Who buys junk cars without a title?

The honest answer to “who buys junk cars without a title” is: buyers who follow their state’s paperwork rules, and only for the cars those rules allow. That cuts both ways. A car with no title is not automatically unsellable, and a buyer who promises to take any car with no papers at all is promising something the state may not allow. At Junk My Car Inc, a junk car buyer for Chicago and its suburbs, we ask what you hold before we book a pickup, because the papers decide whether the sale can happen.

Who can take a car with no title, and who can’t

Private buyers generally can’t do much with a car that has no title. Someone planning to drive it needs to title and register it in their own name, and without your title that’s a long road for them.

Licensed recyclers and junk car buyers are in a different position. States set specific paperwork routes for vehicles headed to scrap or salvage, and in some cases a document other than the title will do. The catch is the phrase “in some cases”. The rules differ by state, and in Indiana they also depend on the car’s age.

Buyers who ask nothing are the ones to think twice about. If the person on the phone never asks what papers you have, the sale may not be recorded properly, and the car can stay tied to your name. The old version of this article said every buyer who takes a car without a title is running a scam. That went too far. The real line is whether the buyer is working within the state’s rules.

Illinois: start with the papers in hand

If your car is in Illinois, start by listing what you hold: the title, a registration card, a bill of sale, an insurance card, or nothing at all. Illinois rules decide which of those papers work for a scrap sale. We’ll tell you on the call whether yours do, before anyone drives out. We won’t promise that a bill of sale, registration or insurance card on its own is enough, because that’s the state’s call, not ours.

If the title is simply lost, the Illinois Secretary of State can issue a duplicate to the owner on record. Its vehicle services pages explain how to apply. An earlier version of this article said a replacement title takes “a few minutes”. It doesn’t always, so leave time for it.

Indiana: a title or a certificate of authority, at any age

Indiana is stricter, and the rules are written into the Indiana Code. Every sale of a junk car to a recycler needs one of two papers, whatever the car’s age:

• the certificate of title, or a duplicate from the BMV, or
• a BMV certificate of authority (State Form 55018), which authorizes disposal of the vehicle for scrap.

A recycler may buy without the title only when the vehicle is at least 15 model years old and the seller hands over a certificate of authority. For a car under 15 model years old with neither paper, the purchase is a Level 6 felony for the buyer. So we can’t take those cars until one of the papers exists. That rule is in IC 9-32-9-29 as amended in 2024, and IC 9-22-5-18 requires the seller to give the recycler the title or the certificate of authority.

The BMV charges $15 for a duplicate title and $4 for a certificate of authority, according to its fee chart. Never assume an older Indiana car needs no paper at all. It always needs one of the two.

We buy in Northwest Indiana as far east as Gary, including Munster, Gary itself and Hobart. If your car is there, tell us what you have and we’ll tell you which route fits.

Illinois and Indiana in one table

	Illinois	Indiana
Title in hand	Standard sale	Standard sale
Title lost	Duplicate from the Secretary of State	Duplicate from the BMV ($15)
No title, other papers	State rules decide which papers work; we confirm on the call	Needs a BMV certificate of authority ($4)
Car under 15 model years, no title or certificate	Ask; depends on the papers	Recycler can’t buy it (Level 6 felony for the buyer)
Car 15+ model years, no title	Ask; depends on the papers	Only with a certificate of authority

What to have ready before you call

• Whatever papers you have, even partial ones: title, registration, a bill of sale, an insurance card.
• The name on those papers, and whether it matches yours.
• If there was a car loan, whether it’s paid off. A title with a lender still listed can hold up a sale.
• The year, make and model. Our quote form asks for these first, plus a simple “do you have the title?” question.

Why a buyer may still say no

Even with papers, a few things can stop a sale: the name on the title isn’t the seller’s and there’s no proof of authority to sell, an old lien was never released, or, in Indiana, the car is under 15 model years old with neither a title nor a certificate of authority. None of these are about the car’s condition. We buy cars in any condition, with or without keys. They’re about whether the paperwork lets the car change hands. One version of the first problem is a car whose owner has died; our guide to selling a late owner’s car in Illinois covers who can sign in that case.

Once the papers are sorted

Once the paperwork is clear, the rest of the sale is short; our step-by-step guide to selling a junk car covers it. If you’re still deciding whether to sell at all, see your options for getting rid of a junk car. For the south suburbs, our Hazel Crest page also walks through the title question.