How to Sell a Junk Car in California: Title Rules, Forms, and Payout

To sell a junk car in California, sign the California Certificate of Title over to a licensed dismantler, or sign a REG 227 if the title is lost, and file the REG 138 release of liability within 5 calendar days. No smog certificate is needed for a car that will be dismantled. Leave standard plates on the car, remove personalized ones, and cancel insurance after pickup.

Do you need a title to junk a car in California?

You need proof of ownership, but it does not have to be the paper title. When a licensed dismantler takes in a California-titled car, it sends DMV the endorsed title along with a Report of Vehicle To Be Dismantled (REG 42). If the title has been lost, the DMV dismantler handbook allows an Application for Duplicate Title (REG 227) instead. If you bought the car from someone other than the owner shown on the title, the dismantler also needs the bills of sale that connect you to that owner.

Two catches apply to the REG 227 route. If a bank or lender is listed as legal owner, its release signature on the REG 227 must be notarized. And the name you sign must match DMV's record, so pull the registration card before pickup day and confirm the spelling.

If you would rather hold a clean title before shopping the car around, DMV's fee page lists $28 for a replacement title as of October 2026. If you have no paperwork at all, our guide to selling a junk car without a title compares the remaining options.

Is a smog check required to sell a junk car in California?

No. DMV lists the smog statement among the documents that may be required on an ordinary California transfer, but the DMV registration procedures manual states that vehicles transferred for the purpose of being wrecked or dismantled are exempt from the smog inspection requirement. That exemption is the reason a car that fails smog can still go to a dismantler without any repairs.

The exemption is tied to the car's fate. A vehicle reported as junk that someone later tries to revive and re-register goes through DMV's revived junk process, and smog certification can come back into play at that point. Sell to a licensed dismantler and the question never comes up for you.

If your car fails smog and you are on the fence about junking it, California also runs a state-funded retirement program through the Bureau of Automotive Repair. Our BAR Vehicle Retirement Program guide covers who qualifies and how it compares with a straight sale.

California junk car forms, fees, and deadlines

These are the documents a California junk car sale usually touches. Fees reflect DMV's published amounts as of October 2026 and may change.

Form or step	Who handles it	Fee	Deadline
California Certificate of Title, signed	You (seller)	None to sign	At the sale
REG 227, Application for Duplicate or Paperless Title	You sign if the title is lost	$28 replacement title fee if you order one yourself	At or before the sale
REG 262, Vehicle/Vessel Transfer and Reassignment	You and buyer, as DMV lists it for transfers	None	At the sale
REG 138, Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability	You	None listed	Within 5 calendar days
REG 42, Report of Vehicle To Be Dismantled	Licensed dismantler	Dismantler's cost	Before dismantling
REG 488C, Salvage or Nonrepairable Vehicle Certificate	Insurer, or you if you kept a totaled car	Varies	Within 10 days of the insurance settlement

How to file the California release of liability (REG 138)

The registered owner must submit the Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability within five calendar days of the sale. DMV says filing online is faster than mailing the paper REG 138. To file online you need three things: the license plate number, the last five digits of the VIN, and the new owner's name and address. Get the dismantler's business name and address on paper at pickup so you are not hunting for it later.

Once DMV records the notice, liability for parking or traffic violations and civil litigation tied to the car's operation after the sale date becomes the new owner's responsibility. Filing does not transfer ownership by itself, so keep your copy of the signed title or REG 227, the bill of sale, and the online confirmation together for a few years.

What happens to your plates when you junk a car in California?

California's general rule is that license plates remain with the vehicle they were issued to. A licensed dismantler deals with them as part of its paperwork: plates are either delivered to DMV with the dismantling report, or the dismantler destroys them and records that on its forms.

Personalized and special interest plates are the exception. DMV guidance says to remove them before the new owner takes possession unless you are formally releasing your priority to them. If you do not release them, they are surrendered to DMV. Pull them yourself before the tow truck arrives so you control what happens to them.

Totaled car you kept from the insurer

If your insurer paid a total loss and you kept the car, a different clock applies. DMV's procedures manual says the owner or insurer must apply for a salvage or nonrepairable vehicle certificate within 10 days of the insurance settlement, using the REG 488C, and the license plates are surrendered as part of that application. Settle that paperwork before you look for a buyer, because a dismantler will ask which certificate the car carries.

What California yards and recyclers will ask you for

Expect ID checks and, outside licensed dismantlers, slower payment. California Business and Professions Code Section 21608.5 makes junk dealers and recyclers that buy nonferrous metal pay on or after the third business day, take a photo of the seller and the material, copy a photo ID with your address, and collect a thumbprint. Licensed automobile dismantlers are exempt from that section, which is one reason a whole car usually sells more smoothly to a licensed dismantler than to a scrap yard.

Keep the catalytic converter on the car. Under Section 21610, a core recycler buying a detached converter must record your ID, the VIN of the vehicle it came from, and, where applicable, a title copy, and it must pay an individual seller by traceable means rather than cash, mailed or collected on the third business day. Selling the car whole avoids all of it. Our catalytic converter value guide explains how that part figures into a yard's quote.

How much will a California dismantler pay?

Dismantlers and junkyards in California base offers on the car's weight, current scrap metal prices, completeness, and whether it has parts the yard can resell. Rather than guess at a California number, use the ranges and valuation method in what your junk car is worth in 2026, then collect three written quotes and compare what each includes, especially towing.

How to find a California yard that buys junk cars

Browse California junkyards and salvage yards or search the full salvage yard directory by city. Whichever yards you call, from our listings or a "salvage yards near me" search, ask whether the business is a licensed dismantler, whether it will handle the REG 227 if your title is missing, and whether towing is free. You can also request quotes for your car and let buyers come to you.

On pickup day, have the title or REG 227 signed, your ID ready, and personalized plates already removed. File the REG 138 online before you go to bed that night.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules change; confirm with the California DMV before you sell.

Sources

• California DMV: Title Transfers and Changes (accessed October 2026)
• California DMV: 11.125 Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability (REG 138) (accessed October 2026)
• California DMV: Dismantlers Handbook 6.010, California-Titled Vehicles (accessed October 2026)
• California DMV: Vehicle Industry Registration Procedures Manual, Junk Vehicles (accessed October 2026)
• California DMV: License Plates (accessed October 2026)
• California DMV: Registration Fees (accessed October 2026)
• California DMV: Total Loss Salvage and Non-Repairable Vehicles (accessed October 2026)
• California Business and Professions Code: Section 21608.5 (accessed October 2026)
• California Business and Professions Code: Section 21610 (accessed October 2026)