West Palm Beach, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)
Key Facts
- System
- City-contracted wrecker rotation, § 86-9(a)
- City admin fee
- 25% of county max towing rate
- Min lot capacity
- 105 cars (75 on-site, 30 off-site)
- Camera footage retention
- 30 days minimum
- Unauthorized tow penalty
- 2nd-degree misdemeanor, F.S. § 323.002(2)
Summary
West Palm Beach only allows non-consent tows through its own contracted wrecker operator system. Code § 86-9(a) creates a rotation of authorized wreckers selected by competitive procurement to remove wrecked, disabled or abandoned vehicles when the owner is unavailable or doesn't consent, and the city adds a 25 percent administrative fee on top of the county's maximum towing rate under § 86-9(d).
There is hereby created within the corporate limits of the City of West Palm Beach, Florida, a wrecker operator system whereby authorized wrecker operators, pursuant to contracts with the city, will be authorized to remove wrecked, disabled, or abandoned vehicles or vessels from accident scenes, streets, or highways within the city. Removal shall take place in the event the owner or operator is incapacitated, unavailable, leaves the procurement of wrecker service to the law enforcement officer at the scene, or otherwise does not consent to the removal of the vehicle or vessel. ... The city hereby imposes an administrative fee on the registered owner or legally authorized person in control of the vehicle or vessel being towed and/or stored, in the amount of 25 percent of the maximum towing rate as established by the county from time to time.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 76).
Full Breakdown
, with clean, sanitary bathroom facilities; hold a county operating permit; and pass a state and federal criminal history check with no felony convictions among its principals, owners or operators, under § 86-9(b)(1)-(3). The operator needs a secured indoor storage facility with at least three spaces inside the city for police-held crime and accident vehicles, plus a paved or asphalt lot, fenced and camera-monitored, that can hold at least 105 cars (75 on site, 30 off site), with security footage kept at least 30 days, per § 86-9(b)(5)-(6).
Operators must run 24 hours a day, seven days a week and accept major credit and debit cards under § 86-9(b)(7). Towing jobs are apportioned among authorized operators on a rotation schedule under § 86-9(c). The city's 25 percent administrative fee is collected by the wrecker operator and must be remitted to the city by the 15th of the month after it was collected, § 86-9(e). 002(2): monitoring police radio to chase tow calls, soliciting a tow before the authorized wrecker arrives, or falsely claiming to be part of the city's system are all separately punishable.
Violations & Fines
Unauthorized wrecker conduct is enforced under state law as incorporated by § 86-9(f): monitoring police radio to find wrecked vehicles is a noncriminal violation under F.S. § 775.083; soliciting or towing a vehicle before the authorized wrecker arrives is a second-degree misdemeanor under F.S. § 775.082 or § 775.083; and falsely claiming to be part of the city's authorized system at an accident scene is a first-degree misdemeanor. Police may immediately impound an offending wrecker at the unauthorized operator's expense.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can any towing company respond to an accident scene in West Palm Beach?
Does the city add its own fee on top of the towing charge?
What does a company need to become an authorized city wrecker operator?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in West Palm Beach
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