the city may cause to be removed to some convenient place by towing by an independent contractor any vehicle, except a vehicle owned by the commonwealth or a political subdivision thereof, by the United States or an instrumentality thereof or registered by a member of a foreign consul who is not a citizen of the United States and whose vehicle bears a distinctive number plate otherwise conspicuously marked as so owned or registered, and except also a vehicle owned by a disabled veteran and handicapped person, bearing a distinctive number plate authorized by the general laws which is parked or standing on any part of any street, way, highway, road, parkway or within a municipal parking area. If five or more notices have been affixed to such vehicle, as provided in M.G.L.A. c. 90, § 20A and remain unpaid, the cost of such removal and of the storage charges resulting therefrom, in accordance with the rules and regulations of the traffic commission, shall be imposed upon the owner of such vehicle.
Full Breakdown
Article IV of chapter 78 governs towing in the City of Medford. Section 78-261 authorizes a sergeant or an officer of higher rank in the police department to have a vehicle towed to a convenient location by an independent contractor when it is parked or standing on a street, way, highway, road, parkway or within a municipal parking area. The section exempts vehicles owned by the Commonwealth, the United States, a foreign consul member who is not a US citizen and whose plate is distinctively marked, and vehicles displaying the disabled-veteran or handicapped plate authorized by the general laws.
The towing trigger tied to unpaid tickets is specific: once five or more notices under M.G.L.A. c. 90, § 20A have been affixed to the vehicle and remain unpaid, the owner bears the removal and storage cost set by the traffic commission's rules. Section 78-262 requires the police department to promptly mail written notice to the registered owner, stating the removal date, the storage location, and that release follows payment of fines plus storage and towing charges. Section 78-263 then treats an unclaimed vehicle as abandoned, and it may be disposed of under M.G.L.A. c.
90, § 22C if the owner has not paid all charges and fines within 30 days of that mailed notice. Together, the three sections give the city, through its independent towing contractor, a complete non-consent removal, notice and disposal pathway rather than licensing individual tow operators directly.
Violations & Fines
A vehicle accumulating five or more unpaid parking tickets under M.G.L.A. c. 90, § 20A may be towed by the city's independent contractor under § 78-261. Owners who fail to pay removal, storage and outstanding fines within 30 days of the mailed notice risk having the vehicle deemed abandoned and disposed of under § 78-263 and M.G.L.A. c. 90, § 22C.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who can order a non-consent tow in Medford?
How many unpaid tickets before a Medford police tow?
What happens if I never pick up my towed car?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Medford
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