Escambia County, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Article V of Chapter 94 regulates "the maximum price charged for nonconsensual towing services" countywide. The article defines nonconsensual towing broadly: tows from private property, removal and storage of wrecked or disabled vehicles from an accident scene, and removal of vehicles when the owner or operator is incapacitated, unavailable, or leaves the call to law enforcement at the scene, or otherwise does not consent to the tow (Sec. 94-172). The rules apply to both the incorporated and unincorporated parts of the county unless a municipality passes a resolution excluding itself, and any municipality may layer on additional regulation within its own limits.

Under Sec. 94-173, the Board of County Commissioners sets the actual dollar rates by separate resolution, which it may revisit annually at its discretion. Once set, a tow truck operator or owner who charges, demands, or requests more than the approved rate for a nonconsensual tow violates the article, regardless of whether the customer agreed to pay it at the scene.

Operators must also keep records for two years covering mileage, services provided, and prices charged for every nonconsensual tow (Sec. 94-174), and must produce those records to any law enforcement agency on request. That paper trail is what lets deputies check a disputed bill against the approved rate schedule after the fact.