Selling a Car While Deployed or Stationed Away

Same-day pickup is often possible, though we never promise it. Our same-day guide explains what it depends on. Do not leave the paperwork for your last day.

Our power of attorney guide covers the general rules. For a service member, these are the things to focus on.

• Read the scope. A POA gives only what it says, so make sure it covers selling your vehicle. Naming the vehicle’s year, make, model and VIN can remove doubt.
• Ask where you can get one prepared. Ask your installation’s legal assistance office whether it can help. We did not confirm what any specific office offers.
• Check that it will be accepted. The person you name should ask a vehicle licensing office whether your document works for them.
• Choose carefully. Give it to someone you trust who is not the buyer. WAC 308-56A-640 says a seller cannot give the buyer or dealer a POA for the odometer statement, apart from a federal note, and no one may sign both sides.
• Tell them the format. The Department of Licensing’s (DOL’s) signature format is “John Q. Public by Jane C. Doe, POA”.
• Leave them the tools. That means the title, the keys, your contact details and clear instructions on what to do with the money.

A POA cannot change a name on a title unless specifically authorized, and adding or deleting an owner takes a title transfer. So if a name needs fixing, handle that separately. See a misspelled or changed name.

You can often keep control of the signing yourself.

• Sign the release on the title in the correct place and mail it to the person handling the car. Do not leave it blank or incomplete. See who should get a signed title.
• If the title is lost, use DOL’s Affidavit of Loss/Release of Interest. WAC 308-56A-265 says a signature not on the title must be notarized or certified, so find a notary where you are, and ask your installation about one.
• For a lost title and a loan at the same time, see a lost title and an old lien.

We did not research federal protections for service members or how residency rules apply to military families. If those matter for your situation, ask your legal assistance office. Please do not rely on this guide for them.

Under RCW 46.12.650, the seller must notify DOL in writing within five business days after the sale. DOL’s online report can be used from anywhere you have internet access. A short deployment window does not extend the deadline in anything we read, so decide who will file before the car goes. Whoever is at the sale should send you the buyer’s name and address, the date, the price, the VIN and the plate.

Plates must come off the car. DOL says sellers are legally obligated to remove them. Have your helper take them and hold them for you. Our Report of Sale guide has the filing steps.

If you are not selling yet, do not just leave it on a street. Local limits still apply: Seattle’s limit is 72 consecutive hours on the same block, and more than 45 days of expired registration on a public street is a ground for impound under RCW 46.55.113. An abandoned car can come back to you, since RCW 46.55.105 makes the last registered owner prima facie liable for removal, storage and disposal costs. Ask your unit or base office about any rules for vehicles left on the installation, because we did not read those.

Before you store a car you do not really want, compare the real costs. Our guide to what an unused car costs helps with that.

We recommend the seller be present at pickup, to hand over paperwork and get paid. If you can be there, this is simple: free towing, cash at pickup, and the car does not need to run. If someone else is standing in for you, that car is not in the seller’s name, so call first. Call us at (206) 941-0612 and tell us what you have, and we will tell you whether we can take it. Our how it works page covers the rest.