A flatbed tow truck loading a car at dusk, How to Start a Towing Business in Nevada

How to Start a Towing Business in Nevada

Last verified: November 5, 2026

This guide is for someone who wants to tow vehicles for the public in Nevada. The step that sets your timeline is not the LLC. It is the certificate of public convenience and necessity from the Nevada Transportation Authority (NTA), which NRS 706.4463 requires of a tow car operator before it provides towing services beyond hauling its own property. Insurance filings, tow plates, approved rates and a place on a police tow list all hang off that certificate, and the application asks for facts (an impound yard, equipment, insurance) that you need lined up before you file.

The sections below follow the order that works in practice: entity, state license, NTA certificate, insurance, trucks, taxes, then local licenses.

Step 1: Choose Your Business Structure

Form an LLC before you apply to the NTA. The application must include certified copies of your articles of organization if the applicant is an LLC or corporation, plus a list of every owner and ownership percentage (NAC 706.1376). A sole proprietor files none of that, but the entity choice is a liability decision first. Towing puts other people's vehicles in your custody, so a damage claim is a realistic event. An LLC keeps a business debt or judgment away from your personal assets, but it does not replace insurance and it does not shield you from claims arising from your own negligence. Treat the LLC and the insurance policy as a pair. This is reasoning from the structure of the rules, not legal advice; a Nevada attorney can tell you whether a corporation or an LLC fits your ownership plans.

If you are comparing ways to file, see how to start an LLC in Nevada and our comparison of Nevada LLC formation services.

Step 2: File Your Articles of Organization

First check that your name is available in the Nevada Secretary of State business entity search. Under NRS 86.171 an LLC name must contain "Limited-Liability Company," "Limited Liability Company," "Limited Company," or "Limited," or one of the abbreviations Ltd., L.L.C., L.C., LLC or LC, and it must be distinguishable from names already on file.

File the articles through the Nevada ORION business portal, which replaced SilverFlume. The filing fee is $75 (NRS 86.561). The Secretary of State may charge extra for faster service, capped by NRS 225.140 at $1,000 for service within 1 hour, $500 within 2 hours and $125 within 24 hours; confirm the current schedule when you file. Every Nevada LLC also needs a registered agent with a physical Nevada address (NRS Chapter 77).

Order a certified copy of the filed articles at the same time. NRS 86.561 sets the certification fee at $30, and you will need the certified copy for the NTA packet in Step 4.

Step 3: Get Your Nevada State Business License

Every Nevada business needs a state business license from the Secretary of State under NRS Chapter 76. For an LLC the fee is $200; a corporation pays $500. You file it together with the initial list of managers or managing members ($150 for an LLC under NRS 86.263). The Secretary of State's State Business License FAQ says the initial list and license are due by the last day of the month after you file your organizational documents. The statute itself (NRS 86.263(1) and NRS 76.100) calls for the initial list and the license at the time of filing, so filing them together with the articles is the safe course; confirm the current due date with the Secretary of State.

Renewal is due by the last day of the month in which your LLC was formed: $150 for the annual list plus $200 for the license, $350 a year in total. The same FAQ lists a $100 penalty for a late license. Details and deadlines are on our annual list and license renewal page, and the license itself is covered in Nevada business license: what you need and how to get it.

Step 4: Apply for the NTA Tow Car Certificate

This is the licensing step most guides skip. Nevada does have a state towing authority: the NTA. Under NRS 706.4463 each operator of a tow car must hold its certificate of public convenience and necessity before providing services other than as a private motor carrier of its own property, must use a tow car of sufficient size and weight to carry the vehicle safely, and must comply with NRS 706.011 to 706.791.

What the application involves

  • Authority type: the NTA tow car application asks whether you want consent tows, non-consent tows, or both. Non-consent tows (a vehicle towed without its owner's prior consent, such as a police or private-property tow) carry the most rules, so decide this first.
  • Fingerprints: NRS 706.4463(2) requires a full set of fingerprints from each natural person the NTA identifies as a significant principal, partner, officer, manager, member, director or trustee, forwarded to the FBI through the Nevada criminal history repository.
  • Exhibits: NAC 706.1376(2) lists items (a) through (m), including a sample invoice that prints your complaint procedure, a tariff, your equipment with photographs and the registrations and titles of vehicles you already own, a description of your offices, terminals and impound yard, certified articles, an ownership list, a sample dispatch log, and evidence that you can secure the insurance NAC 706.191 requires.
  • Filing: the packet says to submit the original plus one copy with the filing fee and estimated publication costs to the NTA's Las Vegas or Reno office. The NTA accepts checks, cash and money orders, and filing and publication fees are nonrefundable.
  • Cure period: if the application is deficient and you do not fix it within 15 working days of the NTA's request, the NTA may move to dismiss it.

The packet points to a separate fee schedule for the filing and publication costs, so confirm those amounts with the NTA before you budget.

Annual fee and plates

Each tow car you operate pays an annual fee of up to $36 (NRS 706.451); the NTA's license and permit fee sheet lists $36 per vehicle, due by January 1 for the coming year, prorated by month for trucks added mid-year. A late payment adds a 10 percent penalty plus interest. The NTA issues a plate for each tow car in service (NAC 706.405); a replacement plate costs $10.

Rates and the rules you operate under

  • Consent tows: the NTA cannot regulate the rates or terms for towing done with the owner's prior consent, or the geographic area or types of towing you offer (NRS 706.445).
  • Non-consent tows: you file a tariff based on the NTA's model tariff (NAC 706.407) and may bill only approved rates and charges (NAC 706.408). That rule also lets you add a fuel surcharge of 3 percent of the base tow rate for each 25-cent step once the West Coast regular gasoline price reaches $3.25 a gallon.
  • Dispatch log: you must record, for each tow, the call time, caller, dispatch and arrival times, completion time, vehicle details and the owner's insurer if known (NRS 706.4465).
  • Storage and release: you must protect the vehicle and its contents, give the owner access during business hours and a way to get the car released outside them, allow an inspection and inventory before release, and never hold personal property as security (NRS 706.4467). You must also tell each owner they can complain to the NTA (NRS 706.4473).
  • Private-property tows: NAC 706.427 to 706.4277 cover signage on the property, written authorization and extra requirements for residential complexes, so read them before you sign a parking-enforcement contract.

Police rotation lists and motor clubs

A law enforcement agency that keeps a rotation list may only put you on it if you hold the NTA certificate, keep adequate, secure storage in Nevada and charge only NTA-approved rates for non-consent tows (NRS 706.4485). If your plan depends on police tows, the certificate and the yard are not optional.

NRS 706.446 exempts towing done for a licensed motor club from the certificate and from NTA rates. That is a narrow exception for a defined kind of customer, not a way to serve the public without a certificate. If you plan roadside-assistance work only, ask the NTA in writing whether your contracts qualify.

Step 5: Insure the Operation

The NTA requires every tow car operator to file a liability insurance policy, certificate of insurance or surety bond in an amount it sets to protect the public (NRS 706.291), and it will not issue the certificate until that evidence is on file. Insurance evidence is filed per vehicle on the Bodily Injury and Property Damage Form E (NAC 706.193). The minimum limits are in NAC 706.191, but its table is written for common carriers by cargo type and passenger count and has no tow-car row, so ask the NTA which limit it applies to your trucks before you shop for quotes.

Tell the broker you tow other people's vehicles and keep them in a yard. Your policy has to match what you actually do (hook-and-tow, flatbed, storage), and the exhibit in the application is where a mismatch surfaces. Ask specifically about coverage for vehicles in your custody and for yard liability; those are reasoning from the rules above, not an NTA requirement.

Step 6: Register Trucks and Check Driver Licensing

Register each truck with the Nevada DMV in the usual way. The NTA's application asks for registrations and titles of vehicles you own, and the NTA publishes a one-page tow operator DMV registration verification form.

Vehicle weight triggers two requirements. The DMV Motor Carrier page says a USDOT number is required even for Nevada-only operations when a vehicle weighs 26,001 pounds or more, and that Form 2290 (heavy vehicle use tax) applies above 55,000 pounds. A light-duty wrecker is unlikely to reach those numbers; a heavy wrecker or rotator can. Whether a driver needs a commercial driver's license depends on the vehicle's weight rating, so check each truck's rating with the Nevada DMV before you hire.

On equipment, NAC 706.434 lets you use a rigid bar, tow line or cradle on a vehicle that cannot move itself, but you must keep full control of the towed vehicle and may not push a vehicle unless it is blocking a lane. NAC 706.436 requires a tow car of sufficient size and rating for the vehicle you carry.

Step 7: Register for Taxes

Get a free EIN from the IRS; do not pay a third-party site for it. Then register with the Nevada Department of Taxation as the business needs:

  • Sales tax permit: required for retailers of tangible personal property (NRS 372.220), at $15 per location. If you sell parts, accessories or vehicles from your lot, you need one; if you only sell towing labor, ask the Department whether anything you sell is taxable. The Department states a 6.85% base state rate, and local rates differ by county.
  • Modified Business Tax: once you hire drivers, you file quarterly and pay 1.17% of quarterly wages above $50,000, and you file even when nothing is due (Department of Taxation MBT page).
  • Commerce Tax: applies only above $4,000,000 of Nevada gross revenue in a fiscal year (Department of Taxation Commerce Tax page); see our Commerce Tax explainer.

Nevada has no personal or corporate income tax, but federal income tax and self-employment tax still apply to you.

Step 8: Local Licenses and Zoning

The state and NTA do not replace the city or county license where your office and yard sit. For insurer-designated vehicle storage lots in counties of 700,000 or more people, NRS 706.4485 spells the same point out: comply with local laws on business licenses, zoning, building and fire codes, parking, paving, lights and security. Start with the office that covers your address: Clark County, the City of Las Vegas, the City of Reno, the City of Sparks or Washoe County. Fees are set locally; ask each office what it charges for a towing or vehicle storage business.

Because the NTA application describes your impound yard, confirm zoning for the yard before you sign a lease. This ordering is practical reasoning: the yard has to exist and be lawful to describe it on the application.

What the State Fees Add Up To

ItemCostSource and notes
Articles of organization (LLC)$75NRS 86.561; certified copy $30
Initial list of managers or members$150NRS 86.263
State business license (LLC)$200NRS Chapter 76; $500 for a corporation
First-year state formation total$425$75 + $150 + $200, before any certified copy or expedite fee
Annual renewal after year one$350$150 annual list + $200 license, due the last day of the formation month
NTA tow car feeup to $36 per tow car per yearNTA fee sheet; due January 1; replacement plate $10
NTA application filing and publicationConfirm with the NTAAmount is not stated in the application text; ask the NTA
Sales tax permit (if you sell goods)$15 per locationDepartment of Taxation
Insurance, trucks, yard and local licensesGet quotesSet by the NTA, your insurer, sellers and each city or county

Where This Plan Goes Wrong

Treating the certificate as a formality. The law says the NTA may hold a hearing on a tow car application if a petition to intervene is granted or it cannot decide from the file (NRS 706.4463(5)). Plan for review time and a complete packet, not a same-week approval.

Assuming local rules replace the NTA. Local government licenses the business and the yard. Rates for non-consent tows and who may be on a police list run through the NTA.

Billing a non-consent tow at your own price. NAC 706.408 limits the bill to rates and charges the NTA approved in your tariff.

Missing January 1. The per-truck NTA fee is due by January 1, and a late payment adds 10 percent plus interest.

Buying the truck before the yard and the policy. The application asks for your equipment, your facilities and proof you can get insured. Reasoning from that checklist, those three items should be settled together.

Next Steps

Download the NTA tow car application and read NAC 706.1376 beside it. If your trucks will haul freight as well as disabled vehicles, our trucking company guide covers the motor carrier side, and the Nevada startup cost guide shows the wider fee picture.

Disclaimer

This article is general information, not legal or tax advice. Towing rules are set by statute, NTA regulations and local ordinances, and they change. Confirm your plan with the Nevada Transportation Authority and a Nevada attorney, and with a CPA or tax professional for tax questions.

Sources

Keep exploring: related Nevada guides