Car Scrap Laws in the United States
Legal owners may dispose of vehicles free of charge by completing a Junking Affidavit(PDF, 36KB) downloadable here or available at the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV).
To report an abandoned vehicle, call Police Dispatch at 808-935-3311. The Derelict/Abandoned Vehicle (DAV) Section cannot coordinate the removal of any vehicle until a police report is received.
You may junk a vehicle, which you no longer want regardless of whether the registration is current or expired. Please note that once a vehicle is junked, it cannot be registered again.
A vehicle is considered salvage if damaged or dismantled to the extent restoration to an operable condition would require the replacement of any of the following
Each automotive recycler shall keep accurate and complete records of all vehicles, motor vehicles, and catalytic converters acquired in the business.
An owner who sells a motor vehicle, trailer or semitrailer as scrap or for dismantling or destroying shall assign the certificate of title of the vehicle to the purchaser.
Junk vehicles must either be recycled or properly disposed in a permitted landfill. Vehicles include cars, trucks, airplanes, ATVs, motorcycles, snow machines, outboard motors, etc. Solid waste regulations prohibit the use of junk vehicles for stabilizing slopes or controlling erosion.
Individuals not licensed as dismantlers can junk and/or dismantle a vehicle. The requirements to “junk” a vehicle are essentially the same requirements needed to register and/or transfer a vehicle.
Ten days after the Dismantlers Notice of Acquisition (REG 42-bottom portion) is mailed to DMV.