People are surprised by this one, especially if they’ve lived somewhere plates travel with the car. In Indiana they don’t. When your junk car leaves on a tow truck, its plate should be in your hand.
What the Indiana Code says
The rule is in Indiana Code 9-18.1-4-6. When ownership of a registered vehicle changes, two things happen:
- The vehicle’s registration expires.
- The person transferring ownership (you, the seller) “shall remove the license plate and certificate of registration from the vehicle.”
The BMV’s buying and selling page says the same thing in plainer words: the seller should remove the license plate at the time of the transaction, and the buyer is responsible for getting a new title, registration and plate.
So the plate isn’t part of the sale, and neither is the registration.
On pickup day, in order
When Cash for Junk Cars Northwest Indiana comes for your car, the plate is the one thing people most often forget. Here’s the order that works:
- Take out your belongings. Glovebox, trunk, under the seats, the garage opener clipped to the visor.
- Remove the plate. A screwdriver or a small socket usually does it. If the screws have rusted solid, start early.
- Take the registration. It’s often in the glovebox with the insurance card.
- Sign the title over. The seller endorses the title to the buyer with any liens stated. No title? In Indiana a junk car changes hands with one of two documents: the title, or a certificate of authority from the BMV. A replacement title from the BMV is $15. The certificate is $4, and you apply for it by showing the car is yours, for example with its current registration. If the car is less than 15 model years old, the law requires one of the two. Let us know which papers you’ve got, whether that’s a bill of sale, the registration or an insurance card, and on the call we’ll point you to the route that fits.
- Get paid. Payment comes at pickup, in cash or as a transfer through Zelle, Cash App or a similar app.
Telling the BMV the car is sold
Indiana doesn’t force this step, but it gives you a clean record. Under the same statute, within 30 days of the transfer you may deliver to the BMV:
- the certificate of registration, and
- proof of the transfer of ownership.
The BMV then marks in its records that you’ve transferred the vehicle. A copy of the endorsed title counts as that proof. This is worth doing if you ever want to show that the car stopped being yours on a certain date.
Moving the plate to your next car
If you’re replacing the junk car with another one, you can usually keep the plate. Indiana Code 9-18.1-11-6 lets a person who sells or disposes of a vehicle, “including a wrecked or destroyed vehicle,” before the registration expires apply to transfer the registration and plates to another vehicle they own. There’s a transfer fee, and extra fees can apply when the new vehicle is a different type or weight class, so check the current amount with the BMV before you go.
Getting rid of a plate you don’t need
You don’t have to turn it in. The BMV’s FAQ says it is not necessary to surrender removed plates to the BMV. If you want to throw one away, the BMV asks that you make it permanently unreadable and unusable first. Bend it, scratch through the characters, and it’s done.
Plenty of people just hang the old plate in the garage. That’s fine too.
Insurance after the car is gone
Call your insurer after the car has actually left, not before. If something delays the pickup, you don’t want an uninsured car sitting in the driveway. Once it’s gone, ask to remove it from your policy or move the coverage to your next car. Keep the date of the sale handy; they’ll ask.
If you’re selling privately instead
The plate rules are the same whoever buys the car. A private buyer on Facebook Marketplace doesn’t get your plate either. Our comparison of selling on Facebook Marketplace or to a buyer covers the rest of the paperwork for a private sale, and how it works shows what the day looks like when you sell to us.