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

Section 98-27A gives the traffic authority sole power to designate approved garages, whether city-owned, owned by another public agency, or privately owned, as official towing stations for vehicles the Police Department or a special constable removes under Chapter 98. Section 98-27B requires each designated station to file a schedule of reasonable towing and removal fees with the traffic authority, matching the schedule filed with the State Motor Vehicle Department, and to post that schedule at Police Department offices, so fees can't diverge from what the state has on record.

Section 98-28 adds a financial-responsibility gate: no garage other than one the City or a public agency operates may be designated an official towing station unless its owner, lessee or operator has supplied security, in an amount and form the traffic authority specifies, to protect the City against liability claims from towing or storing impounded vehicles and to indemnify vehicle owners against loss, injury or damage while their vehicle is in the station's custody. Sections 98-29 through 98-31 fill out the operational picture that private towing companies operate within: the traffic authority designates towing zones marked by signs, removal from a towing zone is deemed abatement of a public nuisance, the Police Department must notify the vehicle's owner of record within 12 hours of removal, and an owner recovering a vehicle must pay both a parking-violation fee and a towing/storage fee set under § 90-4, with per-day storage charges. Payment under protest preserves a right to a hearing under Connecticut General Statutes upon posting a bond the Police Department sets.