Shelby County, TN Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

50 pro-rated fee after July 1. Licenses expire December 31 and must be renewed between December 1 and December 31. To apply, an operator files with the sheriff's office and must show a minimum of two wreckers and two employees on duty at all times in any 24-hour period, 24-hour service including holidays, one business location per zone, standard emergency gear (flags, flares, an axe, a fire extinguisher), and proof the county is added as an additional insured on the operator's insurance (§ 8-605). org (§ 8-603).

Once dispatched, an operator must tow to wherever the vehicle's owner directs unless the sheriff's office says otherwise, may not haul the vehicle outside the county without the owner's request, and if the owner isn't available must take it to the operator's own lot and complete any required second delivery tow within 36 hours (§ 8-613). It is unlawful for a wrecker to respond to a wreck unless dispatched by the sheriff's radio, and Class A/B wreckers can never self-dispatch off a scanner (§ 8-614).