How to junk a car in Indiana
To junk a car in Indiana you sign the title over to the buyer, clear any lien, take the plate off and hand the car over. That's the whole of it. Below, each step comes with the Indiana Code section or BMV page it rests on, plus what to do if the title is missing.
By Cash for Junk Cars NWI. Updated .
How do you junk a car in Indiana?
To junk a car in Indiana, find the title and have every owner sign the seller section, filling in the buyer's name, the date, the price and the odometer reading. Clear any lien first. Remove the license plate before the car leaves. Then hand over the signed title at pickup and take your payment.
The steps, in order
- Find the title. Check the glovebox, the file drawer, the envelope from when you paid off the loan. If it’s truly gone, jump to “No title?” below before you do anything else.
- Clear any lien. If a lender is still listed on the title, the loan has to be paid and the lien released. The lienholder has 10 business days after the final payment to note the release on the title and send it to you (IC 9-17-5-1).
- Sign the seller section. Every owner named on the title signs and prints their name. Fill in the odometer statement, the date of sale, the price and the buyer’s details. Those are the Indiana BMV’s own instructions for sellers.
- Take the plate off. When ownership changes, the registration expires and the seller removes the plate and the registration (IC 9-18.1-4-6(a)).
- Empty the car. Glovebox, trunk, under the seats, garage opener, toll transponder. It’s surprising what people leave behind.
- Hand it over. Give the signed title to the buyer when the car is collected and take your payment. With Cash for Junk Cars NWI, the tow is free and you’re paid at pickup.
That’s the order to follow. Now the detail, starting with the title.
Signing the title: what Indiana actually requires
The rule sits in Indiana Code 9-17-3-3.4. When a titled vehicle is sold, the seller must endorse the title “by assigning the certificate of title with warranty of title, in a form approved by the bureau, with a statement describing all liens or encumbrances on the vehicle.” The seller then delivers the title to the buyer at the time of sale and fills in the purchase details, including “the name and address of the purchaser” and “the sale price of the vehicle.”
In practice, that’s the back of your Indiana title. The BMV’s own seller checklist says all owners sign and print their names in the seller section before the sale, and the seller completes the odometer statement, date of sale, purchase price and purchaser information.
Two mistakes we’d steer you away from. Don’t leave the buyer’s name blank “for them to fill in”; the law puts that job on the seller. And sign when the sale is actually happening, not weeks ahead; a signed, open title that goes missing is a headache. Our guide to signing over an Indiana title goes line by line.
Do you need a bill of sale?
Ownership moves when the title is signed over, so for a titled car a bill of sale is a receipt, not the transfer itself. It’s still worth having: it records the date, the price and the car, and if the title is missing, it’s one of the papers worth telling us about. A simple bill of sale covers what to put on it.
No title?
The title burned, got thrown out, or never came back from the lender.
A missing title doesn’t end the sale, but this is the one step where Indiana law is strict. In Indiana a junk car changes hands on one of two papers. One is the title; if yours is lost, the BMV issues a duplicate for $15. The other is a BMV certificate of authority, which costs $4 and is applied for with proof the car belongs to you, your current registration for example. If the car is less than 15 model years old, Indiana law requires one of the two. Let us know which papers you do have, whether that’s a bill of sale, a registration or an insurance card, and on the call we’ll work out which route suits your car. Choose “No” or “I have registration only” on the form.
The law behind that: An owner whose title is “faulty, lost, or destroyed” may apply for authority to sell the vehicle to an automotive salvage recycler for scrap metal (IC 9-22-5-2). A recycler may buy a vehicle without a title only when it is at least 15 model years old and the seller presents a certificate of authority (IC 9-32-9-29(a)), and buying one less than 15 model years old without a title or a certificate of authority is a Level 6 felony for the recycler (IC 9-32-9-29(d)).
The plate and the registration
Take the plate off before the tow truck pulls away. Indiana doesn’t need it back. The BMV says it doesn’t require plates from sold vehicles to be returned, and you can move the plate to another vehicle you own. You also have the option, within 30 days of the sale, of sending the BMV the registration and proof of the transfer so its records show you no longer own the car (IC 9-18.1-4-6(b)). Your plate after the car is sold covers all of it.
What the buyer does next
Nothing more is needed from you once the car and the signed title are gone. The buyer has 45 days to apply for a title in their name (IC 9-17-2-14.7(b)), and the application must include the odometer reading as of the date of sale (IC 9-17-2-6(a)), which is why that odometer line on your title matters.
Where Cash for Junk Cars NWI fits
We buy junk, wrecked and scrap cars in north Lake County: North, Calumet, Ross and Hobart townships, from Hammond and Munster to Gary, Merrillville and Hobart. Fill in the form, we call with an offer, the tow is free and you’re paid at pickup. If you’re selling a junk car in Northwest Indiana inside that area, the steps above are all the paperwork there is.
Sources: Indiana Code 9-17-3-3.4, 9-17-5-1, 9-18.1-4-6, 9-22-5-2, 9-32-9-29, 9-17-2-14.7 and 9-17-2-6 (current as of January 1, 2026); Indiana BMV, "I'm selling a vehicle. What do I need to fill out the title?" and "Buying & Selling a Vehicle". Read September 30, 2026. This is general information, not legal advice.
Quick answers
- Do I need a title to junk my car in Indiana?
- You need the title or a replacement paper. In Indiana a junk car changes hands on one of two papers. One is the title; if yours is lost, the BMV issues a duplicate for $15. The other is a BMV certificate of authority, which costs $4 and is applied for with proof the car belongs to you, your current registration for example. If the car is less than 15 model years old, Indiana law requires one of the two. Let us know which papers you do have, whether that's a bill of sale, a registration or an insurance card, and on the call we'll work out which route suits your car. The rules behind it are IC 9-22-5-2 and IC 9-32-9-29.
- Does the buyer or the seller apply for the new title?
- The buyer. Indiana gives the person who acquires a vehicle 45 days to apply for a certificate of title (IC 9-17-2-14.7(b)).
- What happens to my registration?
- It expires when ownership transfers, and the seller removes the plate and registration from the car (IC 9-18.1-4-6(a)). You can keep the plate for another car you own.
Selling the car, not just reading about it?
Two short steps on the form. Free towing in north Lake County, and you're paid at pickup.