Plainfield, NJ Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Towing in the City of Plainfield runs on two tracks. Article 16 licenses wreckers: no wrecker can operate upon the streets without a license from the License Bureau, the license runs from October 1 to September 30, and the Mayor grants it only after finding that public convenience and necessity require the service and that the applicant is a reputable person never convicted of any crime or disorderly persons provision. Article 16A governs police-requested, nonpreferential rotational towing, the system that moves a car when the City initiates the request rather than the owner.

To join the Rotation Tower List, a company applies through the City Clerk acting as the License Bureau and pays $250.00. The Chief of Police investigates and reports within 21 days. The license term is two years, and applications must be received at least 60 days before the license period expires. Each tower must keep one heavy-duty wrecker for Category III vehicles, one conventional wrecker for Category II vehicles and two flatbeds for Category I vehicles. Storage is just as specific: an indoor, secured area sufficient to house at least five vehicles, and a fenced outside yard of at least 22,000 square feet for the exclusive use of the City of Plainfield.

Calls rotate one month at a time, starting at 9:00 A.M. on the first day of the month. A tower that does not respond within 20 minutes can be skipped by the Police Division, and three or more misses are good cause to revoke or suspend the license. When no emergency or imminent road hazard exists, the City requests the tower the vehicle owner asks for. Within one business day of receiving a vehicle, the tower must contact the owner by telephone and in writing, and a vehicle leaves an impound site only on a valid Plainfield Police Division Vehicle Release Form.

Pricing is set by ordinance. A Category I vehicle (0 to 6,000 lbs. GVW) is $115.00 per tow truck or wheel lift and $125.00 flatbed, Category II is $165.00 and $185.00, and Category III is $300.00 per hour. Categories I and II add $10.00 extra on nights, weekends and holidays.