Illinois junk car sales, start to finish

The Secretary of State handles every title

County clerks have no role in Illinois titles. The Secretary of State's vehicle department issues them, through the mail-in processing unit downstate or at its walk-in offices.

The seller's part happens right on the certificate, in the Assignment of Title block, as the car changes hands. Illinois has no extra transfer form for sellers. Fill in:

• each seller's signature and printed name, plus each buyer's
• the odometer statement
• the sale date

Published seller instructions from Springfield mention no notary. They also suggest writing down where the buyer lives and drawing up a short bill of sale showing price and date.

After that, it's on the buyer. Private buyers get 20 days to retitle, paying a $165 fee along with the tax form.

Your plates leave with you

In Illinois the registration plates are the seller's property. Unscrew them before handing over the keys. A buyer can't legally drive on plates issued to you anyway.

Mail the Notice of Sale

Your release form is VSD 703, the Seller's Report of Sale. Most titles also carry a tear-off Notice of Sale at the bottom; if yours lacks one, print the form from the state website.

Send it "immediately". The Springfield mailing address is printed on VSD 703 itself. This ends your responsibility for the car. It is not what moves ownership.

When the title is missing

Replacement titles cost $50. File form VSD 190, the Application for Vehicle Transaction(s), ticking Duplicate Title. The old one has to be lost, stolen or mutilated.

Timing matters. The state won't print a duplicate inside 15 days after an original, or inside 30 days after a previous duplicate. Sold your car title-less to someone out of state? Only you, the Illinois owner, may apply. See selling with no title.

Junking and salvage certificates

Illinois uses three brands: salvage, junking and rebuilt.

Junking certificate. Within 15 days of having a junk vehicle, the holder trades the title in for one of these. With no lender on record, or with a lien release that matches state records, the title need not be turned in. A junking certificate lets its holder keep, move or sell the hulk, and Illinois never titles it again. Anybody may receive one by assignment.

Salvage certificate. Narrower: these transfer only to licensed rebuilders, parts recyclers, scrap processors or salvage buyers from other states. Illinois won't register a salvage car. Selling one that has a Salvage Title? Hand the buyer the state's Disclosure of Rebuilt Vehicle form.

What tips a car into salvage. For companies that self-insure: a total loss, or repairs above 70% of what the car was worth undamaged. Flood cars cross the line above 50%, and the word "flood" follows the car onto its salvage certificate and each later title.

A total-loss payout normally hands the car to the insurer as salvage. The owner can keep it by agreement in two cases: hail damage alone, or a car at least 9 model years old.

A junking manifest is a stopgap: licensed junk vehicles may ride to a scrap yard under it while the certificate is pending. Only a licensed scrap processor may take the manifest. More in our salvage title guide.

Inoperable cars and local ordinances

Illinois hands this choice to cities and villages under 65 ILCS 5/11-40-3. A town may pass an ordinance that treats a publicly visible inoperable vehicle, on any land, as a nuisance and fines its owner. Seven days after the town gives notice, police may remove it. Not every town has adopted it.

The statute's "inoperable" test: for 7 days or more, the engine, wheels or other parts are gone, or the car is wrecked or altered so badly it can't run on its own. Routine shop work doesn't count.

Most of our town pages quote that town's own ordinance. Find yours below; the largest are Chicago and Rockford.

Abandoned and towed cars

Under 625 ILCS 5/4-201, police may remove a car left in public view on somebody else's private land once a week or more has passed.

From there, model age decides the path:

• 7 model years old or newer: if owner and lender stay silent for 30 days past the notice, a public auction follows. Licensed parts recyclers, rebuilders and scrap processors may bid, as may the towing company.
• Older than 7 years: the agency holds it 10 days minimum to find who owns it, after which disposal as junk or salvage may be approved.
• Cities above 500,000: an extra first-class letter goes out, and 18 days after notice the car may go to a licensed recycler, rebuilder or scrap processor.

See towed or impounded for what to do if yours is in a lot.

Emissions testing areas

Two regions test: greater Chicago, and the Illinois side of the St. Louis metro. The rule names Madison, Monroe and St. Clair counties downstate, and Cook, DuPage, Kane, Lake, McHenry and Will up north. It adds Oswego township (Kendall County) and the Grundy County townships of Aux Sable and Goose Lake.

Gas cars from model year 1996 onward start testing in their fourth year. Odd-year models test in odd years and even-year models in even ones, due the month the plates expire.

Since January 1, 2026, the repair waiver threshold sits at $1,176 of qualifying emissions work. Diagnostic labor is left out of that sum. For a dead car, selling may be easier than chasing that figure; see failed emissions.

The Illinois steps

1. Track down the title. Lost? File VSD 190.
2. Ask for our offer and tell us what runs and what doesn't.
3. Complete the Assignment of Title, odometer reading included.
4. Pull your plates.
5. Send VSD 703 to Springfield right away.

Biggest Illinois cities

All Illinois town pages

Listed from largest to smallest: Chicago, Aurora, Naperville, Joliet, Rockford, Elgin, Springfield, Peoria, Champaign, Waukegan, Cicero, Bloomington, Schaumburg, Evanston, Arlington Heights, Bolingbrook, Decatur, Skokie, Palatine, Des Plaines, Orland Park, Oak Lawn, Mount Prospect, Tinley Park, Berwyn, Wheaton, Normal, Oak Park, Hoffman Estates, Downers Grove, Plainfield, Glenview, Elmhurst, Lombard, Buffalo Grove, Moline, Crystal Lake, Romeoville, Bartlett, DeKalb, Belleville, Oswego, Urbana, Carol Stream, Quincy, Park Ridge, Wheeling, Carpentersville, Hanover Park, Rock Island, Addison, Calumet City, Northbrook, North Chicago, St. Charles, Mundelein, O'Fallon, Elk Grove Village, Pekin, Algonquin, Highland Park, Gurnee, Niles, McHenry, Huntley, New Lenox, Glen Ellyn, Lake in the Hills, Galesburg, Danville, Lansing, Lockport, Wilmette, Round Lake Beach, Vernon Hills, Granite City, Oak Forest, Yorkville, Batavia, Chicago Heights, Edwardsville, Woodstock, South Elgin, Belvidere, West Chicago, Alton, Homer Glen, Morton Grove, Zion, Westmont, Melrose Park, Collinsville, Loves Park, Rolling Meadows, Elmwood Park, Lisle, Kankakee, Maywood, Freeport, Roselle, Bloomingdale, East Peoria, Darien, Montgomery, Villa Park, Carbondale, Blue Island, Frankfort, Grayslake, Geneva, Park Forest, South Holland, Libertyville, Crest Hill, Dolton, East Moline.

Sell the whole car as it sits, wherever it is in Illinois. Questions? Call (877) 421-6008.

Cities and towns in Illinois

• Addison
• Algonquin
• Alton
• Arlington Heights
• Aurora
• Bartlett
• Batavia
• Belleville
• Belvidere
• Berwyn
• Bloomingdale
• Bloomington
• Blue Island
• Bolingbrook
• Buffalo Grove
• Calumet City
• Carbondale
• Carol Stream
• Carpentersville
• Champaign
• Chicago
• Chicago Heights
• Cicero
• Collinsville
• Crest Hill
• Crystal Lake
• Danville
• Darien
• DeKalb
• Decatur
• Des Plaines
• Dolton
• Downers Grove
• East Moline
• East Peoria
• Edwardsville
• Elgin
• Elk Grove Village
• Elmhurst
• Elmwood Park
• Evanston
• Frankfort
• Freeport
• Galesburg
• Geneva
• Glen Ellyn
• Glenview
• Granite City
• Grayslake
• Gurnee
• Hanover Park
• Highland Park
• Hoffman Estates
• Homer Glen
• Huntley
• Joliet
• Kankakee
• Lake in the Hills
• Lansing
• Libertyville
• Lisle
• Lockport
• Lombard
• Loves Park
• Maywood
• McHenry
• Melrose Park
• Moline
• Montgomery
• Morton Grove
• Mount Prospect
• Mundelein
• Naperville
• New Lenox
• Niles
• Normal
• North Chicago
• Northbrook
• O'Fallon
• Oak Forest
• Oak Lawn
• Oak Park
• Orland Park
• Oswego
• Palatine
• Park Forest
• Park Ridge
• Pekin
• Peoria
• Plainfield
• Quincy
• Rock Island
• Rockford
• Rolling Meadows
• Romeoville
• Roselle
• Round Lake Beach
• Schaumburg
• Skokie
• South Elgin
• South Holland
• Springfield
• St. Charles
• Tinley Park
• Urbana
• Vernon Hills
• Villa Park
• Waukegan
• West Chicago
• Westmont
• Wheaton
• Wheeling
• Wilmette
• Woodstock
• Yorkville
• Zion