The Real Story On Abandoned Vehicle Titles

Inquiry about Titles for Abandoned Vehicles
One of the most common questions that our sales staff gets on phone calls has to do with people inquiring about how to get a title for an abandoned vehicle. I have an abandoned vehicle I need to get a title for. Now many of these calls the vehicle is really not abandoned. It’s something that they bought on Craigslist or Facebook and they’re just thinking that if they call it abandoned they can get a title for it.

Definition of Abandoned Vehicles
It’s very important to understand what the word abandoned means. An abandoned vehicle is a vehicle that literally has been abandoned and has been not claimed and discarded by the owner. The problem with that is in most states that does not allow the person who finds it to keep it. It’s not like Finders Keepers.

Oregon State Law on Abandoned Vehicles
We’re going to take a look at a particular set of laws. This happens to be from the state of Oregon, but most states have exactly the same law, so it’s very important to look at the wording of how abandon works. Be aware that even though an abandoned vehicle is not a way to get a title, there are many other great ways to get a title. But first, we’re going to look at abandon to see what it means for your scenario. So let’s dive in deep and look in detail at how this works.

Packet Information on Abandoned Vehicles
So this is the packet. It says right here the packet contains information about some situations where ownership of a vehicle may be transferable through a possessory lien. Separate from that, a separate bullet point says information on abandoned vehicles. So let’s jump down to the abandoned vehicle part first and then we’ll look at the other parts second.

Legal Interest in Abandoned Vehicles
Here is very specific language: titling a previously abandoned vehicle. To obtain a title, a person must have acquired a legal interest in the vehicle. In most cases, people do this through some sort of purchase or financial agreement like you bought it from a dealership and they gave you a contract, or you need to go through some form of legal process. It says right here legal process, and you see on our website, court order title is a legal process that you can use to get a title for an abandoned vehicle.

Process for Abandoned Vehicles on Private Property
Key sentence right here: if you don’t see anything else, one cannot simply attain title because the vehicle was left on one’s property. That right there tells you all you need to know. You can’t simply just magically say I want a title because it was left on my property. You have to go through some form of legal process that’s outside the scope of the DMV and has to go through some other legal authority. We’ll talk about that, but that’s a good starting point to know what you can and can’t do.

Disposal of Abandoned Vehicles by Authorities
So here are the provisions for disposal of abandoned vehicles. For vehicles abandoned on highway public or private property, the law allows for an appropriate authority to remove the vehicle. Authority meaning state, county, or city, so the government removes the vehicle. So that means if you call it abandoned, you have to call the government and tell them to come get it, and they auction it off.

Towing Abandoned Vehicles from Private Property
You can also, if a person is the owner of a private property on which a vehicle has been abandoned, you may have a tower tow the vehicle. First, you have to put a note on the vehicle saying if it’s not removed within 72 hours, the vehicle may be removed. Then you have to fill out a form that has the description of the vehicle, location of the property, and you have to submit that to the DMV. Also, the DMV does not provide you with a form. The information needed can be written on a piece of paper. Right, so they don’t give you any blank forms for this.

After the Vehicle is Towed
So what happens after it’s towed away? Well, after it’s towed away, in cases of abandoned vehicles, the DMV must receive satisfactory evidence of the facts applying for the title for an abandoned vehicle sold by an authority. Remember where we talked about the authority will come get the vehicle: state, county, or city.

Applying for a Title
The purchaser of that from the auction may apply for a title, and the bill of sale must describe the vehicle, identify the statutes under which the sale was held. So you can’t just get a bill of sale from the police and say, “Hey, I bought it, I want a title.” They have to describe under what legal authority that was done. Then to apply for a title, the purchaser must submit an application for title and a certificate of possessory lien forms, the one that covers your situation. Sounds kind of complicated, fully completed, signed by the authorized representative of the business claiming the lien.

Importance of Proper Documentation
Application will be rejected if you submit one more than one form certifying foreclosure. So this is not a simple matter. You also need to keep records: signed copy of the original tow notification, repair order signed and dated copy of the claim of lien signed, and copy of the DMV certificate of possessory lien.

Misconceptions and Legal Requirements
Remember this doesn’t apply just for any old abandoned vehicle. You have to jump through a bunch of hoops. Here’s some questions that a lot of people ask that the DMV has taken upon themselves to put on this form. Am I required to contact the vehicle owner of the vehicle I’m getting a title for? Depends on the type of lien that’s being foreclosed. If you’re not sure, you may want to get legal advice from an attorney. That’s how complicated it is.

Legal Obligations and Penalties
You have to follow all the rules. You have to state under penalty of perjury, “I foreclose the lien in accordance with provisions of ORS 8712 and ORS 176, etc.” If you notice, it says buyer’s name and date of auction required. You can’t just assign it to anybody you want. You have to hold it out for people to bid on it so that the proper amount of money is obtained for the vehicle.

Possessory Lien Process
Remember this possessory lien is the result of an abandoned vehicle being removed from private property at the request of the owner. It’s not just the owner does this, it’s the towing company or the state does this. In addition, the seller, if you’re not a manufacturer, licensed dealer, or registered tower, you have to get a surety bond of $220,000 in order to file with the DMV for this auction. So it’s not just an automatic thing.

Compliance and Penalties
You also have to abide by all the rules. It’s a Class A misdemeanor to misrepresent anything, punishable by jail up to a year or a $6,000 fine. On the last page, it reminds you that foreclosure of a lien is a result of a vehicle being towed at the request of an authority: state police, sheriff, department of transportation. It talks about that it has to be done under a regulatory authority.

Alternative Processes for Obtaining Titles
So the short answer is, if you call something abandoned, it triggers a whole set of requirements. If you go through another process like a court order title or a bonded title, it’s much simpler. You don’t want to automatically claim abandoned unless literally the car dropped out of nowhere and you don’t know where it came from. Then maybe it might be abandoned, but it also limits your chances of becoming the owner of the vehicle.

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