Worcester County, MD Business Licensing & Operations: Towing Companies (2026)
Key Facts
- Maximum storage time
- Ninety days for each vehicle
- Who it covers
- Repair shops and towing services storing wrecked or disabled vehicles
- Storage method
- Completely enclosed building, or fully screened from public view
- Screening options
- Fence, dense landscaping or topography
- Outdoor display
- No wrecked vehicles or junk in public view
- Penalty
- Civil infraction under § ZS 1-120(b)(1)
Summary
In unincorporated Worcester County, Maryland, every towing service and repair shop that stores wrecked or disabled vehicles must keep each vehicle for no more than ninety days and hold it inside a completely enclosed building or behind a fence, dense landscaping or topography that fully screens it from public view. The rule sits in the zoning title at § ZS 1-331.
(b) Storage of wrecked or disabled vehicles. In addition to the provisions contained in other parts of this Title, every repair shop and towing service storing wrecked or disabled vehicles shall be subject to the following: (1) Storage shall be temporary for a period not to exceed ninety days for each vehicle. (2) All vehicles shall be held within a completely enclosed building or fenced in such a way as to be completely screened from public view. Such screening may be by a fence, by dense landscaping or by topography. (c) Screening required. In any case, no used parts, wrecked or disabled vehicles or other junk shall be kept or displayed outdoors in front of any required building, fence or screening or otherwise in public view.
Full Breakdown
The storage rule is part of the Worcester County zoning title and applies in unincorporated Worcester County only. Ocean City, Berlin, Snow Hill and Pocomoke City run their own codes, so a tow yard inside one of those towns answers to town rules instead. Subsection ZS 1-331(b) opens with the words "in addition to the provisions contained in other parts of this Title," which means the storage standards stack on top of the district regulations that govern the lot.
Two numbered standards carry the weight. First, storage must be temporary, for a period not to exceed ninety days for each vehicle, so the limit is counted vehicle by vehicle and a tow yard cannot become a long-term holding lot for abandoned wrecks. Second, all vehicles must be held within a completely enclosed building or fenced in such a way as to be completely screened from public view. The code allows that screening to come from a fence, from dense landscaping or from topography.
Subsection (c) closes the gap for anything left outside. No used parts, wrecked or disabled vehicles or other junk can be kept or displayed outdoors in front of any required building, fence or screening, or otherwise in public view.
Do not confuse towing storage with a junk or salvage operation, which § ZS 1-331(a) treats separately. A junk or salvage operation must either be completely enclosed within a building on a lot of forty thousand square feet with a lot width of two hundred feet, or be set back not less than one hundred feet from every public road right-of-way or property line and be completely fenced. That fence must be at least eight feet in height, built to screen the contents from public view, and visually buffered along the outside by landscaping under § ZS 1-322. Subsection (d) makes junk and salvage operations subject to § ZS 1-116.
The Department of Development Review and Permitting takes zoning complaints. Under § ZS 1-120(a), any person can report a suspected violation to the Department, verbally or in writing.
Violations & Fines
Unless the Article specifies otherwise, a violation of the zoning title is a civil infraction under § ZS 1-120(b)(1). The owner or tenant of the premises, and any agent or other person who commits, participates in, assists in or maintains the violation, can each be found guilty of a separate offense. The court orders the violation removed or corrected to the maximum extent reasonable, and the County can withhold or revoke a permit, special exception, variance or approval.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long can a towing service in unincorporated Worcester County keep a wrecked vehicle?
Can wrecked vehicles sit in an open lot?
Does this rule apply in Ocean City, Berlin, Snow Hill or Pocomoke City?
What happens to a tow yard that breaks the storage rule?
Is a tow yard the same as a junk or salvage operation?
Sources & Official References
Other rules in Worcester County
Compare Worcester County to another location·View the Maryland business licensing & operations overview
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