Selling a junk or dead car in Williston

What counts as abandoned under state law

Chapter 23.1-15 names three situations. First, a vehicle stays past 48 hours on public ground, either unlawfully or stripped of essential parts. Second, it is on private land without the landowner's okay. Third, it is too broken to have substantial further use.

Two groups fall outside the definition. One is anything kept inside a closed garage or storage building. Antique automobiles, parts cars and special interest vehicles are the other. So a parts truck in your own shed is in a different position from a dead sedan left on a lease road shoulder.

The scrap processor route

The same chapter has a path that skips the paperwork entirely, but only in narrow cases. An abandoned vehicle worth $1,000 or less, whose owner or lienholder cannot be identified after a DOT records search, goes straight to a permitted scrap iron processor. It sits outside the notice and title provisions. And a vehicle its owner voluntarily surrenders to a permitted processor counts as abandoned under the chapter. Plates on an abandoned vehicle must be removed and destroyed before the buyer takes it. Junkyard or scrap yard explains the difference between the two.

Selling one with no title

A vehicle that has been passed around without paperwork can still be sold. The seller signs a Seller Certificate and Vehicle Bill of Sale, SFN 2888, in front of a notary. It states that the seller owns it free of liens and why a title cannot be provided. To title an untitled vehicle, NDDOT also wants an NMVTIS history, a photo of the VIN plate, and a notarized Vehicle Statement of Ownership, SFN 2903. For a vehicle 40 years or older, SFN 2888 plus a Certificate of Vehicle Inspection, SFN 2486, may stand in as proof of ownership.

With a title in hand it is simpler. Fill in the buyer's name and price on the assignment and deliver it within 30 days. No notary is needed. Bismarck's NDDOT Motor Vehicle office, 608 E Boulevard Ave, is where titles are issued.

The plates

Remove them at the sale. Unused registration months can be credited to one replacement vehicle, with a $5 credit transfer fee and no refunds.

Getting an offer

Through the form or at (877) 421-6008, list the vehicle's year and model, its odometer reading, running or not, and any title you have. The truck can meet the vehicle in town, at a shop, or out on a rural lot. See Minot and Dickinson for those towns' codes, or North Dakota for state rules.