A dead car in Dickinson: the rules, and selling it whole

When Dickinson calls it a junk automobile

Section 30-246 sets two 60-day tests. A car is a junk automobile if it "is not licensed for use upon the highways of the State for a period in excess of 60 days," or if it "is inoperative for any reason for a period in excess of 60 days," whatever its plates say. Drivable cars without plates are carved out of that definition.

The two-car garage rule

The zoning section is stricter about where a dead car sits. Keeping a vehicle without a current registration and plate, or one not "in good operable condition," is prohibited on any lot in the city's zoning jurisdiction. The exception is narrow: "no more than two unlicensed and/or unregistered motor vehicles in a fully-enclosed garage or in a fenced or screened area hidden from view of a public street or adjacent residential property."

On residential lots, a non-operable car belongs "in a fully enclosed garage." The code makes a limited exception for a car the owner is repairing on their own lot, under conditions spelled out in the full section. Loose parts and scrap metal from cars get the same treatment: kept indoors or in a district that allows them.

Two notice clocks for private property

Besides the 72-hour zoning warning, Section 36-24 lets the General Inspector or the Police Department remove a junk automobile "from any unenclosed private property" after written notice "at least 48 hours prior to such removal." The car goes to the automobile pound. Removal does not wipe out the violation or the penalties for it.

On the street

Section 58-546 puts a 48-hour ceiling on any one curbside spot. A notice is affixed saying the vehicle "will be towed to a place of impoundment within 48 hours," and you can reclaim it by paying all towing and storage charges. Snow emergencies can be declared on falling snow, sleet or freezing rain, or on the forecast of them (58-576), and a car stopped on a snow emergency route can be impounded (58-579).

Title and plates in North Dakota

Endorse a title you hold by naming the buyer and the price, then hand it over within 30 days; no notary stamp. Lost it? A notarized SFN 2888, stating why there is none, stands in. NDDOT Motor Vehicle in Bismarck, 608 E Boulevard Ave, issues North Dakota titles. Unbolt your plates; leftover registration time transfers as credit to a single replacement vehicle, for $5.

Getting an offer

Use the site or call (877) 421-6008. Send the form for a Dickinson offer. Our truck collects from home lots, shop yards, or a curb spot before its 48-hour tag expires. Mandan and Bismarck are the nearest other towns on this site, 90.3 and 95.9 miles away as the crow flies.