Pulaski County, AR Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)
Key Facts
- Who can order a tow
- Sheriff, deputies, general services, or judge's designee
- Applies to
- County-owned parking lots only
- Who pays
- Vehicle owner, not the county
- Fee cap
- Wrecker's usual rate or contract rate
- Signage required
- Warning that illegal parking will be towed
- Adopted
- Ord. No. 215, Jan. 23, 1979
Summary
Pulaski County lets the sheriff's office, general services, or a county-judge-designated employee call a wrecker company to remove vehicles illegally parked in county-owned lots. The vehicle owner, not the county, pays towing and storage, and the wrecker can only charge its usual rates or its contracted county rate.
The county sheriff, his deputies, the county office of general services, or any other agent or employee designated by the county judge shall have the authority to request a wrecker company to remove an illegally parked vehicle and to direct the storage of such vehicle until the owner or operator reclaims the vehicle. [...] When the authority to request a wrecker company to remove an illegally parked vehicle is exercised, the owner of the vehicle, and not the county, shall be liable for towing and storage charges. Persons seeking recovery of their vehicles shall deal directly with the wrecker company. The county office of general services or the sheriffs office shall advise the owner or operator of the vehicle as to which wrecker company has possession of said vehicle. The wrecker company responding to a call and removing and storing illegally parked vehicles shall make only its usual and customary charges for these services, under this division, or not more than those charges as set out in its contract with the county.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 20).
Full Breakdown
Division 2 of Chapter 12's parking article covers county-owned parking lots. Section 12-27 lets the county judge designate certain areas as county parking lots, Section 12-28 lets the county judge promulgate the parking rules, and Section 12-29 requires signage warning that illegally parked cars will be towed. Section 12-31 is the actual towing authority: the county sheriff, sheriff's deputies, the county office of general services, or another employee the county judge designates can order an illegally parked vehicle removed and stored at the owner's or operator's expense, and specifically can call in a wrecker company for that job.
The county judge may contract for wrecker and storage services under the county's purchasing laws to carry this out. Once a wrecker is called, the code shifts liability for towing and storage charges onto the vehicle's owner, not the county, and directs the owner to deal directly with the wrecker company to get the vehicle back; the county office of general services or the sheriff's office will tell the owner which company has the vehicle. The code caps what the responding wrecker company can charge: only its usual and customary charges for the service, or whatever ceiling its county contract sets, whichever applies.
This division is narrow: it governs county-owned lots, not private-property non-consent tows generally, and enforcement runs through the sheriff's office issuing tickets returnable in the Pulaski County Municipal Court.
Violations & Fines
Parking in a restricted county lot space is a misdemeanor fined $5.00 to $25.00, with a second or later offense drawing the maximum $25.00 fine. Transferring a county parking permit to another person is a separate misdemeanor, fined up to $25.00, under Section 12-32.
Frequently Asked Questions
Who pays if a wrecker tows my car from a Pulaski County parking lot?
Is there a limit on what the tow company can charge?
Does this rule cover tows from private parking lots in the county?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Pulaski County
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