Oxnard, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Article VI of Chapter 8 (Sections 8-85 and 8-86) sets the rules for towing companies operating on Oxnard streets. Section 8-85(A) requires that any towing services provider responding to a police department tow request have an executed agreement with the city, and perform the work subject to that agreement's terms and the California Vehicle Code. Section 8-85(B) flatly prohibits towing services providers who lack a city agreement from towing or removing motor vehicles from the public streets, closing off non-consent tows to unauthorized operators. The same subsection carves out one exception: the owner of the vehicle being towed can still designate any towing service of their own choosing for the removal, regardless of the city's contracted provider list.

Once a vehicle is removed and stored at the direction of a police department employee, Section 8-86(A) requires the tow provider to hold it until an authorized city representative orders its release or disposal in writing. Section 8-86(B) has the city council set a stored motor vehicle fee by resolution, charged to the registered owner or whoever seeks release, to reimburse the city for processing the tow, storage, and any written release. Section 8-86(C) makes that fee a civil debt owed to the city regardless of whether the registered owner is the one seeking release, and if the city sues to collect, the judgment includes the city's attorneys' fees and costs of suit. These sections trace back to `64 Code Sections 18-117 and 18-118, most recently amended by Ordinance Nos. 2247, 2384, and 2421.