Did you know that you can put a hold on your car title to prevent its transfer without your knowledge? If you are concerned about the safety of your car title, placing a hold on the title may bring you peace of mind.
A vehicle title legally assigns ownership of a vehicle, making it one of the most valuable documents for that vehicle. To place a hold on a vehicle’s title, the owner must prove that there are significant risks to the security of the title.
Reason #1: Your vehicle has been towed and you are: unable to get the vehicle back, unable to get in contact with the tow yard, or unable to pay towing or storage fees provided to you by the tow company.
Reason #2: Your vehicle is being held at an auto repair shop and you are: unable to get the vehicle back, unable to get in contact with the repair shop, unable to find the physical location of the repair shop, or unable to pay the repair invoice.
Reason #3: Your vehicle is in the care of another person who you believe may intend to transfer the title or improperly place a lien without your consent.
Reason #4: Your vehicle is missing or stolen.
Each of the 50 states has a process to place a hold on a car title. If you are a resident of California, this process is known as a Courtesy Stop Request.
To file a courtesy stop request, you must first intend to sue the person or people threatening the security of your car title. For this filing, make sure to obtain good legal advice before proceeding from a lawyer or comparable legal resource.
After filing your case, complete the Courtesy Stop Request form (REG 500) and write your motion for a preliminary injunction. Once all necessary documents have been filed, all related motions, complaints, and papers must be personally served to all parties involved. The submission of the courtesy stop request form prevents the DMV from transferring your car title for 60 days. After the initial 60-day hold, if a court date has not yet been set, you can apply for an extension or simply remove the hold.
Ultimately, there is no foolproof way to ensure that your car title isn’t stolen. However, by taking the proper precautions and checking for anything suspicious, you can put yourself in a much better position if something does go wrong. By proactively addressing these issues now, you will be able to catch fraud when it happens, and keep your title safe.
If you find yourself in possession of an abandoned vehicle in Washington state, you’re probably wondering what you can do with it. If the vehicle is junk, can you get a parts-only title so it can be sold for parts? Can you sell an abandoned vehicle or get the title transferred to your name? Without the prior title, there are limitations to what you can do with an abandoned vehicle in Washington state.
No, you cannot sell an abandoned vehicle on your property in Washington state. To sell a vehicle, you have to have the title signed over by the prior owner. If you know the prior owner and have access to the title, then the vehicle is not abandoned. To remove an abandoned vehicle in Washington state, you must have a registered tow company remove the vehicle.
It is possible to claim ownership of an abandoned vehicle in Washington state. There are three possible paths to claim ownership of the vehicle:
The most direct way to obtain ownership of an abandoned vehicle is to contact the Washington Department of Licensing and request the motor vehicle title record. You can make a request for this information online. In this request, state the reason you’re requesting the information and provide any other documentation you have on the vehicle. Upon receiving the motor vehicle record from the Department of Licensing, you must contact the registered owner and request that they obtain a duplicate title. If they agree, they must apply for a duplicate title and then sign over the duplicate title to your name. With the signed certificate of title, you can take that to the DMV to transfer the title into your name. Note that some vehicles may have inspection requirements or other additional criteria be met.
While this may be a direct way, it may not be the easiest. Motor vehicle records are protected under the Driver’s Privacy Protection Act (DPPA) and are considered private information. Depending on your circumstances, it may be difficult to obtain this information from your local DMV. Additionally, even if you are able to obtain this information, the registered owner is not obligated to apply for a duplicate title to sign over to you. If the registered owner is not willing or able to help, you will have to proceed with a different method of ownership.
You cannot sell an abandoned vehicle, but a registered tow company can place it for auction. After having the abandoned vehicle towed from your property, the tow company will be required to contact the registered owner and security interests prior to the auction. Once all notice and publication requirements have been satisfied by the tow company, they may place the vehicle up for auction. As the “finder” of the abandoned vehicle, you are permitted to bid on the vehicle along with the general public. If you purchase the vehicle at auction, there may be specific inspection and time requirements to obtain a vehicle title.
If all else fails, you can petition your local court for ownership through a court-ordered title, also known as a magistrate title. This process is done at the county level and requires you to open a lawsuit against the vehicle. The objective is to have the judge legally declare you the owner of the vehicle. If the judge provides you with a court order, you can take that to the DMV in exchange for a vehicle title in your name. This may seem straightforward, but every county in the country has its own process to obtain a court-ordered title. This is not legal advice, before using this method, we recommend getting legal advice.
Before deciding to remove an abandoned vehicle from your property, consider one of these methods to obtain a title. If you follow the proper procedures, you may be able to get a title. Once you have the vehicle title in your name, you are free to sell or keep the vehicle. If you simply want the vehicle removed from your property and you’re not interested in obtaining a title, call a registered tow company to remove it. Once they remove it, it’s up to them to dispose of it or sell it. The abandoned vehicle process may seem tricky, but using these tips can help you obtain a title for an abandoned vehicle in Washington state.
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If you are a landlord or private property owner in Kansas and a tenant leaves a vehicle on your property, you may be eligible to use the abandoned vehicle process to sell the vehicle. In this state, if a vehicle is left abandoned after a tenant’s lease has expired, the landlord can take legal steps after 30 days to sell or dispose of the vehicle.
For this purpose, an abandoned vehicle is a motor vehicle, not a mobile or manufactured home, that is left unattended by the former legal tenant in the possession of the property owner for a period of at least 30 days. It is important to note that the abandoned vehicle process in Kansas cannot begin until the vehicle has been abandoned for at least 30 days. Attempts to begin the process before 30 days will be denied.
To begin the abandoned vehicle title process, first, download the Landlord’s Affidavit (TR-125). This document will be used throughout the process. On this document, you must provide the following:
*This date is crucial to your application and all future timelines will be based upon the date provided in this section. You cannot begin the abandoned vehicle process until the vehicle has been in your possession for at least 30 days.
At least 15 days prior to the intended sale, you must place a notice in the newspaper or another circulating publication. The sale must state the following information:
In to this, you must request the current registered owner and lienholder information from the Kansas Department of Revenue.
The owner of the vehicle is the individual or people listed on the front of the vehicle title and it may not be the same person as the former tenant. You must request registered owner and lienholder information from the Kansas Department of Revenue using the Request of Vehicle Record form (TR/DL-302).
At least 7 days after the newspaper publication, you must make a copy of the publication and send it to all current owners and lienholders as provided by the Department of Revenue. This must be made by certified mail and the receipts will be needed later in the process. If there are no claims of ownership or other discrepancies, the sale or disposal may continue as planned.
All documents, including the landlord’s affidavit, must be presented to the purchaser at the time of sale. Within 60 days of purchase, the purchaser is responsible for submitting these documents to the county treasurer’s office when making the application for title or title and registration. For this case, you must apply for registration and title at the county treasurer’s office, not the DMV.
The following documents are required to accompany the Landlord’s affidavit when applying for title and registration:
The abandoned vehicle process is a useful tool for Kansas landlords working with former tenants who leave behind a vehicle. This process removes the hassle of navigating disputes with tenants and the burden of upkeep or removal from the landlord. As long as the landlord meets certain criteria and carefully follows the timeline of events, success can be found using the abandoned vehicle process.
For more information, let us help you get started on your Abandoned Vehicle Process.
A certificate of destruction, also known as a non-repairable vehicle title, is issued by an insurance company when a vehicle is no longer legal for road use and is intended for the vehicle to be destroyed. A certificate of destruction is not a salvage title or a junk title, it means that the only use for this vehicle is to destroy it. A certificate of destruction is issued because of liability. If the vehicle is on the road, it becomes a liability for the insurance company so to avoid this, the insurance company will issue a certificate of destruction.
The types of vehicles that may receive a certificate of destruction are those that have been damaged beyond repair from an accident or from natural disasters such as fire, flood, earthquake, or hailstorm. However, a vehicle that is seemingly in perfect condition can be issued a certificate of destruction if deemed necessary by the insurance company. The insurance company deems that it would be too costly to repair the vehicle and therefore will not cover repairs on it. The insurance company then takes ownership and issues the certificate of destruction.
Vehicles with a certificate of destruction are not legally allowed to be on the road, so how do these vehicles get sold? Most vehicles with a certificate of destruction will be sold at an insurance auto auction. Since they’re not road legal, the vehicles are often sold for parts.
Many people buy cars at salvage auto auctions for the purpose of rebuilding. They can then sell rebuilt cars at a profit or use them for themselves. When buying a wrecked car to rebuild, it’s important to know what you’re getting into. The cost of rebuilding may outweigh the value of the car, and there’s no guarantee that you’ll be able to find all the parts you need.
While the vehicle may be cheap if the vehicle has a certificate of destruction, no amount of title recovery can fix it to allow the vehicle on the road. The certificate of destruction is a permanent title brand and removing this brand is considered a federal crime. Even if you are able to sell the non-major component parts, it may not cover the full purchase price of the vehicle. Additionally, without a vehicle title, you cannot take the major component parts to a junkyard. After selling the minor parts, you may still have the chassis and frame that will need to be disposed of and this removal can be expensive.
Oftentimes, a vehicle with a certificate of destruction may go through multiple owners and turn into a game of “musical chairs” where someone purchases the vehicle and realizes that it has a certificate of destruction, then sells the vehicle to someone else without disclosing that fact. Then, that person goes through the same discovery and sells it again without a title and the cycle continues.
If you’ve purchased a vehicle with a certificate of destruction, the first question to ask is if this fact was disclosed at the time of your purchase. If the vehicle was purchased from a licensed auction house or auto dealer and they did not disclose at the time of purchase that this vehicle has a certificate of destruction, you can return the vehicle. If a vehicle has a certificate of destruction, this must be disclosed prior to purchase.
Similarly, if you’ve purchased a vehicle with a certificate of destruction from a curbstoner, also known as an unlicensed dealer, there are still actions you can take. Anyone who sells vehicles, whether it’s two vehicles or two hundred, must be licensed. If they don’t have a license and are operating in the capacity of a dealer without a license, you can report them to your local department of motor vehicles and law enforcement agency.
A certificate of destruction is a permanent title brand and what you can do with it will depend on your jurisdiction. For more information on the certificate of destruction, non-repairable titles, and VIN reassignment, check out JunkTitles.com.
If you’ve come to possess an abandoned vehicle in the state of Alabama, you may be able to get the vehicle titled in your name. Unlike some states, Alabama allows for the finder to buy the vehicle at a public auction. But first, there are certain steps that need to be taken before you can register the car in your name.
Abandoned vehicles are vehicles that have been left on private property by their owner with no further intentions to collect or dispose of the vehicle. If you know who owns the car or know how it got on the property, it is not considered to be an abandoned vehicle.
An abandoned vehicle in Alabama is defined as a motor vehicle that has been:
To begin the abandoned vehicle process in Alabama, within five days of the vehicle being considered abandoned, you must first electronically notify the Alabama DMV of the abandoned vehicle through the Unclaimed/Abandoned Vehicle Portal. This electronic report must include the following information:
*The date the vehicle was deemed abandoned is the most important date to remember for this process. The time requirements for this process will be determined by the date that is provided to the DMV.
Additionally in the first five days, the entity or person in possession of the abandoned vehicle must check the VIN against the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) to obtain the last titled state.
Once the Alabama DMV receives your full report, they will place a 45-60 day hold on the title. This means that for those 45-60 days, no one can transfer or make changes to the vehicle title.
Once you have obtained the last titled state, use the process that matches the last titled state:
Within five days of receiving this information from the appropriate motor vehicle agency, you must report the owner and lienholder information into the Unclaimed/Abandoned Vehicle Portal and send a notice of possession to the current owner and secured party. The notice of possession must be sent to the parties provided by the motor vehicle agency, information from other sources is not permitted. The notice must state that you are in possession of the abandoned vehicle and intend to sell it at a public auction. During these five days, the DMV will send an official notice of termination to the current owner and lienholder. The current owner and lienholders will have 30 days from the time of notification to come forward to claim the vehicle. If the current owner or lienholder claims the vehicle, you must report it in the Unclaimed/Abandoned Vehicle Portal as redeemed and this will end the process.
After the current owners and lienholders have been notified, you place a notice of public auction in the Unclaimed/Abandoned Vehicle Portal and notify the public through a circulating publication. A circulating publication would be considered a local newspaper, meaning you can’t just post it on the bulletin board of a laundromat. You must provide these notices at least 35 days prior to the scheduled auction date.
In your notice and publication, you must include the following:
After 35 days, the vehicle may be sold at a public auction. Once it’s sold, you must update the report in the Unclaimed/Abandoned Vehicle Portal. You’ll need to provide the following information in your report:
Anyone from the public can bid on the vehicle, including you as the entity in possession. If the bid is higher than the value of the vehicle, you must remit the additional balance to the county. You cannot keep excess proceeds from the public auction of an abandoned vehicle.
Once the vehicle is sold, the new owner must get the vehicle title put into their name immediately. Additionally, if you use this process, you must maintain the electronic record for a period of three years and be subject to audit if necessary.
Failure to follow any of these requirements and to properly record all events in the portal will result in forfeiture of all claims and liens on the vehicle, you’ll lose all rights to the vehicle. The portal is only designed for abandoned vehicles. Remember, a vehicle is not abandoned if you know where it came from. If you purchase a vehicle without a title from a private seller, you can’t use the abandoned vehicle title process because, in this process, you sign an affidavit that states you did not create this abandoned vehicle circumstance in order to obtain a title for a non-abandoned vehicle. This may be considered a felony and there are legal consequences for this action.
This process isn’t designed to fix a title problem, but rather to get rid of a vehicle in your way. If you’re looking to remove or title an abandoned vehicle in Alabama, this overview will help you get started on the process.
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