How To Become a Towing Service in NY

Due to breakdowns or poor parking choices, a vehicle may need to be towed and brought to where they need to be. Towing services can be a lucrative business, especially in a crowded city where there are many parking laws and situations. To start a towing service in New York, you must first know the regulations and proper steps to take.

1. Know what you need to get started. Create a list of all materials you think you will need in order to begin your business and ask yourself what you must do and have right now, and what you can do later. Things in the now column would be: getting your client base setup, getting a commercial driver’s license, getting a business license, buying or leasing a truck with proper equipment and getting yourself licensed and insured.


2. Know your costs and how to meet them.  Newer trucks cost upwards $30,000 or more depending on equipment. You must also know how much a holding garage will cost and if you can rent one or simply rent space in a preexisting one. Create both a business plan as well as a marketing plan. A business plan will help you get a business loan to pay for your starting costs and initial advertisements and a marketing plan will help you build an effective company brand and build a more effective marketing strategy.


3. Start building a client base now before you begin. Contact the police, any local motor clubs and small businesses and let them know you are starting a towing business and whether or not you can place your business on their call lists for having people towed. If there is a waiting list prior to getting on the list, it is well worth your benefit to pause in your business action until you secure yourself on the list. A tow company needs clients; a new tow company needs them very badly. Get the clients first and let everything else come after.


4. Get Licensed.  Contact your Department of Transportation and ask about the costs and requirements for getting a Commercial Driver’s License. They are also an excellent source of information on all the in’s and out’s you need to know about getting your business off the ground and legal. Ask them for any documentation and materials to be mailed to you and study them carefully.


5. Get Insured. New York required mandatory licensing for its tow service trucks to operate legally. Locate an insurance company and ask them about what it would take to get you coverage. Also ask them if they know anything you ought to be considering before you spend money on a truck or holding garage. Each state has a minimum amount they require tow services to be insured for, for example, California requires$750,000 minimum liability insurance for tow services to be considered legal.  


6. Get a loan. Use your business plan by taking it to a bank and talking to a business loan officer. They will require a copy of your business plan as well as you to explain how you will be using the money, how much you may need and what the terms of the loan will be.


7. Get your gear. If you haven’t already, purchase or lease your truck and your holding garage with the loan money as well as your beginning advertisements you planned to purchase when you created your marketing plan. These last two steps should wait until you are on call lists to the police department, fire department etc. Remember, clients first.