The Registered Owner Moved Away: What Are Your Options?

Distance is less of a problem than it seems. They can act from wherever they are.

• Mail the title

  If you hold the title, send it to them to sign, or have them send it to you already signed. Do not write anything on it for them.

• Use the affidavit

  If the title is gone, DOL’s Affidavit of Loss/Release of Interest can stand in. WAC 308-56A-265 says a signature that is not on the title must be notarized or certified, so they need a notary where they live.

• Use a power of attorney

  They can authorize you. DOL’s format is “John Q. Public by Jane C. Doe, POA”. See power of attorney.

• Give you the car

  They release it to you, you apply for a title in your name, and you sell as the owner. Under RCW 46.12.650, you must apply within 15 days of delivery. See never transferred the title.

Tell them why it matters to them, too. As long as they are the owner of record, RCW 46.55.105 makes the last registered owner prima facie liable for removal, storage and disposal costs if the car is abandoned. Signing is what protects them, and the Report of Sale is their job after the sale.

Try every door first. Text, email, mutual friends, relatives, and a letter to the last known address. Keep a dated record of each try, since it may matter later.

Then look at how you came to have the car.

• You acquired it from them. RCW 46.12.680 offers registration without title for three years, a bonded title with a bond of 1.5 times value, or a court petition. It requires acquisition from the owner of record or an interim owner, and it is not for unauthorized or abandoned vehicles.
• They just left it with you. You did not buy it, so that route may not fit. See the property route below.

Be honest with yourself about which it is. Telling DOL you bought a car you were merely left with is a false statement, and RCW 46.12.750 treats false statements on a title application as a class B felony.

A landowner has a lawful path, but it has steps. The plain answer is that you cannot sell it, unless it qualifies and goes through the junk vehicle process.

1. See whether it meets the definition

   RCW 46.55.010 calls for at least three of these: three years or older, extensively damaged, apparently inoperable, and fair market value only of scrap.

2. Get an authorized official to inspect it

   Under RCW 46.55.230, an authorized official inspects and certifies. The WSP guide says WSP VIN officers do not normally do this, so ask your local law enforcement or code office who does.

3. Send notice

   You mail notice to the last registered and legal owners. More than fifteen days later, you may dispose of the car or sign an affidavit of sale. If there is no record, it can be immediate.

4. Then call a hauler

   With the affidavit in hand, you have a document a hauler can act on. Our guide to the Junk Vehicle Affidavit has the details.

If the car does not qualify, you can look at a registered tow under private property rules. If the owner was your tenant, see a tenant left a car behind. Our abandoned car guide walks through the whole process.

Have this ready: the name on the title or registration, how you came to have the car, your attempts to reach the owner, and whether you have any signed document. A car not in your name needs a conversation first. Call us at (206) 941-0612 and tell us what you have, and we will tell you whether we can take it. If you have a Junk Vehicle Affidavit, a signed title or an Affidavit in Lieu of Title, tell us that as well. Our how it works page covers the pickup.