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The bottom line: To sell a junk car in Mississippi, get a few offers, hand over the signed title when the tow truck arrives, then turn your tag in at the county Tax Collector. Most sales finish in two days.
A lost title is cheap to replace here. A duplicate costs $9, which is one of the lowest fees in the country.
Most junk cars here bring $100 to $700. Heavy trucks, SUVs, and newer wrecks can reach $1,000 to $3,000. The three buyers worth quoting are Peddle, Wheelzy, and CashForCars.
On pickup day you need the title, a photo ID, and no lien on the car. There’s no emissions test or safety inspection to pass, and nothing has to be notarized.
There’s one route around a missing title. It only works for older cars going to a licensed scrap yard, and the yard handles the filing.
Offers on the same car can differ by hundreds, so compare offers from multiple buyers before you say yes.
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 to Sell a Junk Car in Mississippi in 6 Steps
Start today and the car is usually gone by the day after tomorrow. The only thing that stretches that out is a missing title.
Step 1: Get quotes from several buyers
Every quote form asks the same handful of things. Year, make, model, rough mileage, your ZIP code, and what’s wrong with the car.
Some ask for the VIN. It’s on a metal plate where the dashboard meets the windshield on the driver side, and it’s printed on your insurance card and your tag receipt.
A number comes back in about two minutes. It’s a real offer rather than an estimate, and it stays good long enough to shop around.
One quote is enough to know roughly what you’re dealing with. Two more tell you whether the first one was any good, and on the same car the gap between buyers is often more than a hundred dollars.
Be honest about the damage. The price is locked at pickup as long as the car matches what you described, so understating a problem is what causes a lower number on the day.
You can compare offers from multiple buyers in one place instead of filling in three separate forms.
Top junk car buyers in Mississippi. All three cover the I-55, I-20, and I-59 corridors and the Gulf Coast. In rural counties, pickup gets confirmed when you accept the 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
- Quote stays valid for 7 days
- Handles all the paperwork too
- Buys cars that are missing keys
- Pays cash or check 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
- Assists with replacement titles
- Buys cars stripped for parts
- Driver pays you before loading
- Quote often needs a phone call
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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
- Over 200 locations nationwide
- Drop off your car at any yard
- Backed by Copart auction yards
- Pays a check right at pickup
Step 2: Check your paperwork
Title required to sell: yes
Find it before you accept an offer, not on pickup day. Check that your name is printed on the front exactly as it appears on your ID, check the back for a lienholder, and make sure nobody has already written on the assignment area.
Odometer rules depend on the car’s age. In Mississippi, model year 2011 or newer requires odometer disclosure until the vehicle is 20 years old, model year 2010 and older is exempt.
A bill of sale is not required. Most junk sellers still want one for their own records, and our bill of sale generator makes one in a minute.
Every form you might need
Most junk sales need no forms at all. These come up when something is missing or the car isn’t straightforwardly yours.
Titles and these forms come from the state. Tags, credit, and the transfer itself are handled by your county Tax Collector, so a few steps below happen locally rather than in Jackson.
Odometer disclosure
Only comes up when the title has nowhere to write the mileage. See step 2.
Selling without a title
Form: A sworn statement on a form promulgated by the Department of Revenue
The scrap yard hands you this one and files it. Who qualifies.
Inherited vehicle
Form: Title Application Form 78-002, with Affidavit of Heirship Form 78-014 when there is no will
Which one you use depends on the will. Sorting out ownership.
Bill of sale
Form: Generic (no required state bill of sale form)
Nothing official to file, just a record for you. Make one free.
Lien release
Who handles it: your lender, through the state E-Lien system
Nothing for you to fill in, but it has to clear first. What to ask your lender.
Step 3: Accept an offer and book the pickup
Once you accept, a local tow dispatcher calls you, usually within a few hours. You pick a day and they give you a window.
Most pickups happen within 24 to 48 hours. Same day is possible around Jackson, Gulfport, and Southaven when you accept early enough.
Windows are wide, so plan on being available for a few hours rather than a fixed time.
Tell the dispatcher if the car is behind a gate, on a hill, or blocked in. A flatbed needs room to winch, and a driver who can’t reach the car has to reschedule.
Step 4: Get the car ready for the tow truck
Clear a straight path for a flatbed. The driver needs to winch the car onto the deck, so move anything parked in front of it and open the gate.
Empty the car completely. Check the glovebox, the trunk, under the seats, and the sun visors, because whatever stays in the car is gone for good.
Take your tag off before the driver gets there. In Mississippi the tag belongs to you, not to the car, and you’ll need it in hand for step 6.
Pull your toll transponder and any parking decals too. Leave the keys if you have them, along with the title.
Step 5: Sign the title and take payment
Sign the title when the driver is standing there, not before. A title signed with the buyer section blank is a problem if the pickup falls through.
Notarization is not required. The Tax Collector agent in your county checks the signature later, when the buyer brings the title in.
Sign exactly as your name is printed on the front. If two people are listed and joined by “and”, both have to sign. Our Mississippi car selling guide walks through the assignment section box by box.
Payment happens at the car, before it goes on the truck. Payment is usually cash or check. It depends on the tow company.
Take a photo of the signed title and the odometer reading before you hand anything over. Get the driver’s name and the tow company too.
Step 6: Close it out
Where the plates go: with the seller
Take the tag and your tag receipt to your county Tax Collector. In Mississippi, you cannot move a tag to another vehicle, the old tag is surrendered and the new owner registers a new one.
Go the same month you sell. Credit runs from the day you turn the tag in, not the day the car left, so every week you wait is credit you don’t get back.
If you’re not buying another tag right away, ask for a credit certificate. You can use it later, in any county in the state.
No filing is required. Keep a copy of the signed title assignment as your record of the sale.
Cancel the insurance last, after the car is physically gone. Cancelling the morning of pickup leaves you uncovered if the driver reschedules.
Selling a junk car with no keys
Missing keys won’t stop the sale. A flatbed winch doesn’t need the car to start, steer, or come out of park.
Expect a lower number, though. Without keys the driver can’t start the car to confirm the mileage or check what still works, so buyers price for the unknown.
Say so on the quote form. A buyer who knows upfront quotes you once, and a buyer who finds out at pickup has to rework the number on the spot.
Peddle buys cars with missing keys as a matter of course, so it’s the one to quote first here. If the car still runs and the key is the only thing wrong, our guide on selling a car with lost keys covers whether a replacement key is worth cutting.
Selling with an expired tag
An expired tag doesn’t block the sale. Buyers care about the title, and a car being towed to a yard doesn’t need current registration.
What you lose is the credit, since there’s no unused time left to carry forward. Don’t renew a tag just to sell the car, because the renewal costs more than the credit returns.
Your Mississippi Junk Car Checklist
Before the Sale
At Pickup
After the Sale
What Your Junk Car Is Worth in Mississippi
Most junk cars bring $100 to $700. Heavier trucks and SUVs, and newer cars with crash damage but good parts, run $1,000 to $3,000.
Two things set the number. Scrap steel by the ton sets the floor, and whatever parts still work on your car sets everything above it.
That’s why a heavy old truck can beat a small newer car. There’s simply more metal on it.
A complete car is worth more. Buyers price on the assumption the engine, transmission, catalytic converter, and wheels are all still attached. Stripping parts first almost always loses you more than the parts bring.
Common models do better. Mississippi roads are full of Altimas, F-150s, Silverados, and Camrys, so yards here move those parts fast. Something rare sells for scrap weight and not much else.
Where the car sits matters. A car near Jackson, Hattiesburg, or the coast is close to more yards, and more yards bidding means a better number. Deep rural pickups sometimes come back lower.
Flood and rust cut deep. Humidity and standing water are hard on cars here. Frame rust and water damage both knock offers down, because they ruin parts that would otherwise resell.
A missing catalytic converter costs you real money. It’s often the single most valuable part on an old car. Tell the buyer if yours was stolen, because they’ll find out at pickup either way.
No title means lower offers. A buyer working from a sworn statement can only scrap the car, never resell it whole, so the ceiling drops.
Offers on the same car vary more than people expect. See who gives the most cash for junk cars before you pick one.
Companies That Buy Junk Cars in Mississippi
All three of these buy cars that don’t run. A dead engine, a bad transmission, crash damage, or a car that hasn’t moved in three years are all normal to them.
They also tow for free whether the car starts or not. That’s the part that saves you money, since a one-way tow on your own can eat most of a small offer.
Peddle
Peddle buys junk, salvage, and non-running cars
- Quote stays valid for 7 days
- Handles all the paperwork too
- Buys cars that are missing keys
- Pays cash or check 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% 4/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 5/5
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Process ease 15% 5/5
Peddle picks up across Jackson, Gulfport, Biloxi, Southaven, Hattiesburg, and Tupelo, and reaches the smaller towns between them.
Their offer holds for a week, so there’s time to take the number to the other two before it expires. Pickup usually lands within 48 hours of you accepting.
They’re the most flexible of the three on paperwork, and can sometimes work with a car whose owner has died or whose title is lost.
Wheelzy
Wheelzy is best for older, junk or damaged cars
- Assists with replacement titles
- Buys cars stripped for parts
- Driver pays you before loading
- Quote often needs a phone call
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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
Wheelzy works through local tow partners around Jackson, Meridian, Gulfport, Olive Branch, and Columbus, so pickup times in those areas are usually the fastest.
Their price stays locked at pickup as long as the car matches what you described. Many areas offer same-day collection.
Their first number is often on the low side, so it’s worth calling back with a competing quote. Set aside a few hours on pickup day, since arrival windows are wide.
CashForCars
CashForCars runs on Copart's nationwide auction yards
- Over 200 locations nationwide
- Drop off your car at any yard
- Backed by Copart auction yards
- Pays a check right at pickup
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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 and runs on their auction network, which covers Jackson, Gulfport, Hattiesburg, Grenada, and the Memphis corridor into DeSoto County.
They handle the title transfer paperwork on their end, and you can drop the car at one of their yards instead of waiting for a truck. Same-day pickup is common nearby.
Because they resell whole cars through auction rather than only scrapping them, they tend to do best on wrecks that still have good parts. They’ll take boats, motorcycles, and RVs too.
Each one prices off a different network of local yards, so the buyer that wins on your neighbor’s car can easily lose on yours. Put your details in once below and see all three numbers side by side.
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Selling a Junk Car Without a Title in Mississippi
Mississippi does have a way around a missing title, but it’s narrower than it sounds. Mississippi Code Section 63-21-39 allows transfer of a scrapped vehicle without a title to a licensed used motor vehicle parts dealer or scrap metal processor.
So this isn’t a general permission to sell without paperwork. It’s a one-way door to a scrap yard, and the online buyers can only use it where their local partner holds that license, which is worth asking before you accept an offer.
You have three ways to go, depending on the car and how fast you need it gone.
- Order a replacement title. This keeps every buyer in play and gets you the best price. It’s the right move for almost everyone.
- Use the sworn statement at a licensed yard. No title, no waiting, but a much shorter list of buyers and a lower number.
- Sort out ownership first. If the car was never titled in your name at all, the sworn statement won’t fix that on its own.
Option two comes with conditions: the vehicle is at least 10 model years old and has no liens, it is sold to a licensed parts dealer or scrap metal processor, and the owner signs a sworn statement, the vehicle can never be titled again.
That last part is the one to think about. It only makes sense for a car that’s genuinely finished, because there’s no undoing it later.
The paperwork isn’t your job. The yard hands you the form, you sign it in front of them, and they send it to the Department of Revenue within three business days to have the title and registration cancelled.
If your car is too new to qualify, a replacement title is your only route, though Peddle can sometimes work from other ownership documents.
Learn more: Best Places to Sell a Car Without a Title
Getting a Replacement Title in Mississippi
This is the cheap fix, and it’s the right one for almost every seller. A replacement puts every buyer back on the table and lifts the ceiling on your offer.
- Form: Form 78-006
- Where to send it: by mail to Mississippi Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Services, P.O. Box 1383, Jackson, MS 39215-1383
- Available online: no
- Processing time: 3 to 4 weeks for standard processing
- Expedited service: issued within 72 hours of receipt
- Expedited fee: $39 using Fast Track Form 78-026
The wait is what hurts, not the price. If you want the car out of the driveway this week, the expedited option is the difference between days and weeks.
Do the math on your own offer. On a car worth a few hundred dollars the expedited fee pays for itself in time saved, and on a car worth less than that you’re better off waiting or checking whether the scrap yard route applies.
Apply for it and get quotes at the same time. Offers expire, so you’ll want fresh ones when the title lands anyway.
Wheelzy helps sellers through the replacement title process, so it’s worth a call while the application is in the post.
Clearing a lien before you sell
The lien comes off before anything else can happen. In Mississippi, the lienholder releases the lien before transfer, a title showing a lien is held until the lien is satisfied, and the E-Lien program processes a lien release electronically.
Call your lender and ask two things. Whether the loan is paid off, and whether they’ve released the lien electronically yet.
If you paid it off years ago and never got the title, the release may already be on file and you just need the paper. If you still owe on a car that’s now junk, our guide on selling a financed car covers your options.
Electronic titles in Mississippi
In practice, an electronic title usually means a lender is involved. If you own the car outright and have the paper title in a drawer, none of this affects you.
Cars titled in another state
You can sell it right where it sits. Junk buyers work off the title you hold, so an Alabama or Louisiana title in your name is fine for a car parked in Mississippi.
Don’t retitle it in Mississippi first. That’s paperwork and fees for a car you’re about to scrap.
One thing does change. An out of state car needs a separate odometer disclosure, and if you’ve lost that out of state title, you apply to the state that issued it rather than to Mississippi.
Selling a Junk Car That Isn’t in Your Name
Buyers need to see that the car is yours to sell. How you prove it depends on how you ended up with it.
For an inherited car, which form you use turns on the title and the will.
Inherited vehicle forms: Title Application Form 78-002, with Affidavit of Heirship Form 78-014 when there is no will
If the title lists two names joined by “or”, a surviving spouse can sign alone. If they’re joined by “and”, you’ll need a probated will, letters of administration, or an affidavit of heirship.
Estate value threshold: no dollar threshold, since the will and probate status decide the path
So a cheap junker follows the same path as anything else. Our guide on selling a car of a deceased person covers the estate side.
A gifted car is simpler. For a gift, The vehicle must be currently registered or licensed in the transferor's name. A vehicle ten or more years past its manufacture date is exempt regardless of relationship.
A car someone left on your property is the hard case. You can’t sell it just because it’s sitting there, and you’ll need to go through law enforcement and the state to trace the last registered owner first.
Learn more: Best Places to Sell an Abandoned Vehicle
What Mississippi Counts as a Junk Car
The state has its own labels, but they’re mostly for yards and insurers. What matters to you is which one your car ends up with, because it decides whether the car can ever be driven again.
Nothing on this list changes how you sell. It changes what happens to the car after it leaves.
| What the state calls it | What triggers it | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Clean title | Normal car, no total loss on record | Every buyer is available, best offers |
| Salvage certificate | Insurer declared the car a total loss | Junk buyers still take it, offers run lower |
| Rebuilt | A salvage car repaired and re-inspected | Can be driven and sold normally |
| Junked certificate | Owner surrendered the title as scrapped or destroyed | The car is finished, it can never be titled again |
| No title, sworn statement | Older car, lien free, going to a licensed yard | Scrap yards only, and the same permanent result |
Buyers don’t need your car to fit a category. A car with a clean title that simply doesn’t run is still just a used car to them, and it sells the same way.
If yours carries a salvage title, say so on the quote form. All three buyers here handle them.
Local Yards vs Online Buyers in Mississippi
A local yard pays you today and you can drive over with the title. That’s the whole appeal, and for a car worth $150 it’s a fine way to go.
The catch is that you’re taking one number from one buyer. You also have to get the car there, and a tow you arrange yourself can eat a big share of a small offer.
Online buyers put your car in front of a network instead, tow it free, and lock the price before anyone shows up. The trade is that you wait a day or two.
There’s one job only a local yard can do. The sworn statement route needs a licensed Mississippi parts dealer or scrap processor, so that’s a yard by definition.
The practical move is to get the online quotes first, then call a yard or two and see if anyone beats them. Our list of junk car buyers near me helps you find local ones.
Storing a Junk Car While You Decide
Waiting costs you money here. Mississippi humidity and summer heat work on a parked car fast, and rust that reaches the frame drops your offer.
Keep it on pavement or gravel rather than grass. A car sitting on dirt holds moisture underneath and rots from below.
Many Mississippi cities have ordinances about inoperable vehicles in view of the street. Check with your city before you let one sit for months, since fines can outrun what the car is worth.
Parts also go missing from cars that sit, and a stolen catalytic converter takes a real bite out of your offer. If you’re going to store it anyway, our guide on how to store a junk car covers doing it without losing value.
Mississippi Motor Vehicle Resources
Titles and forms come from the state. Tags, credit certificates, and the transfer itself are handled by your county.
- Titles and forms: Mississippi Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Licensing
- Selling and registration questions: Mississippi Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Titles and FAQ
- Tags and title transfers: your county Tax Collector
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to sell a junk car in Mississippi?
Two days is normal. You get quotes in a few minutes, accept one, and a tow truck comes within 24 to 48 hours.
Same-day pickup happens around Jackson, Gulfport, and Southaven if you accept early in the day. A missing title is the only thing that really stretches the timeline.
Do I need a title to sell my junk car in Mississippi?
Title required to sell: yes
The one exception is an older car with no lien going to a licensed parts dealer or scrap processor, which uses a sworn statement instead. For most sellers a replacement title is the better move.
How much does a replacement title cost in Mississippi?
A duplicate title costs $9.
The slow part is processing, not price. There’s a paid expedited option if you need it sooner, and the replacement title section lists both.
Can I apply for a replacement title online in Mississippi?
Available online: no
Plan to print the application, sign it, and post it.
Does the title have to be notarized in Mississippi?
Notarization is not required.
You sign in pen when the driver arrives. Verification happens later at the county Tax Collector, when the buyer brings the title in to transfer it.
Is a bill of sale required to sell a junk car in Mississippi?
A bill of sale is not required for a junk sale.
When one is needed: a bill of sale is needed only when the title assignment has no space to record the purchase price, otherwise it is optional
Notarization: not required
It’s still worth having one, since it’s your proof of what you sold and for how much.
Learn more: Free Bill of Sale Generator
Does my junk car need an emissions test or safety inspection in Mississippi?
Emissions testing is no testing required and a safety inspection is not required.
A car that doesn’t run is no harder to sell here than one that does.
What paperwork do I file with the state after selling in Mississippi?
Release of liability form: None required
That surprises people coming from other states. Your protection is the signed title assignment, so photograph it before you hand it over and keep the copy.
What do I do with my tag after I sell in Mississippi?
Take it off before pickup and turn it in at your county Tax Collector with the tag receipt, in the same month you sell.
Does handing in the tag release you from liability? no, removing your plates does not by itself release liability, the signed title assignment is the record of the sale
Can I sell a junk car with a loan on it in Mississippi?
Not until the lien is released. The lender holds the title, and a buyer can’t take a car whose title still shows someone else has a claim on it.
Call the lender and ask what’s left on the loan. If the payoff is more than the car is worth, you’d cover the difference to clear it.
What happens to my junk car after I sell it?
It goes to a yard, where anything resellable comes off first. Engines, transmissions, doors, wheels, and the catalytic converter all get pulled and sold as parts.
Fluids get drained, then the shell is crushed and sold as scrap steel. If the title was surrendered as junked, the state cancels the record and the car never comes back.
Article Update History
Originally posted and shared with our readers.
Sources
"$9" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"yes" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"model year 2011 or newer requires odometer disclosure until the vehicle is 20 years old, model year 2010 and older is exempt" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Duplicate Title Application Form
"Form 78-006" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"A sworn statement on a form promulgated by the Department of Revenue" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"the lienholder releases the lien before transfer, a title showing a lien is held until the lien is satisfied, and the E-Lien program processes a lien release electronically" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"Generic (no required state bill of sale form)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
How to Complete a Gift Transfer
"The vehicle must be currently registered or licensed in the transferor's name. A vehicle ten or more years past its manufacture date is exempt regardless of relationship" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
