How long do I have after Tacoma puts a sticker on my car?

Twenty-four hours from the time the sticker is attached. After that, a law enforcement officer may take custody of the car and have it stored at the owner's expense.

What happens if I never redeem a car towed from a Tacoma street?

If it was in the public right-of-way, the registered owner commits the traffic infraction of littering - abandoned vehicle, and the car is disposed of under state law. If no one claims the car, state law sends it to auction 15 days after the custody-and-sale notice is mailed.

Why file a report of sale if the buyer handles the title?

Because the buyer's mistakes can follow you. DOL says the report shields a seller from tow bills, and from civil or criminal liability, that the new owner causes. You have 5 days from the sale to file it.

Town guide · Washington

Getting rid of a junk or broken car in Tacoma

In Tacoma, a sticker on the window starts a 24-hour clock. When an officer finds an unauthorized public nuisance vehicle on public property or in the right-of-way, the code says the officer "shall attach to the Vehicle a readily visible notification sticker." If the car is "not removed within 24 hours from the time the sticker is attached," the officer may have it towed and stored, with the owner paying. Selling it first is the other route: we buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US.

Updated October 11, 2026 · 8 sources

Photo: Spicypepper999 · CC0 · Wikimedia Commons

Tacoma, the short version

Population: 229,816 (Census estimate, July 2025)
County: Pierce
Notice on a public street: A notification sticker on the car
Time to move it: 24 hours from the sticker
Unredeemed in the right-of-way: Littering - abandoned vehicle infraction
Title office we checked: 2401 S. 35th St., about 2 miles
Report of sale: Within 5 days
Plates: Seller removes them

What the Tacoma sticker tells you

The sticker carries the warnings the code requires. One is that the car may be towed and stored at your cost after 24 hours. The next depends on where the car is:

On public property: a car left unredeemed under state rules "will be disposed of in accordance with state law."
In the right-of-way: an unredeemed car means "the registered owner will have committed the traffic infraction of littering – abandoned Vehicle," and the car is disposed of under state law.

So walking away from a towed car on a Tacoma street does not end the matter. It adds an infraction in the owner's name.

After the tow

Washington's statute takes it from there. Held by a registered tow operator for 120 hours in a row, a car is abandoned in the eyes of the law. The yard sends a custody-and-sale notice to the owners on record, and if 15 days go by unclaimed, the car is auctioned and the high bidder applies for its title. Selling before then keeps the decision with you. See towed or impounded.

A dead car on a Tacoma driveway

The Tacoma text we have covers public property and the right-of-way. On private land, the state definition decides it. A car becomes a junk vehicle when an inspector certifies three of these: three or more years on the road, serious damage, no sign it can run, and value at scrap level. If it was left on someone's land without permission, the landowner may get rid of it 15 days after notifying its owners.

Pierce County title office and paperwork

DOL's quick title list includes Suite 200 at 2401 S 35th, roughly 2 miles south of central Tacoma as the crow flies. That is one Pierce County office we checked; closer ones may exist.

DOL's advice is for both sides to do the handoff at a vehicle licensing office, where the money changes hands and the title gets signed. You can write the price and date on the title. If you leave them off, you and the buyer both sign a bill of sale and each keep a copy. File your Vehicle Report of Sale within 5 days. The buyer's own deadline comes with a penalty: $50 if the title transfer is still undone on the sixteenth day, then $2 more daily, capped at $125. Filing that report protects a Tacoma seller from tow charges and from civil and criminal liability caused by the new owner.

Washington law makes the seller take the plates off, and the buyer may not use them.

Getting an offer

Phone (877) 421-6008 or fill out the form for a Tacoma offer. Our driver can load it from a Tacoma street, a driveway, or a shop lot. University Place, Lakewood and Federal Way are each within about 7 miles, and the Washington page has the state rules.

Questions people ask

How long do I have after Tacoma puts a sticker on my car?: Twenty-four hours from the time the sticker is attached. After that, a law enforcement officer may take custody of the car and have it stored at the owner's expense.
What happens if I never redeem a car towed from a Tacoma street?: If it was in the public right-of-way, the registered owner commits the traffic infraction of littering - abandoned vehicle, and the car is disposed of under state law. If no one claims the car, state law sends it to auction 15 days after the custody-and-sale notice is mailed.
Why file a report of sale if the buyer handles the title?: Because the buyer's mistakes can follow you. DOL says the report shields a seller from tow bills, and from civil or criminal liability, that the new owner causes. You have 5 days from the sale to file it.

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from one of these. Checked October 11, 2026.

Tacoma Municipal Code: Impoundment of unauthorized public nuisance vehicle, public property ecode360.com
RCW 46.55.010, junk vehicle and abandoned vehicle defined app.leg.wa.gov
RCW 46.55.130, notice of custody and sale app.leg.wa.gov
RCW 46.55.230, junk vehicles on private property app.leg.wa.gov
RCW 46.17, fees (late title transfer penalty) app.leg.wa.gov
Washington DOL: Quick title offices dol.wa.gov
Washington DOL: Sell a vehicle dol.wa.gov
U.S. Census Bureau city population estimates, 2020-2025 www2.census.gov