Wilmington, NC Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Wilmington regulates towing businesses in two layers. Division 2 of Chapter 5, §§ 5-117 through 5-121.11, first requires any garage that wants to tow vehicles at the request of the Wilmington Police Department to get on the chief of police's eligible list, which requires round-the-clock phone availability, adequate towing equipment, fenced and zoning-compliant storage space, a zoning verification letter, and agreement to obligations like issuing receipts, insuring against damage, and removing accident debris (§§ 5-117, 5-118). Garages that violate the division can be removed from the list after written notice, with a right to a hearing before the chief of police within five working days.

The second layer, added by §§ 5-121.1 through 5-121.11, governs private, non-police-requested 'trespass tows' from private parking lots, plus vehicle booting. Section 5-121.2 requires a sign at least four square feet in area, conspicuously posted at every vehicle and pedestrian entrance, disclosing that the lot is a private tow-away zone, the phone number to recover a towed vehicle, a statement that recovery is available from 7:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m., and the universal no-parking symbol; no sign is required to clear a vehicle from a residential driveway or yard, or one blocking an entrance or abandoned more than 72 hours. Section 5-121.5 bars towing, or charging any fee, if the owner arrives before the vehicle is hooked up, unless the owner refuses to move it or provide identifying information. Towing services must notify Wilmington police within thirty minutes of any trespass tow, giving the vehicle's location, description and where it was taken (§ 5-121.7). Section 5-120 separately bans towing companies from soliciting business at accident or emergency scenes unless summoned by law enforcement, dispatch or a party to the accident.