Tigard, OR Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Tigard sets the rules for police-directed tows in its traffic and abandoned vehicle chapters. A search of the Tigard Municipal Code for towing terms found these duties in Titles 7 and 10 and no separate towing-company license chapter in Title 5.

Section 10.28.160.A gives the authority. A vehicle parked in a prohibited or restricted area, parked for a prohibited length of time, obstructing traffic or creating a danger, found abandoned, or left when its operator is arrested and cannot drive it to a safe place is declared a public nuisance subject to summary abatement, removal and impounding. Subsection B then fixes who pays and how much. Both the owner and the operator are legally responsible for towing and storage costs, the charges are established in advance by an agreement between the police department of the City of Tigard and the towing and storage firm or firms, and no charges in excess of those previously agreed upon can be levied.

Subsection C governs release at the scene. A tow operator who finds the owner or driver present releases the vehicle on presentation of proper identification and a signed receipt in duplicate. A service charge not to exceed one-half of the cost for the towing of the vehicle is made, the duplicate receipt goes to the owner or operator, and the original is recorded in the tower's ledger of releases. The exception is where the police department gives exclusive orders that the vehicle be impounded.

For tows under Chapter 7.60, § 7.60.040 requires a person who tows at the city's request to give the person claiming the vehicle notice that the vehicle was towed for violation of the Tigard Municipal Code and that a hearing can be requested, with the deadline and method. Each person who redeems a vehicle signs a receipt acknowledging the right to a hearing. Section 7.60.130 bars storage charges for more than 60 days.