Selling a junk car with a salvage, rebuilt or out-of-state title

Most junk car sales start with an ordinary Illinois title. A fair number don’t. The car was totaled once and carries a salvage certificate, it was rebuilt and its title says so, or it came from another state with the owner and never got an Illinois title. Each of those can still be sold for scrap. The question is just which document you have and whether it’s in your name.

The documents, side by side

You have	What it means	Can you sell it for scrap?
Illinois certificate of title	The normal ownership document	Yes
Illinois salvage certificate	The car was declared salvage, for example after an insurance total loss, and can’t be driven on the road	Yes; a salvage certificate is on the state’s list of accepted ownership documents
Title branded “REBUILT”	A car that once had a salvage certificate was repaired and retitled	Yes; it’s a certificate of title like any other
Out-of-state title	Ownership document issued by another state	Yes, if it’s in your name and shows your out-of-state address
Junking certificate	The car was already declared junk with the state	Yes, it’s on the accepted list

The accepted list comes from 625 ILCS 5/5-401.3. A scrap processor buying from a private seller has to get “a Certificate of Title, a Salvage Certificate, a Junking Certificate, a Secretary of State Junking Manifest, a Certificate of Purchase, or other similar documentary proof of ownership,” and has to record two forms of your ID, one of them a driver’s license or state ID card.

Salvage certificates

A salvage certificate replaces the regular title when a vehicle is declared salvage. The usual trigger is an insurance payout: when an insurer pays a total loss claim, Illinois treats the insurer as the owner and the car as salvage (625 ILCS 5/3-117.1). A flooded car, where water came over the door sill into the cabin or trunk, is salvage when repairs would cost more than half its value, and later titles carry the word “flood.” Two things follow. The car can’t be driven on Illinois roads, because the same section bars operating a salvage or junk vehicle on the highways. And whoever holds the certificate is the person who signs it over when the car is sold.

If your insurer kept the car after the claim, it isn’t yours to sell. If you kept it, read what to do when insurance totals your car first.

Rebuilt titles

When a car that once had a salvage certificate gets a regular title again, Illinois prints “REBUILT” on it (625 ILCS 5/3-118.1). Cars 8 model years old or newer have to pass a state inspection first; older ones don’t (625 ILCS 5/3-301). For a junk sale a rebuilt title works like any other: you sign the seller’s section, and the brand simply travels with the car’s history.

Out-of-state titles

People move to the south suburbs from Indiana, Michigan and farther away, and their old cars often keep the old state’s title. Illinois law expects buyers of junk vehicles to handle “similarly acceptable out-of-state” ownership documents, so a title in your name that still shows your old address is fine for a scrap sale.

One catch: if another state issued a title that shows an Illinois address for you, Illinois says it “must be converted to an Illinois title before the owner can transfer ownership of the vehicle” (625 ILCS 5/3-101). Read the address on yours before you call. If the out-of-state title is lost, the replacement question goes to the state that issued it, and we can tell you on the call whether anything else you have will work.

What to bring on pickup day

• The title, salvage certificate or out-of-state title, in your name.
• Two IDs, one a driver’s license or state ID card.
• A lien release if a lender is listed. See selling with a loan.

Next step

Read the document type to us on the call and we’ll confirm it works before the tow is booked. Use the quote form and pick the title option that fits, or call (773) 317-1211. Damaged cars like these are covered on our wrecked cars page, and we pick up across Harvey, Hazel Crest and the rest of our area. More paperwork help is on the guides page.