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State guide

California junk car sales: what the seller does

In California, the seller signs the title, files a release of liability on form REG 138 within 5 days, and normally leaves standard plates with the car. Sold to be junked, a car needs no smog check. We buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US.

Updated · 20 sources

Los Angeles with Mount Baldy
Photo: Alek Leckszas · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

California rules at a glance

Titles
State DMV field offices, or by mail
Release of liability
REG 138 within 5 days
Plates
Standard plates generally stay with the car
Smog at sale
Seller's job, but junked cars are exempt
Lost title
REG 227; $28 replacement fee
Transfer fee
$15, paid by the buyer
Brands
Salvaged covers flood; nonrepairable is separate
Junk-car rules
Set locally under Vehicle Code 22660

How California titles change hands

Titles are a state job here. The California DMV runs them through its own field offices, with no county role. Paper title work can be mailed instead; the address is PO Box 942869, Sacramento, CA 94269.

For a private sale, the DMV lists two moves. Every California sale needs the seller to sign the California Certificate of Title, and any lienholder signs it too. The buyer takes it to California DMV and pays the $15 transfer fee. None of those DMV steps call for a notary.

DMV wants every ownership change reported within 10 days, and that is the buyer's transfer. The seller's own filing is covered below.

What happens to California plates

Ordinary plates usually remain on the car after a sale. Owners may move special interest, special recognition, environmental and personalized plates to another car, for a fee.

A junked car is the exception. Once you report a California car as Junk, you return its plates to DMV.

REG 138: the seller's 5-day filing

State law gives you five days after a sale or disposal to tell DMV. In California you do this with REG 138, the "Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability." File online at dmv.ca.gov/nrl. By mail, the address is P.O. Box 942859, Sacramento, CA 94259-0001.

Once DMV records it, tickets and civil lawsuits dated after the sale move to the new owner (Vehicle Code 5602). Filing it in California also covers you if the buyer abandons the car down the road. Without it, a California car that is dumped, towed and left unclaimed comes back on its last listed owner, who gets an infraction and owes any shortfall from the lien sale.

No title? Start with REG 227

If the California title is lost, REG 227 is your first step. That single form handles a replacement and a transfer. You can mail it to California DMV or drop it at a field office. California charges $28 (VC 9265), and DMV says the replacement title normally shows up by mail in 15-30 days.

On REG 227, only section 5 needs a California notary, and only if DMV shows a legal owner or lienholder.

If you can't produce the usual proof of ownership, the car's value sets the path. If the car's value is $5,000 or more, the California DMV wants a motor vehicle bond. Below $5,000 there's no bond. Send in a Statement of Facts (REG 256) with whatever ownership papers you have. It explains how the car became yours, its value, and that no lien exists. See selling with no title.

California's title brands

California uses seven title brands. The title brands California puts on cars are "Salvaged," "Warranty Return (Lemon Law Buyback)," "Remanufactured," "Park Trailer," "Non-USA (Grey Market)," "Original/Prior Taxi" plus "Original/Prior Police." A Salvaged brand here means flood, accident or vandalism damage, or a car that was once dismantled as junk. There is no flood brand of its own.

No percentage rule applies. When the owner or insurer finds a car "uneconomical to repair" (VC 544), California calls it a total loss salvage vehicle and issues a salvage certificate instead of a title.

Nonrepairable is a harder line (VC 431). That means a car stripped for parts, burned out completely, or declared by its owner good only for parts or scrap. California will never title or register it again. California defines a junk vehicle as one dismantled after being wrecked, abandoned or inoperable. More in the salvage title guide and on nonrepairable titles.

Recording a car as Junk, and local rules

A car must be recorded as Junk with DMV before anyone takes it apart. Dismantle first and DMV adds an investigative service fee. An individual junking a car doesn't need a dismantler's license.

What may sit on private land is a local matter. Vehicle Code 22660 lets each city or county pass an ordinance that treats wrecked, dismantled, inoperative or abandoned vehicles as nuisances, removes them and recovers the cost. DMV's term for a car taken that way is an "Abated Vehicle."

Abandonment, towing and lien sales

Under VC 22523, abandoning a car on a California highway, or on public or private property without the right to, breaks the law. A California fine begins at $100. You must also show proof you paid to have the car removed.

  • Under VC 22651, a California car can be towed after 72 hours or longer on a street when that breaks a local rule.
  • Under VC 22669, a car on California public land may be removed at once if it is missing needed parts like its wheels, tires, doors, windshield, engine or transmission.
  • Valued at $500 or less, an abandoned car gets 72 hours' notice on it before removal. In California, no such notice goes out when a car worth $300 or less is removed under 22669(d). After a tow, California sends the owner word within 48 hours. Within 10 days, a hearing can be asked for. VC 22851.3 allows the car to be disposed of once 15 days pass after the notice.

Civil Code 3068.1 gives a California tow yard or storage company a lien on the car it holds. In California, CC 3072 covers cars valued at $4,000 or under. A California owner gets a "Notice of Pending Lien Sale" in the post, and the car is sold 31 to 41 days after. To get a court hearing in California, the owner has 10 days to mail in a "Declaration of Opposition." See towed or impounded cars.

Smog Check, and why junk cars skip it

Smog Check belongs to the Bureau of Automotive Repair. Statewide, a change of ownership needs a smog certificate, and supplying it is the seller's job. For the buyer, the California smog pass has to be no older than 90 days.

These are exempt at sale:

  • gas, hybrid and alternative-fuel vehicles 4 model years old or newer; an $8 smog transfer fee applies instead
  • gas cars from 1975 or earlier
  • diesels from 1997 or earlier, and diesels above 14,000 lb GVWR
  • electric cars and motorcycles

For a junk car the key exemption is this one: a transfer for wrecking or dismantling needs no smog inspection. California Vehicle Code 24007 bars selling a car that fails Air Resources Board rules, except to a dealer or when it goes to lawful wrecking or dismantling.

The state has three program areas. Enhanced and Basic areas test every other year. Change of Ownership areas, which are more rural, test only at a sale or a first California registration. DMV's ZIP list for split counties (El Dorado, Placer, Riverside, San Bernardino, San Diego, Sonoma) was last revised in 2011.

A lapsed registration still costs you. When no Planned Non-Operation (PNO, REG 102) is filed, fees and penalties grow for each year a California car sits unregistered.

Four steps for a California sale

  1. Locate the title; if it's gone, start REG 227.
  2. Request our offer. Mention whether it runs and what parts are missing.
  3. Sign the title over.
  4. Send REG 138 inside 5 days.

Largest California cities

Each gets free pickup. Figures are Census population estimates.

CityPeople
Los Angeles3,869,089
San Diego1,406,106
San Jose989,814
San Francisco826,079
Fresno555,549
Sacramento536,449
Long Beach450,469
Oakland440,838
Bakersfield422,165
Anaheim341,008

Every California town page

Many of these town pages cite local junk-car ordinances.

Los Angeles, San Diego, San Jose, San Francisco, Fresno, Sacramento, Long Beach, Oakland, Bakersfield, Anaheim, Stockton, Riverside, Irvine, Santa Ana, Chula Vista, Santa Clarita, Fremont, San Bernardino, Fontana, Modesto, Moreno Valley, Oxnard, Huntington Beach, Glendale, Ontario, Elk Grove, Santa Rosa, Rancho Cucamonga, Oceanside, Garden Grove, Lancaster, Roseville, Palmdale, Corona, Salinas, Hayward, Sunnyvale, Pomona, Visalia, Escondido, Victorville, Fullerton, Torrance, Orange, Pasadena, Santa Clara, Clovis, Simi Valley, Vallejo, Concord, Fairfield, Thousand Oaks, Berkeley, Antioch, Menifee, Temecula, Richmond, Murrieta, Carlsbad, Santa Maria, Ventura, Costa Mesa, Downey, Jurupa Valley, Rialto, West Covina, Chico, El Monte, Vacaville, San Mateo, Burbank, Hesperia, Tracy, El Cajon, Inglewood, Daly City, Merced, Vista, Norwalk, Chino, Manteca, San Marcos, Indio, Redding, Hemet, Folsom, Carson, Compton, Mission Viejo, Santa Monica, South Gate, Westminster, Rancho Cordova, Santa Barbara, Citrus Heights, Lake Forest, San Ramon, Whittier, Mountain View, San Leandro, Livermore, Perris, Hawthorne, Redwood City, Newport Beach, Buena Park, Alhambra, Upland, Milpitas, Lakewood, Tustin, Pittsburg, Chino Hills, Alameda, Rocklin, Napa, Apple Valley, Lake Elsinore, Bellflower, Pleasanton, Redlands, Tulare, Turlock, Dublin, Eastvale, Walnut Creek, Yuba City, Lodi, Madera, Baldwin Park, Camarillo, Palo Alto, Redondo Beach, Brentwood, Davis, Yorba Linda, Union City, South San Francisco, Laguna Niguel, Lynwood, Porterville, Woodland, Hanford, San Clemente, Santa Cruz, La Habra, Beaumont, Gilroy, Encinitas, Montebello, La Mesa, Petaluma, San Rafael, Pico Rivera, Gardena, Cupertino, Santee, National City, Highland, Monterey Park, Lincoln, West Sacramento, San Jacinto, Fountain Valley, Yucaipa, Placentia, Arcadia, Colton, Palm Desert, Cathedral City, Delano, Novato, Diamond Bar, Huntington Park, Paramount, Watsonville, San Luis Obispo, Aliso Viejo, Glendora, Los Banos, Rosemead, Covina, Poway, Ceres, Cypress, Newark, Oakley, Azusa, Brea, Cerritos, La Mirada, Rancho Santa Margarita, Hollister, Morgan Hill, Coachella, Palm Springs, Rohnert Park, El Centro, Lompoc, Danville, Lathrop, Campbell, San Bruno, Stanton, Rancho Palos Verdes, Culver City, La Quinta, Adelanto, Calexico, Monrovia, San Gabriel, Wildomar, Montclair, Bell Gardens, Pacifica, Martinez, La Puente, Claremont, Temple City, San Juan Capistrano, Moorpark, West Hollywood, Pleasant Hill, Desert Hot Springs, Manhattan Beach, San Dimas, Menlo Park, Los Gatos, Foster City, Goleta, Dana Point, Atwater, Burlingame, Banning, Santa Paula, San Pablo, Seaside, Paso Robles, Bell, Los Altos, Beverly Hills, Saratoga, La Verne, Laguna Hills, Lawndale, Atascadero, Suisun City, San Carlos, Monterey, East Palo Alto, Belmont, Ridgecrest, Brawley, Lemon Grove, Walnut, Lemoore, Sanger, Reedley, Galt, Patterson, Riverbank, Wasco, Benicia, Soledad, Hercules, El Cerrito, Dinuba, Twentynine Palms, Windsor, South Pasadena, Lafayette, Eureka, Loma Linda, Imperial Beach, Norco, Barstow, Selma, Seal Beach, Shafter, Maywood, San Fernando, Marina, Oakdale, Millbrae, Duarte, American Canyon, Laguna Beach, Corcoran, Imperial, Calabasas, Yucca Valley, Cudahy, Greenfield, Dixon, South Lake Tahoe, Coronado, Port Hueneme, Oroville

Selling a car somewhere else in California? Call (877) 421-6008.

Cities and towns in California

Questions people ask

Is a smog check needed when a California car goes to the junkyard?
No. A transfer for wrecking or dismantling is exempt from the smog requirement. An ordinary private sale usually needs one, and the seller gets it.
What happens to my California plates if I junk the car?
No. When a car is recorded as Junk, DMV takes back its plates. In a normal sale, standard plates usually stay on the car.
Why does the REG 138 matter so much?
Once recorded, tickets and lawsuits after the sale date fall on the new owner. And if the buyer dumps the car somewhere in California later, it keeps you off the hook.

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from one of these. Checked October 11, 2026.

  1. California DMV: Title transfers and changes (seller steps, REG 227, 5- and 10-day rules) dmv.ca.gov
  2. California DMV: Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability (REG 138) dmv.ca.gov
  3. California DMV: Registration fees (transfer, smog transfer, replacement title) dmv.ca.gov
  4. California DMV: License plates dmv.ca.gov
  5. California DMV handbook: Junking a vehicle (individual) dmv.ca.gov
  6. California DMV handbook: Salvage, nonrepairable and junk definitions dmv.ca.gov
  7. California DMV handbook: Branded titles dmv.ca.gov
  8. California DMV handbook: Partial biennial smog counties by ZIP dmv.ca.gov
  9. California DMV handbook: Late renewals dmv.ca.gov
  10. Bureau of Automotive Repair: Smog Check bar.ca.gov
  11. Bureau of Automotive Repair: Smog Check reference guide bar.ca.gov
  12. Vehicle Code 24007, Sales of noncompliant vehicles california.public.law
  13. Vehicle Code 22523, Abandonment prohibited california.public.law
  14. Vehicle Code 22651, Removal from highways california.public.law
  15. Vehicle Code 22660, Local abatement ordinances california.public.law
  16. Vehicle Code 22669, Removal of abandoned vehicles california.public.law
  17. Vehicle Code 22851.3, Disposal of low-value vehicles california.public.law
  18. Civil Code 3068.1, Towing and storage lien california.public.law
  19. Civil Code 3072, Lien sale of vehicles worth $4,000 or less california.public.law
  20. U.S. Census Bureau: city and town population estimates, Vintage 2025 census.gov