The bottom line: To sell a junk car in North Dakota, you need the title. You sign the seller’s section, with no notary, and give it to the buyer within 30 days. A bill of sale is optional.
If the title is lost, get a duplicate first with Form SFN 2872 for $5, in person or by mail, since North Dakota has no junk car exemption. Only a car more than 40 years old can change hands on an affidavit or a notarized bill of sale.
Nothing is filed with the state. Keep your plates, since you can move them to your next car for the credit left on them.
What would buyers pay for your junk car in North Dakota?Fill in one form, including whether you have the title, and see which buyers make an offer.
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Offer amount 30% 5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 4/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 5/5
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Process ease 15% 5/5
- Buys any car in any condition, running or not
- Free towing, with no fees taken off the offer
- You can cancel before pickup at no cost
- Pays by check on the spot at pickup
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Offer amount 30% 5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 5/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 4/5
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Process ease 15% 4/5
- Buys damaged cars, even ones that can't be driven
- The engine and transmission must still be in
- Free towing, included with every offer
- Picks up within 48 hours, sometimes the same day
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Offer amount 30% 4.5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 4/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 4/5
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Process ease 15% 2/5
- Owned by Copart, the salvage auction company
- Buys almost any vehicle with a motor, running or not
- Free towing, and it handles the title transfer
- Hands you a check at pickup, or mails it
Automated assistant: general info, not legal advice
Answers come from our state paperwork data and published guides. Confirm anything binding with your state DMV.
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How Do You Sell a Junk Car in North Dakota?
Six steps, and North Dakota asks for no form after the sale, so the last one is about the plates.
Step 1: Get quotes from several buyers
A quote form asks for the year, make, model, mileage and your ZIP code, then whether the car runs.
When a buyer asks for the VIN, copy it from the title or read it through the windshield by the driver’s side.
Put down everything that is missing or broken, including the converter and the wheels. Rust and winter damage count too.
Some forms ask whether the car rolls and steers. A car sunk into the ground or sitting on bare drums takes longer to load, and the tow company would rather hear it now.
Get at least three quotes. None of them commits you to anything.
Step 2: Check your paperwork
Get the title and a photo ID out before you accept anything. The name on the title has to be yours, and no lender can still be listed on it.
- Title required to sell: yes.
- Bill of sale: not required.
- State bill of sale form: Form SFN 62502 (Private Party Vehicle Bill of Sale).
- Bill of sale notarization: not required on the department's private party form; the seller's certificate used when a title cannot be furnished is signed before a notary.
- Odometer reading: required for model year 2011 and newer vehicles, with model year 2010 and older, trailers, and vehicles rated over 16,000 lbs exempt.
Every form you might need
Only the bill of sale belongs to an ordinary sale, and even that is optional. The other two are for a lost title and an estate.
Bill of sale
Form SFN 62502 (Private Party Vehicle Bill of Sale)
If you use it, you don’t need a notary. Details.
Step 3: Accept an offer and book the pickup
Accept whichever offer you pick, online or by phone. The buyer passes the job to a tow company near you, and that company contacts you to set a pickup window.
You meet the driver, sign the title, and take the money. If someone else will do that for you, tell the buyer when you book.
Step 4: Get the car ready for the tow truck
A car on a farm or down a gravel section road is worth describing to the tow company, and in winter the drift in front of it has to be cleared first.
Take everything out of the car before the truck comes: glove box, trunk, door pockets, under the seats and the spare tire well. Take off any toll pass or parking permit.
Plates stay with you. Take them off before the truck arrives.
Lost keys do not stop the pickup, because the driver winches the car on. Mark it on the quote form, and our guide to selling a car with lost keys has more.
Step 5: Sign the title and take payment
The driver looks the car over and you sign the seller’s assignment on the back of the title.
You are paid before the car goes on the truck, so count the cash or read the check before it moves.
Keep any paper the driver leaves with you, and check your inbox, because some buyers email the bill of sale and the confirmation instead. If you write a bill of sale, name the company from your offer confirmation as the buyer, not the driver.
Step 6: Deal with the plates and keep your records
Cost of moving them to another car: $5 additional fee on a registration or title application that involves a plate credit transfer.
Keep a photo of the signed title with the bill of sale. Cancel the insurance after the car has left.
North Dakota Junk Car Checklist
Before the Sale
At Pickup
After the Sale
What Is Your Junk Car Worth in North Dakota?
Across the country, half of all offers on old cars fall between $375 and $1,075, from our own quote data.
Nothing moves the offer more than the catalytic converter. With the converter gone, and age and mileage matched, the offer against a comparable car with it moves by about -57%. If it is missing, say so on the form.
Whether the engine starts is the next thing. Against a comparable car that drives, once age and mileage are matched, a car that won’t start moves the offer by about -46%. Our guide to selling a non-running car goes into it.
Companies That Buy Junk Cars in North Dakota
Peddle
Peddle buys junk, salvage, and non-running cars
- Buys junk cars anywhere in North Dakota
- Offer online in minutes
- Takes damaged and non-running cars
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Offer amount 30% 5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 4/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 5/5
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Process ease 15% 5/5
Peddle buys a car with a blown engine, a failed transmission or crash damage.
Wheelzy
Wheelzy buys cars in any condition, running or not
- Free removal from any North Dakota location
- Branches in Bismarck, Fargo, Grand Forks and Minot
- No title-transfer or removal fees in North Dakota
- Cashier's check you can cash the same day
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Offer amount 30% 5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 5/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 4/5
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Process ease 15% 4/5
When the title is missing, get the quote from Wheelzy first, because it helps with the replacement.
CashForCars
CashForCars is owned by Copart and buys cars in any condition
- Its one North Dakota yard is in Bismarck
- Sixty seconds on the form or the phone gets you a number
- The tow costs nothing, wherever the car sits
- Motorcycles, RVs and boats as well as cars, trucks and SUVs
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Offer amount 30% 4.5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 4/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 4/5
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Process ease 15% 2/5
CashForCars is owned by Copart. The cars it buys in North Dakota are sold on through Copart’s auction yards.
Collect all three numbers even if the first one looks fine. When two or more buyers quote the same car on the same day through our own quote form, the highest and lowest offers are typically $314 apart.
If the car still starts and drives and has a clean title, a private sale usually pays more than a junk buyer. Our guide to selling a car privately in North Dakota covers the paperwork.
Can You Sell a Junk Car Without a Title in North Dakota?
No. North Dakota wants a title for any ordinary sale, so a missing one is replaced first.
Option 1: Apply for a replacement title, then sell. Every buyer can then quote the car.
Option 2: Sell parts off the car. A part sells with no title, but the rest of the car still needs one. Our guide to selling a car for parts goes through it.
Getting a Replacement Title in North Dakota
What a replacement title takes in North Dakota:
- Application: Form SFN 2872
- Where to submit: in person at a North Dakota Motor Vehicle branch office or by mail to the Motor Vehicle Division, 608 E Boulevard Ave, Bismarck ND 58505
- Fee: $5
- Processing time: not stated by the department
Send the application in the week you ask for quotes. Buyers can quote from your description while you wait.
If the old title shows up once the new one is issued, destroy the old one.
If a lender still holds the title
How the lien comes off: the lienholder returns the certificate of title with a notarized Release of Lien by Legal Owner, Form SFN 2876, and the owner then has thirty days to send both to the department with a five dollar fee for a clean title.
A junk buyer will not take a car with a lien on it. Ask the lender for the payoff before accepting an offer, because a loan above the offer is yours to settle.
Our guide to selling a financed car has the details.
If your title is electronic
a title with a loan on it goes to the lender, or the department records the loan electronically instead of sending the title to the lender. Once the loan is paid, the paper title is what you sign at pickup.
If the car is titled in another state
Cars titled in Minnesota or Montana can be junked in North Dakota without retitling. Give the state on the quote form.
If that title is missing, apply to the state that issued it. North Dakota cannot replace it.
Selling a Junk Car That Isn’t in Your Name
The buyer pays whoever is named on the title. When that person has died, the path depends on the estate: Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent Form SFN 2916 for estates not exceeding $50,000, otherwise a personal representative signs the title.
Once the title is in your name, the junk sale is the same as any other.
A car someone left on your land is not yours to sell. The abandoned vehicle process comes first, beginning with the sheriff or the police.
Local Dismantlers vs Online Buyers in North Dakota
Selling to a local yard
A salvage yard’s number follows the car’s weight and the price of scrap that week. Given over the phone, it is not in writing and can change at the scale.
Ask whether the yard hauls the car and what that costs you.
Ask for the yard’s business name to put on your bill of sale.
Selling to an online buyer
[‘Online buyers give their offers in writing before booking the tow, so you can line them up. The offer counts the parts that resell as well as the metal.’, ‘A local tow company still collects the car. The difference is the number was settled before the truck was booked.’]
Our guide to how online buyers work out an offer goes through what moves the number.
When selling it yourself makes sense
A pickup with a good engine can bring more from a farmer, a mechanic or a hobbyist than from a scrap buyer. It is slower, and they bring the trailer. You carry the advert, the phone calls and the paperwork, which the junk buyers handle themselves.
Storing a Junk Car in North Dakota
Cities and counties set their own rules on a junked car in view. A written notice can lead to a fine and then a tow at your expense.
Cold and road salt are hard on a parked car, and mice move into one that sits over winter. Keep it on gravel where a tow truck can reach it after a storm.
See our guide on how to store a junk car for the rest.
Take the plates off while the car waits, so it cannot be driven on your registration.
North Dakota Motor Vehicle Resources
- Motor vehicle agency: North Dakota Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division
- Selling a vehicle: ND DOT Transportation FAQ, selling a vehicle
Compare instant offers before you accept one
Compare instant offers before you accept one
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to sell a junk car in North Dakota?
An offer comes back within minutes. The tow company picks the day, and a farm far from Fargo or Bismarck may wait longer for a truck.
A replacement title, if needed, comes first.
Do I have to tell North Dakota I sold the car?
There is no release form to file. Sign the title over at pickup and keep a copy of it and the bill of sale.
Removing your plates releases you from liability: no; removing the plates does not by itself release you.
Does anything have to be notarized to junk a car in North Dakota?
Title notarization: not required.
Bill of sale notarization: not required on the department's private party form; the seller's certificate used when a title cannot be furnished is signed before a notary.
Does a junk car need an emissions test or an inspection to sell in North Dakota?
Emissions test to sell: no testing required.
Safety inspection to sell: not required.
Can I junk a car with expired registration in North Dakota?
Yes. Registration covers driving, and the car is towed. You don’t need to renew it first.
An old registration card is worth keeping for your records, because it links you to the VIN.
What happens to my junk car after I sell it in North Dakota?
The car’s usable parts are sold, the fluids are drained, and the body is crushed into scrap.
The converter, the wheels and the battery are taken off first.
What if the junk car offer changes when the driver arrives in North Dakota?
A driver who finds wheels or a converter missing that the form said were there can offer less. Nothing obliges you to accept the lower number.
Until you sign the title the car is still yours, so you can send the truck away and use one of your other quotes.
What paperwork should I keep after junking a car in North Dakota?
Photograph both sides of the signed title before the driver takes it, and keep any bill of sale.
With no release form in North Dakota, those papers are the whole record of the sale.
Is it worth repairing my car instead of junking it in North Dakota?
Work out how much more buyers would offer for the car once repaired. If the repair costs more than that, it is not worth doing.
Article Update History
The page now covers what North Dakota asks of a seller when no release form is filed, and national junk car offers from Sell Car Advisor quote data.
Originally posted and shared with our readers.
Sources
"$5" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"North Dakota Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"not required" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Duplicate Title Application Form
"Form SFN 2872" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Inherited Vehicle Title Transfer Form
"Affidavit for Collection of Personal Property of the Decedent Form SFN 2916 for estates not exceeding $50,000, otherwise a personal representative signs the title" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"No separate gift transfer form. The gift is indicated on the title and registration application, and the exemption is claimed at titling" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"Form SFN 62502 (Private Party Vehicle Bill of Sale)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Title Notarization Explanation
"North Dakota does not require the title assignment to be notarized; the seller signs the Seller's Assignment and Warranty of Title on the title" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Conditions to Sell Without Title
"a replacement title is needed before the sale, except that a vehicle more than forty years old can be titled on an affidavit of ownership or a notarized bill of sale" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Emissions Testing Required to Sell?
"no testing required" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Junk Car Value Statistics, Sell Car Advisor
"On this page: 4 figures from 17,628 instant cash offers, and 3 figures from same-day quotes by several buyers" Accessed Oct. 19, 2026
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