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

1 of the Police Code, added by Ordinance 21-97 and approved 1/24/97, created the tow car firm permit. By its own terms, the requirement took effect once the Board of Supervisors approved a fee schedule for issuing tow car firm permits. The prohibition turns on where business is conducted: no person may engage in or conduct business as a tow car firm within the City and County of San Francisco without the Chief of Police permit, so what matters is towing activity in the city, not where the company keeps its office.

Firms are not the only ones licensed. Individual tow car drivers need a separate permit of their own under Article 30, so a compliant operation holds both a firm permit and driver permits. The reporting duty in Sec. 3057 begins once a vehicle is towed from private property. Within 30 minutes of leaving the property, the firm must contact the Municipal Transportation Agency Tow Desk and supply the license plate, the VIN if the plate is unavailable, the firm and operator name and permit number, the tow location and time, a description of the vehicle, the storage location, and who authorized the tow. That report ties every non-consent tow to a permitted firm, a specific vehicle, and a named authorizer.