Selling a junk or dead car in Providence

The three-ticket rule

Section 15-26 lets any police officer, agent or parking enforcement officer tow or boot a vehicle once "three (3) or more parking tickets or citations" against it are outstanding and delinquent. The steps run on a fixed clock:

1. After ticket number three, a warning and an order to answer in municipal court go to the owner of record, mailed or tacked to the windshield.
2. The registrant "may appear before the municipal court at any session during the following fourteen (14) days" to ask for a hearing.
3. If at least three tickets are still open 21 days after the mailing, the court lists the car as eligible to be towed or booted and impounded.

Release comes only after the charge in Section 15-18 is paid. The code also deals with vehicles still unclaimed with police or a towing garage after one month.

When Providence calls a car junked

Section 15-36 casts a wide net. It covers vehicles "legally or physically incapable of being operated or which have not been duly registered according to law", plus cars showing no "legal evidence of said lawful registration" and cars that "lack to a substantial degree the equipment" registration requires. That means a sedan that runs but has an expired registration can be covered.

The same chapter splits yards by time. An auto processing business holds dismantled cars "fewer than fourteen (14) days"; an auto salvage business keeps them 14 days or more. And under Section 15-43, "In no circumstances shall two (2) or more junked or salvaged vehicles be stacked one (1) upon the other."

Towed for blocking a street

Section 15-18 lets police remove a car that obstructs traffic or creates an unsafe condition. Notice of the stored vehicle goes out "within forty-eight (48) hours, excluding weekends and holidays". Once that certificate is in hand, the possessor who waits more than "twenty-four (24) hours of its receipt" picks up the later storage bill, except for days the garage is closed. Rates come from each carrier's tariff filed with the state department of public utilities, and paying them leaves any parking penalty standing. To contest the tow, file the written demand for a post-seizure hearing. Our towed or impounded page lists what to bring.

Rhode Island's own abandoned-car clock

State law runs beside the city code. An inoperable car older than eight years that sits on public land beyond two days is abandoned under Rhode Island statute. Officers tag it 48 hours ahead of a tow. They mail a registered letter within 15 days to the last registered owner and lienholders. Those people then have three weeks to pay for towing and storage and reclaim it. Otherwise it is auctioned.

Title paperwork from Providence

Providence titles come from Rhode Island's Division of Motor Vehicles, which sits under the Department of Revenue. Counties have no role. Another option for Providence is the branch in Woonsocket: 2000 Diamond Hill Road, (401) 356-4031. On a map, that's roughly 14 miles north of downtown Providence.

On a 2001-or-newer car, you sign the back of the certificate in the seller spot, the buyer signs in theirs, and the odometer reading goes on it too. Add a bill of sale that names the price and carries your address. Pre-2001 cars get no title until they change owners, though an owner can request one for $50.

Missing title on a newer car? Duplicates go through the DMV's Cranston location, with a wait of up to 90 days, a $50.00 statutory fee and $53.50 on the DMV fee table. See selling with no title.

Plates and the registration card

The plates remain yours. Cancel the registration online and hold onto the email confirmation; after that, the DMV allows the plates to be destroyed or recycled. One more statute step: endorse the buyer's name, address and transfer date on the reverse of the registration card and mail it in at once.

Around Providence

North Providence lies 3.3 miles off and East Providence 3.4. Pawtucket and Cranston have their own pages, and Rhode Island collects the statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Providence owners can call (877) 421-6008 or start with our short form. In Providence we load from a ticketed curb spot, a home driveway, or the garage where the car quit.