Can You File An Abandoned Vehicle Title?

The Myth of the Abandoned Vehicle
Today we’re going to talk about one of the most common subjects that comes up in our operations department, where people call in with questions about abandoned vehicles. Many times they use the phrase “abandoned vehicle” because they want to get a title for a vehicle. They say, “I want to file for an abandoned vehicle title.” This often comes from a preconceived idea that if they say it’s abandoned, it’s “finders keepers” and they get to keep the vehicle through some process for a title just based on it being abandoned. The thinking goes: if somebody doesn’t want it and I want it, I get to own it.

Abandoned Doesn’t Always Mean Yours
What we’re going to show in this article is that if you declare something to be abandoned, many times you won’t get to keep it. Most times, the vehicle technically isn’t legally abandoned under the definition that you might think it is. For example, if you buy a vehicle from somebody and they don’t give you a title, you might say, “I’ll just file for an abandoned vehicle.”

It’s Not Abandoned if You Bought It
That vehicle is not abandoned—you bought it. Even if somebody brings a car to your business or parking lot, or if you had a vehicle that was left for storage and the person didn’t pay their bill, that’s really not an abandoned vehicle. That is a storage lien.

We’re going to talk first about what an abandoned vehicle really is and what you can and can’t do to get a title. Then at the end, we’ll discuss how you can get a title for vehicles that you might think are abandoned but really aren’t.

The Georgia Law Example
First, here’s an example from the state of Georgia. We’re picking this as a sample procedure because Georgia has an abandoned vehicle procedure that’s very similar to most states. Most states actually follow federal law for abandoned vehicles, so they’re all going to be similar.

Per Georgia law, a business or person removing an abandoned or unclaimed vehicle from public right-of-way or public property must go through a process to ensure the rights of the vehicle owners, lienholders, and security interest holders are protected. A certificate of title for an abandoned vehicle cannot be issued on a bond (or on vehicles not required to be titled, model year 1985 and older).

Rights of Owners and Lienholders
What does that mean? That means before you become the owner of that vehicle that you’re saying is abandoned (which it probably really isn’t), all of the other people with interest in that vehicle have to have the right to redeem it. If there’s a previous owner, they have to be notified and told, “Hey, your car is going to be transferred to new ownership. Do you want it?” Any lienholders must receive the same notification.

Storage Fees Aren’t That Simple
You might say, “Well, I’m going to just put a storage bill on it.” You probably won’t be able to put a storage bill on it unless you have a signed contract from the owner of the vehicle agreeing to pay you storage. You can’t just make up storage fees out of thin air. Even if you are a licensed automotive shop with legitimate repair bills, you can’t call it abandoned—you have to call it a mechanic’s lien or storage lien, which is a different process.

Lien Process vs. Abandonment
The law states that information on handling abandoned vehicles requires towing and storage firms to notify vehicle owners and lienholders by law when a motor vehicle has been towed and impounded. Authorized businesses that want to foreclose on a lien—see what that says? It’s not an abandoned vehicle; it’s a lien sale, which is different.

Notification is Required
What are the links to do this? Notice of an abandoned vehicle—those are the notices you have to send out. Disposition of derelict vehicle. Apply for a title and tag for an abandoned vehicle after a court order.

Court Order is a Must
What does that tell you? That tells you if you want to get a title for an abandoned vehicle, you can only do it after you get a court order. So why bother with all this? Why not just do a court order title (which you see us talk about quite a bit)? Because once you declare it abandoned according to the abandoned motor vehicle act described here, you have to go through a process of all these notifications and public sales, and you’re probably not going to end up keeping the vehicle.

Don’t Jump In Without Knowing the Risks
Before you jump instinctively to saying “abandoned vehicle, I’m going to file for it,” you need to be very careful. If you start using some of these forms—for example, “Notice of an Abandoned Vehicle”—what’s going to happen is you may block yourself from ever getting a title because you’re going to have to show that you used this form.

A “Notice of an Abandoned Vehicle Request for Information” requires the company removing or storing the vehicle to complete the towing and storage information, and you have to have a license for this. You can’t just make up storage in your driveway or in your business parking lot. You have to notify all the parties.

You Swear Under Penalty of Perjury
If you see the very clear instructions, it will tell you that you have to do this under penalty of perjury: “I swear and affirm that the vehicle described was unattended, removed at the request of a police officer or private property owner in compliance with the motor vehicle act.”

You Could Lose the Title
What’s going to happen is after this vehicle has been transferred (or is in the process of being transferred), the owner of the vehicle is going to get a letter from the DMV saying, “Hey, remember that car that you used to own? It’s being transferred to somebody else. Do you think that any of these facts are not true?” If they dispute or contest any of the facts, guess what’s going to happen? They’re going to revoke your title, and they might even take action against you for doing the process the wrong way.

Final Takeaway and Alternative Options
The takeaway from this is: don’t make “abandoned vehicle” your first idea for getting a title, even though you might have read about it on web forums, chat groups, or heard about it from classic car enthusiasts. Abandoned vehicle is not the process of getting a title—it’s a process of getting rid of a vehicle, which is probably not what you’re trying to do.

If you have more questions about how to work through all this, click the link below and we can tell you more about it. If you found this helpful, be sure to check out other articles on our site to see if there’s further information that could give you more insight into resolving your particular situation.

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