Woodland, CA Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)

Woodland Municipal Code Chapter 10.16 governs the Police Department's rotation of towing operators, used to clear illegally parked, abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative vehicles, evidence vehicles, and vehicles blocking traffic after a crash or breakdown. Nothing in the chapter stops an owner from calling their own tow truck instead of a City-listed operator (§ 10.16.010). Each fall, the Police Chief sets how many towing operators the rotation needs for the coming year, weighing factors including the Department's operational needs, Woodland's population growth, land recently or soon to be annexed, existing operators' average response times, and the administrative burden of managing the list (§ 10.16.040); that determination must be made in writing by December 1st.

Firms apply for the eligibility list during an annual window running October 1st through October 31st, filing a sworn application disclosing every financially interested party, the vehicles and towing equipment to be used, and whether the applicant has ever been removed from another jurisdiction's rotation list (§ 10.16.050). The Police Chief has 30 days after filing to investigate and rule on eligibility, and qualifying operators are placed on both the eligibility and rotation lists in the order their applications were received (§§ 10.16.060, 10.16.070). To stay on the rotation, operators must hold a valid City business license, sign a towing services agreement, indemnify the City, carry general liability, auto liability and workers' compensation insurance acceptable to the City's Finance Department and City Attorney, and have every rotation tow truck inspected at least once a year, with a current California Highway Patrol inspection satisfying that requirement (§ 10.16.030).