Toledo, OH Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)
Key Facts
- Licensing agency
- Director of Finance, with Public Safety inspection
- Minimum towing districts
- At least 3, roughly equal
- Garage keeper's liability minimum
- $100,000
- Public liability/property damage minimum
- $300,000 / $750,000
- Vehicle proof
- Decal on lower left windshield corner
- Penalty
- License suspension/revocation; misdemeanor for license violations
Summary
Toledo requires every police-ordered towing company to hold a City towing license before responding to a call. Section 765.04 conditions the license on a special use permit for the company's lot, a vehicle decal, and assignment to one of at least three police towing districts.
(c) When the Director of Finance is assured that a special use permit has been issued for the applicant's premises and any auxiliary site to be used by the applicant, the Director of Finance shall issue to the applicant a towing license and, as evidence thereof, shall issue a decal for each tow vehicle bearing thereon an assigned tow vehicle license number. The decal shall be permanently affixed to the lower left corner of the windshield of each such tow vehicle. (d) When a license has been issued and the decals affixed as above, the Commander of the Police Records Section shall cause the name of the licensee to be entered upon the police tow list. The Commander of the Police Records Section shall divide the City of Toledo into at least three (3) approximately equal towing districts as determined by the Safety Director and shall maintain a police tow list assigning each licensee to one of the tow districts to provide as nearly as possible equal towing service in each of the districts... Police calls within any given district shall be rotated among the towers assigned to that district.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: 2026 S-105: Complete to June 30, 2026).
Full Breakdown
Chapter 765 of the Toledo Municipal Code sets the licensing framework for non-consent, police-ordered towing. 04(a) requires the Director of Public Safety to inspect an applicant's equipment once the Director of Finance receives the license application, insurance certificate, and license fee. 04(b) lets a company without a valid special use permit for its premises or auxiliary storage site receive only a letter of intent to issue a license, contingent on the City later granting that permit. 04(c) has the Director of Finance issue the towing license along with a decal for each tow vehicle, bearing an assigned license number and permanently affixed to the lower left corner of the windshield.
04(d) then places the licensee on the police tow list: the Commander of the Police Records Section divides the city into at least three roughly equal towing districts and assigns each licensee to the district containing its principal place of business where possible, rotating police calls among the towers assigned to each district. 03, $100,000 garage keeper's liability, $50,000 general liability, and $300,000/$750,000 public liability and property damage coverage, before any license issues.
Violations & Fines
Section 765.99 makes any violation of Chapter 765 grounds for the Director of Public Safety to suspend or revoke the towing license, and a violation involving tow safety or driver's licenses that carries no other specified fine is a fourth-degree misdemeanor. The chapter bars stacking that suspension or revocation with a separate Traffic Code penalty for the same conduct.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does a Toledo tow company need a City license to do police-ordered tows?
How does Toledo assign towing companies to police calls?
What insurance must a Toledo towing company carry?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Toledo
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