Winter Haven, FL Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)
Key Facts
- Governing instrument
- Polk County Towing Ordinance No. 92-13, adopted by reference
- City citation
- Winter Haven Code of Ordinances § 18-126
- Adopted
- By Ord. No. 92-30, effective Nov. 9, 1992
- Conflict rule
- City ordinance controls over the county ordinance
- Scope
- Applies inside incorporated Winter Haven city limits
- Default fine
- Up to $500 per offense under § 1-13
- Repealed prior local law
- Former §§ 18-126-18-138 wrecker code, 1992
Summary
Winter Haven has no separate municipal towing code. Instead, Code of Ordinances § 18-126 adopts the Polk County Towing Ordinance, Ordinance No. 92-13, by reference, applying it inside city limits to the extent it does not conflict with a Winter Haven ordinance. The city repealed its own 1959-derived wrecker regulations in 1992 rather than keep a duplicate local licensing scheme for tow operators.
Editor's note— Section 2 of Ord. No. 92-30, adopted Nov. 9, 1992, repealed former Art. IV, §§ 18-126—18-138, relative to wreckers, which derived from Code 1959, §§ 22-10A—22-132. Section 1 of said Ord. No. 92-30 enacted provisions regarding towing which have been included herein at the discretion of the editor as a new Art. IV, § 18-126. ... The City of Winter Haven, Florida hereby adopts the "Polk County Towing Ordinance," Ordinance No. 92-13, enacted by the Polk County Board of County Commissioners on July 14, 1992 including any amendments to said ordinance duly enacted and resolutions passed pursuant thereto as applying within the incorporated areas of the City of Winter Haven, Florida to the extent that it does not conflict with a municipal ordinance or code.
Official source re-checked September 7, 2026: no newer edition of the code had been published (publisher’s edition: Code of Ordinances: Supplement 108).
Full Breakdown
Winter Haven regulated wreckers directly under former §§ 18-126 through 18-138, carried over from the 1959 Code, until § 2 of Ordinance No. 92-30 (adopted November 9, 1992) repealed that entire local scheme. Section 1 of the same ordinance replaced it with a single incorporation clause, codified as the new § 18-126, that adopts the Polk County Towing Ordinance (Ordinance No. 92-13, enacted by the Polk County Board of County Commissioners on July 14, 1992) including any amendments the county passes, as applying inside the incorporated areas of Winter Haven.
That adoption is not absolute: it applies only to the extent that it does not conflict with a municipal ordinance or code, so any Winter Haven ordinance that addresses towing directly controls over the county measure. In practice, this means a towing company operating a non-consent (private-property or trespass) tow within Winter Haven's city limits is governed by Polk County's towing ordinance as the county amends it, not by a separate Winter Haven towing license or fee schedule. The chapter cross-references Chapter 20, 'Vehicles for hire,' for related for-hire vehicle rules, but Article IV of Chapter 18 contains no additional towing-specific provisions beyond this single adoption section; §§ 18-127 through 18-150 are reserved.
Violations & Fines
Section 18-126 carries no separate penalty clause, so a violation of the adopted Polk County Towing Ordinance, or of a conflicting Winter Haven ordinance, falls under the city's general penalty at § 1-13: a fine of up to $500.00, with every day a violation continues counted as a separate offense. Where the underlying violation carries an escalating first-through-subsequent-offense penalty, § 1-14 requires the charging officer to photograph and fingerprint the alleged violator for the police department's file.
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Winter Haven have its own towing ordinance?
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Sources & Official References
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