Palatine, IL Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Chapter 20, Article VIII of the Village Code regulates commercial vehicle relocators, the companies that tow unauthorized vehicles off private property in the Village of Palatine, alongside the Illinois Commerce Commission's regulation of the same industry under 225 ILCS 422 and 625 ILCS 5/18a-100. Section 20-772 lists the unlawful practices: a relocator cannot tow a vehicle that is parked in an authorized space, cannot tow without written authorization from the property owner or lessee, and cannot tow from a lot unless warning signs compliant with the article have been posted for at least 24 hours before the tow and remain at the lot the vehicle is taken from.

A relocator cannot remove a vehicle whose owner or operator is present and willing and able to move it immediately, and it cannot tow a commercial vehicle requiring a CDL by driving it on a public highway without police authorization. No relocator can transact business until it has obtained and paid for a police department permit, and it cannot tow a vehicle more than ten air miles from where it was parked, nor post a sign more than ten air miles from its storage lot.

The storage lot itself must stay open enough hours that an owner can retrieve a towed vehicle within two hours of the tow, and a relocator cannot charge more than the amount posted on the property's sign or refuse a valid major credit card as payment. Section 20-773 requires the warning sign itself to state the towing charges, the relocator's full legal name, address and phone number, the storage location and its hours, and to be illuminated from dusk to dawn; no sign is required on residential property reserved for residents.

Violations under § 20-775 draw fines from the village fine schedule, and § 20-777 lets the village manager suspend or revoke a relocator's license for a false application statement, loss of the state commerce commission license, or a proven violation of § 20-772 after a hearing.