                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PROHIBITED ACTS BY TOW TRUCK DRIVERS AND TOWING AND RECOVERY OPERATORS (§
46.2-118)

A. No tow truck driver shall:

   1. Use fraud or deceit in the offering or delivering of towing and recovery
   services;

   2. Conduct his business or offer services in such a manner as to endanger the
   health and welfare of the public;

   3. Use alcohol or drugs to the extent such use renders him unsafe to provide
   towing and recovery services;

   4. Obtain any fee by fraud or misrepresentation;

   5. Remove or tow a trespassing vehicle, as provided in &#xA7; 46.2-1231, or a
   vehicle towed or removed at the request of a law-enforcement officer to any
   location outside the Commonwealth;

   6. Violate, or assist, induce, or cooperate with others to violate, any
   provision of law related to the offering or delivery of towing and recovery
   services; or

   7. Drive by the scene of a wrecked or disabled vehicle for which a
   law-enforcement tow has been initiated by a law-enforcement agency, initiate
   contact with the owner or operator of such vehicle by soliciting or offering
   towing services, and tow such vehicle.

B. No towing and recovery operator shall:

   1. Use fraud or deceit in the offering or delivering of towing and recovery
   services;

   2. Conduct his business or offer services in such a manner as to endanger the
   health and welfare of the public;

   3. Use alcohol or drugs to the extent such use renders him unsafe to provide
   towing and recovery services;

   4. Neglect to maintain on record at the towing and recovery operator&#8217;s
   principal office a list of all drivers employed by the towing and recovery
   operator;

   5. Obtain any fee by fraud or misrepresentation;

   6. Advertise services in any manner that deceives, misleads, or defrauds the
   public;

   7. Advertise or offer services under a name other than one&#8217;s own name;

   8. Fail to accept for payment cash, insurance company check, certified check,
   money order, or at least one of two commonly used, nationally recognized
   credit cards, except those towing and recovery operators who have an annual
   gross income of less than $10,000 derived from the performance of towing and
   recovery services shall not be required to accept credit cards, other than
   when providing police-requested towing as defined in &#xA7; 46.2-1217, but
   shall be required to accept personal checks;

   9. Fail to display at the towing and recovery operator&#8217;s principal
   office in a conspicuous place a listing of all towing, recovery, and
   processing fees for vehicles;

   10. Fail to have readily available at the towing and recovery operator&#8217;s
   principal office, at the customer&#8217;s request, the maximum fees normally
   charged by the towing and recovery operator for basic services for towing and
   initial hookup of vehicles;

   11. Knowingly charge excessive fees for towing, storage, or administrative
   services or charge fees for services not rendered;

   12. Fail to maintain all towing records, which shall include itemized fees,
   for a period of one year from the date of service;

   13. Willfully invoice payment for any services not stipulated or otherwise
   incorporated in a contract for services rendered between the towing and
   recovery operator and any locality or political subdivision of the
   Commonwealth;

   14. Employ a driver required to register with the Sex Offender and Crimes
   Against Minors Registry pursuant to Chapter 9 (&#xA7; 9.1-900 et seq.) of
   Title 9.1;

   15. Remove or tow a trespassing vehicle, as provided in &#xA7; 46.2-1231, or a
   vehicle towed or removed at the request of a law-enforcement officer to any
   location outside the Commonwealth;

   16. Refuse, at the towing and recovery operator&#8217;s place of business, to
   make change, up to $100, for the owner of the vehicle towed without the
   owner&#8217;s consent if the owner pays in cash for charges for towing and
   storage of the vehicle;

   17. Violate, or assist, induce, or cooperate with others to violate, any
   provision of law related to the offering or delivery of towing and recovery
   services;

   18. Fail to provide the owner of a stolen vehicle written notice of his right
   under law to be reimbursed for towing and storage of his vehicle out of the
   state treasury from the appropriation for criminal charges as required in
   &#xA7; 46.2-1209;

   19. Refuse to allow, consistent with the protections detailed in the
   provisions of subsection E of &#xA7; 46.2-644.01, the owner of the vehicle
   towed, upon proof of ownership of the vehicle, to access and recover any
   personal items without retrieving the vehicle and without paying any fee; or

   20. Require an individual who appears to retrieve a vehicle towed to provide
   to the towing and recovery operator, in addition to payment of fees, any
   document not otherwise required by law before releasing the vehicle to the
   individual.

C. No tow truck driver as defined in &#xA7; 46.2-116 or towing and recovery
operator as defined in &#xA7; 46.2-100 shall knowingly permit another person to
occupy a motor vehicle as defined in &#xA7; 46.2-100 while such motor vehicle is
being towed.

D. No tow truck driver or towing and recovery operator as defined in &#xA7;
46.2-116 shall cause any other person to solicit or offer towing services in any
manner, directly or indirectly, at the scene of any wrecked or disabled motor
vehicle upon a highway, as defined in &#xA7; 46.2-100, when such wrecked or
disabled motor vehicle reasonably necessitates removal by a tow truck. In
addition to any penalty authorized pursuant to this title, any tow truck driver
or towing and recovery operator violating the provisions of this subsection
shall be guilty of a Class 3 misdemeanor for the first offense and of a Class 2
misdemeanor for any subsequent offense.

HISTORY: 2012, cc. 803, 835; 2015, c. 217; 2020, c. 829; 2023, c. 600; 2024, cc.
337, 409, 574.