The Expert Podcast

One of the most common questions that our sales staff gets on phone calls has to do with people inquiring about how to get a title for an abandoned vehicle. "I have an abandoned vehicle I need to get a title for." Now, many of these calls, the vehicle is really not abandoned; it's something that they bought on Craigslist or Facebook, and they're just thinking that if they call it abandoned, they can get a title for it. It's very important to understand what the word abandoned means. An abandoned vehicle is a vehicle that literally has been abandoned and has been not claimed and discarded by the owner. The problem with that is in most states, that does not allow the person who finds it to keep it. It's not like Finders Keepers, and we're going to take a look at a particular set of laws. This happens to be from the state of Oregon, but most states have exactly the same law. So it's very important to look at the wording of how abandonment works. Now, be aware that even though an abandoned vehicle is not a way to get a title, there are many other great ways to get a title, but first we're going to look at abandonment to see what it means for your scenario. So let's dive in deep and look at in detail how this works.

So this is the packet says right here: the packet contains information about some situations where ownership of a vehicle may be transferable through a possessory lien. Separate from that, a separate bullet point says information on abandoned vehicles. So let's jump down to the abandoned vehicle part first and then we'll look at the other parts second.

Here is very specific language: titling a previously abandoned vehicle. To obtain a title, a person must have an acquired legal interest in the vehicle. In most cases, people do this through some sort of purchase or financial agreement, like you bought it from a dealership and they gave you a contract, or you need to go through some form of legal process. It says right here legal process, and you see on our website court order title is a legal process that is a legal process that you can use to get a title for an abandoned vehicle. Key sentence right here, if you don't see anything else: one cannot simply attain title because the vehicle was left on one's property. That right there tells you all you need to know—you can't simply just magically say, "I want a title because it was left on my property." You have to go through some form of legal process that's outside the scope of the DMV; it has to go through some other legal authority, and we'll talk about that. But that's a good starting point to know what you can and can't do.

So here are the provisions for disposal of abandoned vehicles for vehicles abandoned on Highway, public, or private property. The law allows for an appropriate authority to remove the vehicle—authority meaning state, county, or city—so the government removes the vehicle. So that means if you call it abandoned, you have to call the government and tell them to come get it, and they auction it off. You can also, if a person is the owner of a private property on which a vehicle has been abandoned, you may have a tower tow the vehicle. First, you have to put a note on the vehicle saying if it's not removed within 72 hours, the vehicle may be removed. Then you have to fill out a form that has the description of the vehicle, location of the property, and you have to submit that to the DMV. Also, not the DMV does not provide you with a form; the information needed can be written on a piece of paper, right? So they don't give you any blank forms for this.

So what happens after it's towed away? Well, after it's towed away in cases of abandoned vehicles, you will be back in your video in just a few seconds. In the meantime, remember that actualhuman.com offers you live one-on-one private video consultation with an expert in this exact subject. We want to listen to your story, we want to hear your questions, we want to give you expert advisement on your options, and tell you what we know about your particular situation. Now back to your video.

The DMV must receive satisfactory evidence of the facts applying for the title for an abandoned vehicle sold by an authority. Remember where we talked about the authority will come get the vehicle—state, county, or city. The purchaser of that from the auction may apply for a title, and the bill of sale must describe the vehicle, identify the statutes under which the sale was held. So you can't just get a bill of sale from the police and say, "Hey, I bought it, I want a title." They have to describe under what legal authority that was done. And then to apply for a title, the purchaser must submit an application for title and a certificate of possessory lien forms—the one that covers your situation. Sounds kind of complicated, right? You also need to keep records: signed and dated copy of the original tow notification, repair order, signed and dated copy of the claim of lien, signed and copy of the DMV certificate of possessory lien. And remember, this doesn't apply just for any old abandoned vehicle. You have to jump through a bunch of hoops.

Here's some questions that a lot of people ask that the DMV has taken upon themselves to put on this form: "Am I required to contact the vehicle owner of the vehicle I'm getting a title for?" Depends on the type of lien that's being foreclosed. If you're not sure, you may want to get legal advice from an attorney. That's how complicated it is. And you have to follow all the rules. You have to state under penalty of perjury, "I foreclose the lien in accordance with provisions of ORS 8712 and RS 176," etc. And if you notice, it says buyer's name and date of auction required. You can't just assign it to anybody you want; you have to hold it out for people to bid on it so that the proper amount of money is obtained for the vehicle. And remember, this possessory lien is the result of an abandoned vehicle being removed from private property at the request of the owner. It's not just the owner who does this; it's the towing company or the state who does this. In addition, the seller, if you're not a manufacturer, licensed dealer, or registered tower, you have to get a surety bond of $220,000 in order to file with the DMV for this auction. So it's not just an automatic thing; you also have to abide by all the rules. It's a Class A misdemeanor to misrepresent anything, punishable by jail up to a year or $6,000 fine. And on the last page, it reminds you that foreclosure of a lien is a result of a vehicle being towed at the request of an authority—state, police, sheriff department of transportation, etc.—and it talks about that it has to be done under a regulatory authority.

So the short answer is, if you call something abandoned, it triggers a whole set of requirements. If you go through another process like a court order title or a bonded title, it's much simpler. You don't want to automatically claim abandoned unless literally the car dropped out of nowhere and you don't know where it came from. Then maybe it might be abandoned, but it also limits your chances of becoming the owner of the vehicle.

If you like this video, be sure to click on a few others on our channel to see if there's other information that might be helpful to you about this same subject or maybe even other related subjects that could assist you with the resolution of your issue.