Mount Vernon, NY Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Under City of Mount Vernon Code § 243-40, no one may tow or cause to be towed an unauthorized motor vehicle from a private or public parking lot unless the lot owner first obtains a towing permit from the City Clerk, paying a $100 annual fee for each lot covered (§ 243-40A). A sign at least three feet by three feet must be posted at every entrance and exit, stating that unauthorized vehicles will be towed at the owner's expense, and listing the towing fee, the per-diem storage fee, the permit number, and where the car can be reclaimed (§ 243-40B).

The towing fee is capped at $65 for a first offense and $100 for a second or later offense, with fines for violating the posting rules capped at $250, and storage cannot exceed $10 per 24-hour period (§ 243-40B(2)-(3)). Only a tow operator licensed under Chapter 243, Article II can perform the tow (§ 243-40C), and the vehicle owner must be notified by certified mail within five days of removal, or storage charges stop accruing after day five (§ 243-40H). The tow operator must radio the color, make, year, and model of the towed vehicle to Mount Vernon Police headquarters, file Form MV-31A, and keep a running log (§ 243-40I).

One-family and two-family residential properties, along with City-owned property, are carved out of the permit scheme entirely (§ 243-40G). A parallel booting regime under § 243-41 lets a lot owner immobilize an unauthorized vehicle instead of towing it, capping the boot-removal fee at $45.