Meriden, CT Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Meriden Code § 191-3 bars anyone from engaging in the business of operating a wrecker for towing or transporting vehicles within the City, or offering services for police rotation towing, without first obtaining a permit from the Chief of Police. Section 191-4 requires the application to list the applicant's business and home contact details, the tow trucks' registration numbers, and the applicant's approved schedule of towing rates and storage charges filed under C.G.S. § 14-66, plus a notarized indemnification agreement protecting the City. Section 191-5 sets the insurance floor: a garage keeper's liability policy covering fire, theft and explosion in the amount of $300,000/$300,000, and a garage liability policy in the same $300,000/$300,000 amount for bodily injury or property damage, reviewed by the City Council every three years under § 191-6.

Section 191-8 layers on operational standards: the business must be duly licensed by the State of Connecticut under C.G.S. § 14-66, provide inside storage for at least two vehicles and outside storage for at least five, be large enough to answer all municipal towing calls including accidents and abandoned vehicles, keep a truck and operator on twenty-four-hour call while on the rotation list, and equip each truck with an FCC-licensed two-way radio of at least 25 watts within six months of permit issuance. The section also sets minimum equipment specifications by truck class, down to boom capacity, winch pulling capacity and cable length, distinguishing light-duty from heavy-duty wreckers.