A junk car in Allen: what the code says and how to sell it

What Allen counts as junked

Section 9-321 begins with a self-propelled vehicle whose plate is expired or missing. If that car is also wrecked, dismantled, partly dismantled or discarded, it is junked. The same goes for one parked dead on public ground beyond 72 straight hours, or on private ground beyond 30 straight days. If even part of it can be glimpsed from public ground or a right-of-way, Allen declares a public nuisance.

Section 9-334 then makes it an offense to keep one in public view anywhere in Allen, on private or public land alike. Fines reach $200, every day stands alone, and a conviction ends with the municipal court ordering the car removed. For a homeowner, the only clean exemption is a building that encloses the car completely.

Section 6-85 adds a twist on covers: in public view, any "tarpaulin or other cover that is not a fitted cover designed to fit the vehicle" is unlawful by itself.

From the letter to the courtroom

Section 9-329 has the city send written notice "via certified mail, return receipt requested within five (5) days." Recipients: the last registered owner, any known lienholder, and the landowner or occupant. With no address on file for the owner, Allen posts the notice right on the car.

The car "must be abated and removed no later than the tenth day" after delivery or mailing. Hearing requests must be written and filed before then. A requested hearing is set on day eleven or later before a municipal court judge. Allen's code tilts that hearing: the car counts as inoperable unless its owner demonstrates it runs.

Asking the city to haul it

Once the notice has arrived, Allen lets the owner ask the city itself to tow the car. The paperwork is "an authorization and indemnification agreement," which lets the city onto the property and holds Allen harmless for the removal. If the owner is nowhere to be found, the landowner or occupant can make the request.

Two more lines matter. Section 9-331 says a car removed this way "may not be reconstructed or made operable." It also says shifting the car to another Allen address mid-case "has no effect on the proceedings already underway" if it is still a nuisance there.

Driveways, jacks and the street

On residential lots, a car may sit in the yard only on a driveway or improved surface. Leaving one up on jacks or lifts with nobody around is not allowed.

Street parking belongs to the police, not Code Compliance, whose page gives 214.509.4321 for it. Section 9-13 lets an officer tow a car reasonably believed abandoned over 48 hours, or a broken-down one when the owner does not pick a tow company. The car waits at a spot the chief picks until the owner pays towing and storage fees that the council sets by resolution. Junk cars on private lots go to Code Compliance at City Hall, 305 Century Parkway, 214.509.4100, or coa@allentx.gov.

The Collin County tax office

Allen lies wholly in Collin County. Its tax assessor-collector, at 2300 Bloomdale Rd, Ste 2302 in McKinney, is roughly 10 miles north as the crow flies, phone (972) 547-5014. That is where the buyer files for the new title.

Title and plates

No notary takes part in an Allen sale. Write in the date and the odometer figure, sign, and let the buyer leave with Form 130-U signed by you and showing what they paid. Then send the Vehicle Transfer Notification. Keep the plates and they can go free onto your next car of that type, and the county tax office hands you a fresh registration sticker. Since July 1, 2025, metal plates have replaced paper temporary tags. Lost the title? Request a certified copy with Form VTR-34, $5.45 if you apply in person.

Getting an offer

Call (877) 421-6008 or start online and describe the car: year, model, roughly how many miles, whether it cranks, and who holds the title. Our truck collects it right where it stands, jacks and all. Nearby pages: Plano, McKinney, Frisco, plus state rules on Texas. Junk car removal explains the pickup.