Submit tow and vehicle storage rates

Overview

If you are a tow or vehicle storage operator, you are required to submit the maximum rates you will charge for your services using our self-service portal. Your maximum rates will be published online for your customers to see.

Once you submit your initial rates, they will be effective immediately. To change a rate, there will be a 30-day waiting period before the new rate can take effect.

The Ministry of Transportation does not approve rates; however, they are subject to review. We can reject rates that we think are unreasonable and request that you submit new amounts, even if your rates have already been published. In these cases, you will be contacted by the Ministry of Transportation and may be assigned new interim rates.

Access to the rates portal service will be granted to the main email address that is listed on your record with the ministry. This will be the same email address that was provided on your application and is the same email address that the certificate was sent to when it was approved. This email address can add additional users to the service if needed. 

To ensure your personal information is safe, do not share your login or password information with anyone, including representatives you may have authorized.

What you can charge for

You can charge for necessary services only.

Tow operators cannot charge for:

• towing service that takes longer than usual because of defects associated with the tow truck or issues caused by the actions of the tow operator or tow truck driver
• unnecessary services
• transporting the towed vehicle’s driver and passengers to any destination
• allowing the towed vehicle’s driver or passengers to have access to it while providing towing services
• changing the destination of a tow, other than an amount related to the change in distance
• preparing invoices, consents or other administrative services

Vehicle storage operators cannot charge for:

• providing access to or release of a stored vehicle between 8 a.m. - 6 p.m. from Monday to Friday, and 9 a.m. - noon on Saturday, or any other time when the vehicle storage facility is open
• preparing or cleaning storage spaces
• moving a vehicle within a storage yard facility or between facilities, unless the move is requested by the owner or operator of the vehicle
• preparing invoices, consents or other administrative services

You can charge for any of the services in the table below that you provide. If you provide a service, you must submit your maximum rate using the self-service portal or your default rate will be $0.

Any rate for subcontracted services, equipment, vehicles, or labour necessary to perform a recovery shall not be more than 15% higher than the amount invoiced by the third-party provider.

Understanding Maximum Rates

The Maximum Rate Schedule provides the flexibility for compensation for services provided. It allows operators to submit the highest rate, which may be necessary and appropriate, depending on the circumstances. It does not set a fixed price for a service, nor does it prevent customers or their representatives from negotiating an acceptable price for that service.

Your published maximum rates should represent the highest charges that would be appropriate and applicable in rare or unique circumstances. In most scenarios (i.e. those related to typical or average towing or storage events,) you would charge less than your maximum published rate.

Please note that the Towing and Storage Safety and Enforcement Act and the publishing of your Maximum Rate Schedule does not guarantee payment of invoices or compel customers to satisfy an outstanding account.

Towing Services include all activities, except recovery services, which are required to tow the subject motor vehicle, including preparation to tow, surveying the scene, positioning and securing the subject motor vehicle, and towing the vehicle.

Recovery Services are specialized services, including the use of extraction devices, winches and skilled personnel, that are required to relocate or reposition a motor vehicle to prepare it for towing but do not include the use of standard towing equipment in respect of an upright motor vehicle that is located in a parking lot or on private property, on a roadway, shoulder, or location where it can be returned to a roadway or shoulder by using standard towing equipment or a winch, if the distance that the motor vehicle is required to be moved by the winch is less than five metres.

You can use the tables and glossaries below to help you understand the different service categories or download a printable version with space to make notes. You must submit your maximum rates using the online portal before you can provide  any towing or vehicle storage service.

Towing

Recovery – tow trucks

Recovery – equipment, specialized and support vehicles

Recovery – labour

Vehicle storage

Glossary

Towing

Basic tow - a towing rate reflecting the towing distance up to a maximum initial distance of 10 kilometres to the destination determined by the directing police officer or customer, including any distance travelled towing to a necessary waypoint. The Basic Tow rate is determined by the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of the towed vehicle. This rate includes responding to the scene and preparation to tow, but not recovery services identified within the maximum rate schedule.

These rates do not apply to events where Recovery Service charges are applicable.

Extended tow - a towing rate applicable to every full kilometre beyond the towing distance of a Basic Tow which a vehicle is towed to reach the specified destination. The Extended Tow rate is determined by the Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of the towed vehicle.

These rates do not apply to events where Recovery Service charges are applicable.

Standing by - At the scene of a collision or other incident, if instructed to stand by, standing-by is eligible for billing after 15 consecutive minutes, and each subsequent period of 15 consecutive minutes spent by a tow truck driver on stand-by when the driver is:

• At the scene of a collision or other incident, if instructed by emergency personnel to do so.
• At a collision reporting centre, if instructed by emergency personnel or an employee or representative of the collision reporting centre to do so.
• At a truck inspection station or any other location, if instructed by a police officer or an inspector to do so, but not including time during which the tow truck driver or the tow truck itself is the subject of inspection, enforcement, or related activity, including during triage or time in queue (regardless of whether a vehicle is in tow).

This hourly rate is calculated for each 15-minute period or part.

En route travel - Applicable to necessary responding tow trucks to provide a Basic Tow. Rate is calculated for any necessary distance travelled beyond 10 kilometres from the location of the responding vehicle at the time of dispatch, to the scene.

Recovery – tow trucks

Tow truck recovery service rates are determined by the closest certified capacity (if applicable) of the tow truck, and by the amount of time the tow truck spends travelling from, and returning to, its dispatch location, and time spent towing the subject motor vehicle, and the amount of time it is required at a recovery scene to prepare the vehicle for towing, including the use of winches, fixed booms, and rotator booms, sliding or otherwise, based on a one-hour minimum for the first hour.

This recovery service rate includes time spent standing-by if directed by emergency personnel to do so.

This hourly rate is calculated for each 30-minute period or part.

Recovery – equipment, specialized and support vehicles

Equipment, Air cushions - this rate applies to the necessary use of air cushions at a recovery scene.

Equipment, roll off bin - this rate applies to the necessary delivery and removal of a roll-off bin or similar waste container.

Equipment, lighting/light stand - this rate applies to the required use of equipment to illuminate the recovery scene.

Specialized and support vehicles - a recovery service rate for necessary specialized and support vehicles, and their operators, and including any necessary attachments, at a recovery scene, determined by the amount of time the vehicle spends travelling from, and returning to, its dispatch location, and if applicable, any time spent transporting the subject motor vehicle, based on a one-hour minimum for the first hour.

This recovery service rate includes time spent standing-by if directed by emergency personnel to do so.

This hourly rate is calculated for each 30-minute period or part.

Recovery – labour

Casual and specialized labour - rates are not applicable to drivers or operators of the tow truck, specialized vehicles or equipment, or support vehicles or equipment.

Necessary labour at a recovery scene to assist a tow driver or tow truck operator, or to restore the condition of the roadway at the direction of police, including the application of cleaning materials, and the use of hand tools and portable power tools, determined by the amount of time the person performing the labour spends travelling from, and returning to, their dispatch location, and if applicable, based on a one-hour minimum for the first hour.

This recovery service rate includes time spent standing-by if directed by emergency personnel to do so.

This hourly rate is calculated for each 30-minute period or part.

Vehicle storage

Indoor/outdoor storage - The storage rate is determined by the length of the stored vehicle. The storage rate for the first calendar day is to be prorated hourly. Subsequent days are stored at the full daily rate.

After hours access - access to the stored vehicle at a time when the vehicle storage operator is not open for business, including for the purpose of removing personal contents, and for the purpose of removing the vehicle from the storage yard facility, and including any required positioning to allow the stored vehicle to be removed.

The after-hours access rate reflects each event or occasion when an authorized party has requested after-hours access or retrieval of the vehicle, and the storage operator has responded to provide that access or retrieval, except when the response occurs during the storage yard facility’s open hours, or during 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. from Monday to Friday, or 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. on Saturday.

A response to provide access or retrieval that addresses the requests of multiple authorized parties in relation to the same stored vehicle shall be deemed a single event.