Town guide · California
Selling a dead or junk car in Yorba Linda
Whether a dead car can stay on a Yorba Linda lot is the city's call, not the state's. Under Vehicle Code 22660, policing dead cars on private land belongs to cities and counties: they may declare abandoned, wrecked, dismantled or inoperative cars nuisances, haul them off and bill for it. Our online research never located Yorba Linda's municipal code. So what follows is California law, and Yorba Linda could layer its own requirements over it.
Updated · 10 sources
Yorba Linda, the short version
- Population
- 65,632 (Census estimate, July 1, 2025)
- Land area
- 19.953 square miles
- County
- Orange
- Private-property rule
- Set by the city under Vehicle Code 22660
- Street limit (state)
- Can be towed at 72 hours if a local ordinance covers it
- Smog Check for a junk car
- Exempt
- Release of liability
- REG 138 within 5 days
If the car is done, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US, across all 19.953 square miles of Yorba Linda.
What state law covers here
- On the street. Under Vehicle Code 22651, a Yorba Linda car can be towed after seventy-two straight hours in one street spot against a local ordinance.
- On private land. That is the city's piece. DMV's name for a car removed under such an ordinance is an "abated vehicle."
- What counts as junk. DMV defines junk as a car dismantled after it was wrecked, abandoned or stopped running.
Thinking of pulling parts first?
Some owners start stripping a dead car before selling it. California wants the paperwork before the wrench work. Before taking the car apart, the owner must apply to DMV to list it as Junk. Reverse that order in Yorba Linda and you pay an investigative service fee. Individuals who aren't licensed dismantlers are still allowed to junk a car.
Filing that Junk application means giving DMV back the car's plates. A car with pieces missing can still be sold whole; see missing parts and part it out or sell it whole.
Smog Check
In California the seller usually supplies the Smog Check. When the car's next stop is a dismantler, that duty drops away. Orange County is absent from DMV's list of counties split by ZIP code into partial biennial-smog areas, though DMV marks that appendix as revised in November 2011.
Title, plates and the 5-day notice
California titles are handled by the state DMV through its field offices or by mail, not by the county. Your signature on the title is the seller's main step, with a lender adding theirs if a loan was recorded. From there the buyer files it. DMV's private-sale list never mentions a notary.
DMV also wants a release, form REG 138, inside 5 days of the hand-off. You can file it online or by mail. In a regular sale, standard plates stay with the car. See California for the full state rules.
Nearby cities
Anaheim is the closest neighbor with a page, 2.4 miles off in a straight line. Chino Hills is 4.6, Placentia 4.8 and Brea 5.9.
Getting an offer
Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Use our form for your Yorba Linda car. The truck can reach a garage, a long driveway, or a shop that quit on it.
Questions people ask
- Does Yorba Linda have a junk-car ordinance?
- Yorba Linda's municipal code wasn't online for us to find, so this page relies on state law. Cities can set private-lot rules under Vehicle Code 22660, so Yorba Linda may have its own. Ask the city if a car has sat for a while.
- Can I take parts off the car before I sell it?
- DMV wants the Junk application first. A Yorba Linda owner who means to dismantle applies first to record the car as Junk. Taking it apart before that adds an investigative service fee.
- What happens to the plates on a junked car?
- Yorba Linda owners who record the car as Junk return its plates to DMV. In a regular sale, standard plates stay on the car.
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from one of these. Checked October 11, 2026.
- California Vehicle Code 22660 (local abatement ordinances) california.public.law
- California Vehicle Code 22651 (removal from highways) california.public.law
- California DMV: Junking a vehicle (individual) dmv.ca.gov
- California DMV: Salvage, nonrepairable and junk vehicle definitions dmv.ca.gov
- California DMV: Partial-biennial smog counties by ZIP code dmv.ca.gov
- California DMV: Title transfers and changes dmv.ca.gov
- California DMV: License plates dmv.ca.gov
- California DMV: REG 138, Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability dmv.ca.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau: City population estimates, 2020-2025 www2.census.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau: 2025 Gazetteer, places www2.census.gov