How long before Caldwell police can tow a junk car after the warning notice?

Section 09-01-11 allows removal after five days if the car is on private property or business property open to the public, or after 48 hours if it is on a street or other public property.

What happens to a junk car nobody claims in Caldwell?

If the lawful owner does not claim it within ten days of the date of notice, the code says it shall be sold according to law. Removal, towing and storage fees are charged to the owner.

Where may a junk car be kept in Caldwell?

Only in a building or behind a solid sight-obscuring fence, out of public view, under section 09-07-02. That section defines junk vehicles as unregistered, failing equipment standards and not in the process of repair and restoration.

Town guide · Idaho

Selling a dead or junk car in Caldwell

In Caldwell an unclaimed junk car can be sold off ten days after the notice. Under Section 09-01-11, a car "not claimed by the lawful owner within ten days of the date of notice" "shall be sold according to law." If you sell it before then, you make the call. 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 October 11, 2026 · 10 sources

Photo: Tamanoeconomico · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Caldwell, the short version

Population: 76,629 (Census estimate, July 2025)
County: Canyon
Junk-car rule: City Code 09-01-11
Removal after notice: 5 days on private property, 48 hours on streets
Unclaimed after notice: Sold after 10 days
Downtown street parking: None 3 a.m. to 5 a.m. without a permit
Title paperwork: Canyon County assessor's motor vehicle office
Plates: Seller keeps them

The warning notice and its two clocks

It starts with a sticker. Section 09-01-11 says "a warning notice to remove shall be placed upon" the junk or abandoned vehicle. What comes next depends on where the car is parked:

Private property, or business property open to the public: police may remove it after five days.
Streets or other public property: after 48 hours.

Removal, towing and storage are charged to the owner, and the ten-day sale clock runs from the notice date. The code's stated reasons include blight, fire hazards and inviting "plundering." Licensed dismantlers, dealers and junk dealers are exempt. If a notice is already on your windshield, notice to remove a car walks through your options.

What counts as a junk vehicle

In Caldwell's parking chapter (09-07-02), "JUNK VEHICLES are unregistered, fail to conform to vehicle equipment standards and are not in the process of repair and restoration." Storing one comes down to a single line: "JUNK VEHICLES shall be kept in a building or behind a solid sight-obscuring fence, out of public view." Abandonment is a separate rule in the code, covering a car left on a highway or someone else's property for 24 hours or longer.

Repair shops have a limit too. Under 10-12-03-9, "no vehicle shall be stored outside of an enclosed building for more than thirty (30) consecutive days." If yours is the car waiting on a repair it may never get, see stuck at a repair shop.

Downtown

Inside the Downtown Parking District, no one without a permit may leave a car or trailer on the streets between three and five in the morning, apart from 30 minutes of active loading. The public lots there have no time limit, except for a car left without the city's consent for 24 hours or longer.

Title work and the release

Title filings go through the Canyon County assessor's motor vehicle office. Idaho charges $14 for the title, and the county adds an admin fee. When a Caldwell car is going to scrap, the title's front is marked "for junk only". Nobody may drive it on a highway after that.

Do not leave the plates on. Idaho keeps them, and the registration card, with the seller. Then, within 5 days of delivery, a Caldwell seller sends ITD the $3.50 release of liability. Filing it frees the seller from later tickets, towing and storage on that car. A lost title needs the notarized duplicate form ITD 3367 first; see selling with no title.

Nearby

Measured point to point, Nampa lies 6.3 miles off, Star 9.2, Eagle 13.1 and Meridian 13.2. For the whole state, see Idaho.

Getting an offer

Selling a junk car in Caldwell? Call (877) 421-6008 or send the form. We can collect from a driveway, fenced side yard or shop lot.

Questions people ask

How long before Caldwell police can tow a junk car after the warning notice?: Section 09-01-11 allows removal after five days if the car is on private property or business property open to the public, or after 48 hours if it is on a street or other public property.
What happens to a junk car nobody claims in Caldwell?: If the lawful owner does not claim it within ten days of the date of notice, the code says it shall be sold according to law. Removal, towing and storage fees are charged to the owner.
Where may a junk car be kept in Caldwell?: Only in a building or behind a solid sight-obscuring fence, out of public view, under section 09-07-02. That section defines junk vehicles as unregistered, failing equipment standards and not in the process of repair and restoration.

Sources

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

Census Bureau city population estimates, July 1, 2025 www2.census.gov
Caldwell City Code 09-01-11, Unidentified, stolen, wrecked or abandoned motor vehicles codelibrary.amlegal.com
Caldwell City Code 09-07-02, Definitions (parking) codelibrary.amlegal.com
Caldwell City Code 10-12-03-9, Automotive repair services codelibrary.amlegal.com
Caldwell City Code 09-07-12, Downtown parking restrictions codelibrary.amlegal.com
Idaho Transportation Department: Vehicle titles itd.idaho.gov
ITD 3367, Duplicate Idaho Title Application itd.idaho.gov
Idaho Code 49-522 (for junk only endorsement) legislature.idaho.gov
Idaho Code 49-431 (plates stay with the seller) legislature.idaho.gov
Idaho Code 49-526 (release of liability) legislature.idaho.gov