Selling a junk car in Colorado

Bring to the yard

• Sign and print your name in the Seller section on the back of the original Colorado title, exactly as your name appears on the front.Every owner named on the title must sign. Colorado law makes your transfer a statement under penalty of perjury in the second degree (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 42-6-110(1)); the DMV's seller instructions do not mention a notary.
• Write the sale price and date on the title.If the price is not on the title, you need a bill of sale, and the DMV recommends one in every sale: use DR 2173 Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale or a written equivalent that lists the price, date, VIN, year, make, model, and both parties' names and signatures.
• Record the odometer reading if the vehicle is model year 2011 or newer, because those vehicles stay subject to disclosure for 20 years.Model year 2010 and older vehicles, vehicles over 16,000 pounds, and trailers that are not self-propelled are exempt (49 CFR 580.17). Section A of DR 2173 holds the odometer statement and says federal law requires it.
• Bring a valid photo ID, such as a Colorado or other state driver license or ID card, a U.S. government ID, or a passport.The yard must record your name and address and keep a copy of the ID of the driver and the owner of each vehicle it receives (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 42-5-105).
• If the title shows a lien, pay off the loan first and bring the lender's release: the title stamped released, or a release letter on the lender's letterhead (photo and fax copies are accepted) that lists the vehicle year, make, VIN, owner names, the agent's signature and the release date, signed under penalty of perjury or notarized.If your lender used the Electronic Lien and Title program, the DMV mails you a new title after the lender releases the lien.
• If the title carries any brand (for example salvage, rebuilt from salvage, nonrepairable or flood), fill out DR 2710 Branded Title Disclosure with the buyer before the sale.
• Take your license plates off before the car leaves, and keep your registration card or note the plate number and the VIN or verification code so you can report the release of liability.

After the car leaves

Lost title

Apply online through myDMV (DR 2539A calls this the quickest option; it is not available with an out-of-state address), at your county motor vehicle office, by appointment at the DMV's Westgate office in Lakewood, or by mail to Colorado Department of Revenue, Division of Motor Vehicles, PO Box 173350, Denver CO 80217-3350. Only the owner, the lienholder, or an agent with a power of attorney can apply; the signer certifies under penalty of perjury, gives ID details, and a witness signs. Every active lien needs a lien release, and the duplicate voids the original title. No official processing time was found. If a lender holds a paper title, it sends the title stamped released or a release letter, which you take with DR 2539A and the $7.20 fee to a county office. If the lender used the Electronic Lien and Title program, the title is kept electronically; after the lender reports the lien satisfied, the DMV releases it and mails a new title to the address the lender has on file.

DR 2539A Duplicate Title/Lien Request and Receipt, $8.20 for a duplicate title (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 42-6-137(5)); $7.20 for a lien release title after a loan is paid off (Section 42-6-137(4)). By mail, pay the Colorado Department of Revenue; at a county office, pay the County Clerk.

What the yard has to do

• Transfer for recycling (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 42-4-2202): a person that is not a licensed motor vehicle dealer may buy a vehicle to crush, shred or dismantle only if the seller is the owner on the certificate of title, a licensed towing operator or a licensed dealer; the seller gives a completed bill of sale on a Department of Revenue form; or the buyer follows the holding rule.Unless the seller is the titled owner, a towing operator or a dealer, the buyer must keep the vehicle seven business days before recycling, submit the VIN to the Colorado motor vehicle verification system, and keep the vehicle, bill of sale, system results and daily record open to the Department of Revenue and peace officers. A violation is a petty offense.
• Stolen vehicle check (Colorado Revised Statutes Sections 42-4-2203 and 42-4-2204): the Colorado Bureau of Investigation runs the VIN-based Colorado motor vehicle verification system, and users pay a fee.If the system flags a vehicle as stolen, the person who ran the check must report it to the nearest law enforcement agency within one business day; failing to report is a class 2 misdemeanor, and good-faith reliance on the system gives immunity.
• Daily record (Colorado Revised Statutes Sections 42-5-101 and 42-5-105): businesses that buy, destroy, dispose of or salvage motor vehicles or used parts must keep a permanent daily record with a description of each item, the names and addresses of the owner, seller and buyer, the date and time, the name, address and a copy of the ID of the driver and owner of each vehicle received, the model year, make, VIN and plate number, and the purpose and disposition.The record must be open to the Department of Revenue and peace officers during business hours. A violation is a civil infraction.
• Junk titles (Colorado Revised Statutes Sections 42-6-102(6.4) and 42-6-136(1)): a junk vehicle may not be titled, and any title obtained when buying one must be surrendered to the department, which cancels the VIN and removes the vehicle from the motor vehicle system.
• Commodity metals and detached catalytic converters (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 18-13-111): junk shops, salvage yards and dealers must keep a register of each purchase with the seller's ID and how it was verified (Colorado driver license or ID card, another state's photo driver license, military ID, U.S. passport or alien registration card), a signed affidavit that the seller owns the item (the buyer supplies the form), the plate number and description of the delivery vehicle, the date and place, and a description and quantity.They must make a photo or video record of the seller and item and keep it 180 days, sign up for the scrap theft alert system and keep alerts 90 days, and need not keep the register longer than three years.
• Payment (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 18-13-111(1.5)): a buyer may pay cash for a commodity metal or detached catalytic converter transaction of $300 or less; above $300 it must pay by check unless a picture of the seller is taken when the money is paid.
• Annual assessment (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 18-13-111(12)): each applicable facility must complete and submit the Colorado State Patrol's assessment report by August 1 each year, and law enforcement inspections are documented on a State Patrol form.
• NMVTIS (Colorado Revised Statutes Section 18-13-111(11)): the commodity metals rules do not apply to detached catalytic converters acquired as part of a whole motor vehicle transaction in which an auto parts recycler reports the acquisition to the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (49 U.S.C.Sec. 30504).
• NMVTIS (28 CFR 25.56): federal rules require junk yards, salvage yards and auto recyclers to report each month every junk or salvage automobile they obtained, with the VIN, the date obtained, who it came from and how it was disposed of, unless the state or an authorized third party already reports it for them.