Pawtucket, RI Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Chapter 367, adopted in 1989 and rewritten in its entirety in 2018, lets the Director of Public Safety adopt and promulgate a towing policy governing companies that perform tow services for the city and the Pawtucket Police Division. That policy must cover application conditions, the certificate of operating authority, referral of repair work, surrender and release of vehicles and posting of towing charges, notice to police of towed vehicles, record-keeping, parking restrictions, and towing rates for nonoperational and abandoned vehicles. Section 367-2 makes a Rhode Island Division of Public Utilities and Carriers certificate mandatory: no person or company can be placed on, or remain on, the city's approved tow list without holding one in good standing, and that certificate's coverage area must include Pawtucket as a minimum.

Any change in ownership or corporate structure of a listed tow company must be approved first by the state Division of Public Utilities and Carriers, then by the Director of Public Safety, then by the City Council. Section 367-4 requires that all taxes, water bills, assessments, debts or charges owed to the city be current to be considered or retained on the list, and requires City Council approval before a company can actually perform tow services for the city or Police Division. Section 367-5 gives a company that loses required land area to eminent domain a 60-day grace period to show cause at an informal hearing rather than automatic removal.