Town guide · Massachusetts
Selling a junk car in Brockton
Brockton allows a dead car on private property for 72 hours. Section 14-17 puts the duty on whoever controls the property, "whether as owner, tenant, occupant, lessee, registered owner or titled bill of sale owner," and bars letting "any partially dismantled, nonoperating, wrecked, junked or discarded vehicle" stay there "longer than seventy-two (72) hours." Only a car inside an enclosed building escapes it, along with a few other exceptions the section lists.
Updated · 12 sources
Brockton, the short version
- Population
- 106,134 (Census estimate, July 1, 2025)
- County
- Plymouth
- Junk-car rule
- City Code 14-17
- Time on private property
- 72 hours
- After notification
- 72 hours to remove, or impound
- Street tag
- Parking violation notice and a fifty-dollar fine
- Plates
- Seller cancels, then cuts or recycles
- Seller's signature
- RMV seller steps list no notary
That is a short window. If repairs are not in the cards, we buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US, Brockton included.
After a notice arrives
Section 14-17 sets a second clock once the city acts: "The vehicle must be removed within seventy-two (72) hours after notification or it will be impounded with any and all charges incurred to be borne entirely by the lawful owner of such vehicle or property." Because the rule names tenants and occupants as well as owners, a tenant is on the hook as much as a landlord.
Massachusetts caps passenger car storage after a Brockton police tow at $35 a day for a secure, fenced, lit lot. Other lots get half that. Our notice to remove a car guide walks through the choices.
On the street
The same section covers unregistered and uninsured cars. Violators "shall have their vehicle tagged with a parking violation notice," and the fine is fifty dollars. Pulling the plates does not hide the car: "In the event that there is no license plate on the vehicle, the vehicle identification number shall be placed on the violation notice."
Section 12-72 adds a separate risk. The police chief may suspend parking on a street temporarily, during an emergency or for a procession, demonstration or lawful assemblage, and cars left there "may be moved by or under the direction of any officer."
Title and plates
Massachusetts titles come from the RMV. On the transfer section, write the mileage; then the buyer and you sign, print your names by hand and date it. If the Brockton title has a price line, the seller fills it in. If not, the buyer gets a bill of sale showing the price. Your assignment also lists the mileage and a warranty of title. The RMV's seller steps never call for a notary. Replacing a lost title costs $25. In Brockton, order one online or by mail. Brockton owners may wait up to 10 business days before it arrives.
Pull the plates; they are yours. Brockton sellers cancel the registration online, save the receipt, and give a copy to their insurer. The plates then get recycled, cut through, or moved to a replacement car inside the 7-day calendar grace period. Until you cancel the registration, Brockton's assessors go on sending excise bills at $25 for every $1,000 of value. With the title signed over and the car handed off, Massachusetts law ends your liability for how it is used next; no release form is needed. For a car hurt in a crash, see wrecked or totaled.
Nearby
Measured in a straight line from Brockton, Stoughton is 4.8 miles away, Easton 5.3, Randolph 6.8 and Bridgewater 8.0. See Massachusetts for statewide rules.
Getting an offer
Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. Brockton sellers can call or use the form. We collect the car right where it is: a side street driveway, a shared lot, or wherever it broke down.
Questions people ask
- How long may a Brockton household keep a car that won't run parked in the driveway?
- Yes. Section 14-17 allows 72 hours for a car that is wrecked, junked, partly taken apart, not running or discarded. Keeping it inside an enclosed building takes it outside the rule, and the section lists a few other exceptions.
- I got a notice. What happens if I miss the deadline?
- The code says the car must be removed within 72 hours after notification or it will be impounded, with all charges falling on whoever lawfully owns the car or the land.
- The plates are off my car. Can Brockton still ticket it?
- Yes. If a car has no plate, the code has the vehicle identification number written on the violation notice instead.
Sources
Every fact on this page comes from one of these. Checked October 11, 2026.
- U.S. Census Bureau, city and town population estimates 2020-2025 www2.census.gov
- U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer place file (land area) www2.census.gov
- Brockton Code 14-17, Abandoned vehicles, junked cars, parking of certain trucks on streets library.municode.com
- Brockton Code 12-72, Temporary parking prohibitions library.municode.com
- M.G.L. c. 159B s. 6B, towing and storage charges malegislature.gov
- Mass.gov: Registration and title for a car bought from an individual mass.gov
- M.G.L. c. 90D s. 15, assignment of title malegislature.gov
- Mass.gov: Replace your vehicle's certificate of title mass.gov
- Mass.gov: Cancel your vehicle registration and plates mass.gov
- Mass.gov: Transfer your registration to a car bought from an individual mass.gov
- Mass.gov: Motor vehicle excise mass.gov
- Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles mass.gov