Scranton, PA Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Scranton City Code Chapter 439, Article III, the "Towing Ordinance of 2024" added by Ord. No. 13-2024, requires a towing company performing public towing (tows the City requests to clear illegally parked, abandoned, wrecked, or accident vehicles) to hold one of three annual licenses under § 439-33: a general license for vehicles under 10,000 pounds, a heavy license for vehicles 10,000 pounds or over, and a salvage license for abandoned vehicles processed under Chapter 438. A first-time license costs $700; a company already licensed pays only $200 for a second license and $100 for a third.

Annual renewal is due before January 1 at $400 for one license, $500 for two, or $600 for three, and missing the deadline drops the company back to the full first-application fee schedule. Section 439-37 separately makes it a prohibited act for every towing company, licensed or not, to subcontract a City-requested tow, to tow a vehicle from public rights-of-way or public property without the owner's or operator's consent or the City's authorization, to charge fees above the posted schedule, to falsify a license application, or to solicit tow business after an incident.

After investigating a complaint, the City may issue a formal warning, levy a fine, or suspend, deny renewal of, or revoke a license: suspension follows three violations or a second solicitation offense, three-year nonrenewal follows two violations (one tied to an unsafe tow) or a second solicitation offense, and permanent revocation follows a third solicitation offense, a towing-related criminal conviction, a falsified application, or a further violation after nonrenewal.