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

Chapter 192 was adopted 11-26-1991 by Ord. No. 91-71 and amended in its entirety 11-20-2018 by Ord. No. 2018-25. It sets up a rotating list of towing and storage contractors who respond when the Township needs a vehicle moved. The Chief of Police administers the list. Section 192-2 says the governing body wants at least five official towers, while § 192-9 caps the rotation at five licenses, assigned per incident and monitored by the Police Department Traffic Safety Unit.

Service standards sit in § 192-3. Basic towing must be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, including holidays, across the whole Township, with arrival at any tow scene within 15 minutes of the Township's request. A storage lot must display a certificate of occupancy for automotive-related use, sit within 15 minutes of the place of tow, and have 24-hour surveillance, lighting from dusk to dawn, a security fence, land for at least 10 vehicles and inside garage space for at least one vehicle. The Stafford Police Department inspects the facility every year. Vehicles that are stolen, abandoned, involved in a crime or in a fatal collision are police impounds under § 192-4 and go to a designated police impound property.

Licensing is in §§ 192-6 to 192-8. Towers carry garage liability and automobile liability insurance of not less than $1,000,000 combined single limit each, naming the Township as additional insured, and cannot employ anyone convicted of an indictable offense, or a stolen vehicle, fraud or stolen property offense, within the past seven years. The application fee is $100 annually plus $20 per employee background check, none of it refundable. Applications go to the Township Clerk by April 1, the Township Council awards licenses by resolution, and a license is nontransferable.

Rates under § 192-10 apply to passenger vehicles: $175 for Class 1 (GVWR 6,000 pounds or under), $200 for Class 2, $225 for Class 3, and $350 per hour portal to portal for Class 4. Outside storage is $35 per day for Class 1 and $45 for Class 2, and Class 3 and 4 storage is $100 per day. Holiday towing is billed at 1 1/2 times the regular rate. Operators owe the owner a written itemized bill and cannot charge any fee outside the section unless the owner authorized it beforehand.