Got a dead car in Annapolis?

Seven days after the city's notice

Section 12.44.040 covers private property anywhere in the city, whether you own it, rent it or just live there. Whoever controls a property, owner or tenant, cannot let "any partially dismantled, nonoperating, wrecked, junked or discarded vehicle" remain on it. A narrow allowance covers one car with lapsed registration or inspection, for a capped stretch of time.

The deadline only starts with a letter. Nobody has broken the rule unless they were notified and "directed to remove the vehicle within seven days from receipt of the notification but failed to remove the vehicle." A breach is a municipal infraction, with the fine set by City Council resolution.

Three places are exempt: inside an enclosed building, at a lawful business that needs the vehicle, and at a lawful storage business the code authorizes. Our notice to remove a car guide walks through the week.

On the street, the limit is 48 hours

• Section 12.44.030 bans leaving a wrecked or broken-down car behind on a city street or other public land. Police or an authorized agent can impound it, and the costs "may constitute a lien against the vehicle."
• Section 12.20.200 caps parking on any street or city lot at 48 consecutive hours. Cars with a current Annapolis residential permit or a state nonresidential permit sticker are exempt.
• Section 12.20.210 lets officers tow a car that is unregistered in Maryland once it has stood on a city street or city lot for more than 48 consecutive hours.
• During a declared snow emergency, cars "parked or abandoned on the snow emergency routes will be subject to towing."

Title, plates and inspections

Titles here come from the state MVA, and yours has to show your name with no open lien. Misplaced it? VR-018 gets a replacement for $40.00. When you sell, the mileage and your signature go on the back.

As for plates, they leave with you. Unscrew them first, then drop them in one of the MVA's tag drop boxes; the receipt it produces is what lets your insurance and registration duties stop. Anne Arundel sits in the VEIP emissions zone, yet any inspection after the sale falls to the buyer.

Nearby

Annapolis has 40,634 residents on about 7.2 square miles of land. Bowie is 12.6 miles away in a straight line, Greenbelt 20.5, Laurel 20.9 and Baltimore 23.3. State rules are on our Maryland page, and stuck registrations on tickets or registration hold.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or write online. Let us know the car, its odometer number and where you keep the title. Pickup is free anywhere in the US, whether the car waits in a home driveway, a side-street space or the garage that last worked on it.