Selling a dead or junk car in Tulsa

Three titles of the code, one dead car

Tulsa reaches a junk car through three parts of its ordinances, and they overlap.

• Title 24, Section 301 (nuisances). No one may keep "a dismantled, unserviceable, inoperable, junked or abandoned vehicle or any vehicle legally or physically incapable of being operated" outside, on any lot whether public or private, "for a period exceeding forty-eight (48) hours." The way out is to enclose it completely in a building or store it in connection with a business.
• Title 55, Section 302 (property maintenance). The any-premises ban quoted above, which names unlicensed cars outright. Big repair jobs, body work too, have to happen "inside a structure or similarly enclosed area designed and approved for such purposes."
• Title 42, Section 45.140 (zoning). "In R or AG-R districts, parking or storage of inoperable or unlicensed motor vehicles is prohibited within street yards."

Note the phrase "legally or physically incapable" in Section 301. A car that cannot legally be driven is covered along with one that will not start.

Four counties, three offices we checked

Tulsa spreads into Tulsa, Osage, Rogers and Wagoner counties, and the city ordinances apply across all of it. We checked three county offices. Distances below are straight lines from central Tulsa, as the crow flies:

• Tulsa County: 8th Floor, 218 W. 6th St., 918-596-5071, about 5 miles west.
• Rogers County: 200 S. Lynn Riggs Blvd., Claremore, phone 918-923-4797, about 20 miles northeast.
• Wagoner County: 307 E Cherokee Street, Wagoner, phone 918-485-2149, about 32 miles east.

Titles and tags can also go through Service Oklahoma or one of its licensed tag agencies.

When Tulsa police tow it

Title 37, Section 305 lets police move a vehicle that is disabled and blocking traffic, abandoned, left behind after the driver's arrest, or parked so it is "a definite hazard or obstruction." If it is not reclaimed "within twenty-four (24) hours," the department notifies the registered owner at the address the State of Oklahoma has on file.

The same section sets "a mandatory holding period of ten (10) days" when the driver is cited or arrested for a violation the traffic code declares a public nuisance. And if an administrative hearing officer finds an impound was not backed by probable cause or was unlawful, the car is released with no towing or storage charge, or those charges are refunded. Towed or impounded covers what comes next.

Oklahoma's rules for the sale

The plate. Under 47 O.S. 1112.2 the plate stays in the name of the registered owner and is removed and kept by the original owner when the car is sold. Service Oklahoma can shift it onto your next car of the same registration class until that registration runs out. A buyer who finds a seller's unexpired plate left on a car must remove and destroy it.

The title. Endorse the back, with the assignment, warranty of title and any liens, and swear it before a notary. A 2011 or newer model year car needs an odometer disclosure. It normally goes on the title, and if not, on Form 729. An electronic title is handled on Form 718 (Service Oklahoma's Electronic Title Bill of Sale), which needs a notary as well.

Telling the state. No later than 2 business days after the sale, someone, either you or the buyer, has to pre-register the transfer with Service Oklahoma or a licensed operator, in person or online. You don't have to file Form 773, the Notice of Transfer of Ownership, and it costs $10.00 if you do. A title issued in January 2006 or later has a tear-off Notice of Transfer tab, and it gets handled the same way. Filing either one does not transfer ownership.

A lost title. Tulsa owners replace it on Form 701-7 with the record owner's notarized signature, for $11 and maybe $1.66 more for mailing, and the new title only arrives by mail. See selling with no title and after you sell.

How to get an offer

Tulsa sellers can reach us at (877) 421-6008 or through the online form. We can collect it from a back yard, an apartment lot, a downtown garage or the street out front. Broken Arrow is 9.3 miles from Tulsa and Jenks 9.8; see Oklahoma for statewide rules.