Towing in Ontario: What a Tow Truck Cannot Legally Do
Since January 2024 you have a list of rights at the roadside. Most drivers have never been told what is on it.
In short
Ontario’s Towing and Storage Safety and Enforcement Act came into force on 1 January 2024. Under it, a tow operator cannot charge you for a tow without your signed Consent to Tow form, cannot exceed the maximum rates filed with the Ministry of Transportation, and must hand you that rate list along with the form.
You also choose who tows your car and where it goes, unless police direct otherwise. And at the storage yard, retrieving your personal belongings from the vehicle must be free.
None of this helps at the roadside unless you know it beforehand, which is the entire reason to read this on a day when nothing has happened.
What are your rights when your car is towed in Ontario?
Ten of them, set out in the Act and summarised by CAA, which campaigned for the legislation for more than a decade.
| Your right | What it means in practice |
|---|---|
| Choice of destination | You decide who tows and where to, unless police direct otherwise |
| Written consent first | No signed Consent to Tow form, no charge for the tow |
| The rate list | The driver must give you the maximum rates along with the consent form |
| Rates capped | Charges cannot exceed the maximums filed with the Ministry of Transportation |
| Itemized invoice | Before payment is requested, not after — plus a receipt once paid |
| A certified operator | Name and TSSEA certificate number displayed on the truck; you may ask to see the certificate |
| Payment choice | Cash, cheque, credit and debit must all be accepted |
| Direct route | Most direct route, and you must be told if the car goes somewhere other than where you said |
| Referral transparency | Referrals only if you ask, and any benefit the driver receives must be disclosed |
| Your belongings, free | Personal property may be retrieved from a towed or stored vehicle at no charge |
Why the consent form is the whole thing
One sentence in the Act does more work than the rest combined: without a signed Consent to Tow form, the operator cannot charge you for the tow.
That inverts the roadside dynamic completely. The old problem was the truck that appeared within ninety seconds of a collision, hooked up while everyone was still shaken, and produced an invoice afterwards. Now the paperwork comes first, and the paperwork has to include the maximum rates, so you see the price before you agree rather than after.
There is one sensible exemption: if you have a roadside assistance membership and called them, the consent and invoicing rules work differently, because you already have a contract.
The practical version is short. Do not sign anything you have not read, including on a phone screen. If someone you did not call is already attaching a hook, you have not consented to anything yet.
Can a storage yard hold your belongings?
No. Retrieving personal property from a towed vehicle must be at no charge, and storage operators have to give authorised people access during business hours or at a pre-arranged time.
This is the right almost nobody knows, and the one that matters most in the days after a collision. A child’s car seat, work tools, a laptop, medication, house keys — those are not collateral for a storage bill. You may owe storage fees on the vehicle and still be entitled to walk in and take your things out of it.
What to do at the roadside
Red flags at the scene
How to complain, and whether it does anything
Complaints go to the Ministry of Transportation’s towing office through its online portal, and they carry real weight: the Director of Towing may issue, suspend or cancel an operator’s or a storage yard’s certificate.
Certificates are the pressure point. A tow operator without one cannot legally work in the province, so a complaint that sticks is not a bad review — it goes to the thing the business needs to exist. Offences are enforceable by police, TSSEA inspectors and MTO enforcement officers.
Keep the consent form, the invoice, the receipt and your photographs. A complaint with paper attached is a different document from one without.
What to do next
Do the two-minute version now, while nothing is wrong. Put a tow number you have chosen into your phone — your roadside assistance, your insurer’s line, or a local company you would actually use. The roadside is a bad place to start choosing.
Compare auto services in Ontario on Ontario24 and save a number before you need it. Ontario24 is a classified directory — we help you find and compare businesses, and we do not vet them, which is why the certificate and the rate list are worth checking yourself; our safety tips cover the habit.
If the car is going to a shop afterwards, our guide to finding a trustworthy mechanic covers choosing one under pressure, and our winter tire guide covers the season when most of these calls happen.
Before you call anyone, it helps to know what this job should cost and what the next one will. What things cost in Ontario in 2026 puts 75 service prices in one table.
Frequently asked questions
No. Since the Towing and Storage Safety and Enforcement Act came into force on 1 January 2024, a tow operator must obtain written consent on a Consent to Tow form before towing. Without that signed agreement, they cannot charge you for the tow. Roadside assistance memberships are exempt.
Yes. You have the right to decide who tows your vehicle and to what location, unless the police direct otherwise. On a 400-series highway an officer may require the vehicle be moved immediately, in which case ask for the nearest safe location.
No more than the maximum rates published by the Ministry of Transportation. The driver must give you the list of maximum rates together with the Consent to Tow form, and must provide an itemized invoice before asking for payment, plus a receipt after.
No. Under the Act you must be allowed to retrieve personal property from a towed vehicle at no charge. Storage operators have to give authorized people access during business hours or at a pre-arranged time, without a fee for the retrieval itself.
Yes. Operators must accept multiple payment methods — cash, cheque, credit card and debit. A demand for cash only is not compliant with the rules that have applied in Ontario since the start of 2024.
Every tow truck must clearly display the operator name and TSSEA certificate number, and you have the right to ask to see the certificate itself, in physical or digital form. Every tow operator and vehicle storage operator must hold one to work in Ontario.
Through the Ministry of Transportation’s towing complaint portal. The Director of Towing can issue, suspend or cancel operator and storage certificates, and offences are enforceable by police, TSSEA inspectors and MTO enforcement officers.
Sources
The rights set out here come from Ontario’s Towing and Storage Safety and Enforcement Act, in force since 1 January 2024, as summarised by CAA — an automobile association that campaigned for the legislation and also sells memberships, which is worth knowing when reading its material. Maximum rates are filed with and published by the Ministry of Transportation, which also operates the complaints portal. Checked 17 September 2026. This is general information, not legal advice; on a specific dispute, speak to a lawyer or contact the Ministry directly. Ontario24 is a classified directory and does not provide towing or storage.