Sell your dead or junk car in Columbus, Ohio

Start with an offer online, or call (877) 421-6008. Then dig out your Ohio title. Your signature on it has to be notarized.

A dead car in the driveway is a code case in Columbus

Columbus zoning code section 3312.37 bars keeping an inoperable vehicle anywhere on a lot except inside an enclosed garage. A driveway, a side yard or a carport doesn't count, and the section gives no grace period.

The city's test for "inoperable" is wide. A car qualifies if any one of these is true:

• a wheel or a tire is missing
• two or more tires are flat
• a window is missing or broken, or the windshield is shattered or gone
• parts it needs to run are missing
• it has no license plate valid for the current year

That last line catches cars that still start. Let the tags lapse on a spare car in the driveway and it meets the definition.

The city acts on it. Columbus's open code-enforcement data lists 3,902 "Inoperable Vehicle Storage" cases opened in 2025, up from 2,608 in 2020. At the first inspection, inspectors issued a notice in 1,327 of the 2025 cases. Through October 8, 2026, this year's count stood at 3,065.

Ohio law adds a second route. Under ORC 4513.65, police or the city's zoning authority can send a certified letter about a junk car left uncovered outdoors for more than 72 hours: one at least three years old, badly damaged, apparently inoperable and worth $1,500 or less. You then have 10 days to garage it or remove it. After that it's a minor misdemeanor, and each further 30 days is a new offense.

Traffic code section 2151.22 caps an inoperable car's stay on a public street at 72 consecutive hours, and section 2107.01 lets police tow a car parked in violation of the traffic code.

The title: Franklin County and a notary

In Ohio, the county clerk of courts issues titles, not the BMV. Most of Columbus sits in Franklin County. By the 2025 Census estimate, 15,455 residents live in the city's Delaware County part and 11,742 in its Fairfield County part.

Franklin County has four title offices. All keep weekday hours of 8 to 5, except that doors open at 8:15 on Wednesdays.

What the clerk tells sellers to do:

• Complete the assignment on the title: who the buyer is (full name and address), the sale date, the price and the odometer reading.
• Every seller named on the title signs it while a notary or deputy clerk watches.
• If a loan is on the title, the lender must cancel the lien before the car changes hands.

Ask for the buyer's exact name and address before you go to the notary. Even a car bound for scrap gets a notarized assignment, the clerk's FAQ says.

Lost the title? Any of the four offices can issue a duplicate if you bring valid government-issued ID. If your title is electronic, Ohio's form BMV 3770 lets you assign it to an Ohio resident without printing a paper title; the signatures still need a notary. Our guide to selling with no title in hand covers the rest.

Take the plates off

Ohio plates stay with you. Under ORC 4503.12, the registration expires when the car changes owners, and the seller must remove the plates right away. If you buy another car during the same registration period, you can move the registration and plates to it within 30 days. See after you sell for the remaining steps.

If the city already towed it

Columbus keeps towed cars at the police impound lot, 2700 Impound Lot Road, (614) 645-4620. Getting one out costs a $125 tow fee plus unpaid parking tickets, and a $30 administrative fee and $18 storage fee once the city has sent a certified notice. Bring the current registration or the title, and ID.

An unclaimed car doesn't wait forever. Ohio law (ORC 4513.62) lets police send it to a salvage dealer or scrap processor, sell it at public auction after two weeks of newspaper notice, or let the towing or storage company take title. Columbus lists six impound auctions for 2026, and the last two are October 31 and December 12; the city calls the dates tentative. Cars go as-is, most on salvage titles.

Winters on salted main roads

The city handles snow and ice on more than 4,600 lane miles. Arterial and collector roads, including the city's stretches of US 33 and State Routes 315, 104 and 161, get salt and salt brine, with beet juice and liquid calcium chloride stocked at five street-maintenance outposts. Residential streets are plowed only, with no salt.

A car that commutes on those routes rides through that brine every winter. Rust underneath, on brake lines, fuel lines or the frame, is the kind of repair that can cost more than an older car is worth.

Selling in Columbus, step by step

1. Find the title. If it's lost, get a duplicate at any Franklin County title office.
2. Clear any lien. The lender cancels it before the sale.
3. Get an offer. Say whether the car starts, where it's parked (in a garage, on the driveway, on the street), whether the wheels are on, and what's missing.
4. Sign the title the Ohio way. Write in the buyer, sale date, price and odometer reading. Every owner then signs with a notary or deputy clerk watching.
5. Pull the plates before the truck leaves.
6. Keys help but aren't required. Ownership comes from the title, not the keys.

Towns around Columbus

Pickup is free in all of them. These are the cities near Columbus with more than 20,000 people, by the 2025 Census estimate.