A car has been sitting on your property for weeks. The plates are expired, nobody answers the door at the old address, and you want it gone or you want it titled in your name. Minnesota has a set process for this, and it is not the one most people expect.
Short version: in Minnesota you do not get a title just because a car was left with you. The vehicle goes through the abandoned vehicle law, Minnesota Statutes chapter 168B, and whoever buys it at the impound sale gets a receipt that leads to a clean title. Here is how that works, step by step.
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To title an abandoned vehicle in Minnesota, it must first be towed or impounded under Minnesota Statutes chapter 168B. The impound lot sends written notice to the registered owner and lienholders within five business days. An abandoned or junk vehicle can be sold 15 days after notice, most unauthorized vehicles 45 days. The buyer’s receipt entitles them to a title, free of liens, after a safety check.
Updated November 6, 2026. Checked against Minnesota Statutes chapter 168B and section 168A.07 (revisor.mn.gov) and Minnesota Driver and Vehicle Services (dps.mn.gov).
Key takeaways
- Keeping it is not owning it: a car left on your land does not become yours. Abandoning a vehicle on someone else’s property without consent is a misdemeanor for the person who left it, and the legal fix runs through towing and impound.
- Legally abandoned has two tests: the vehicle sits illegally for a set time and it is inoperable or missing vital parts, unless it is kept in an enclosed garage.
- Notice comes first: the impound lot or unit of government mails written notice to the registered owner and lienholders within five days, not counting weekends and holidays.
- The wait is 15 or 45 days: 15 days after notice for abandoned and junk vehicles, 45 days for most unauthorized vehicles.
- The sale receipt is the title path: the buyer at the impound sale can register the vehicle and receive a title free and clear of liens, after a motor vehicle safety check.
- Bonded titles are a different tool: they are for vehicles more than five years old where you cannot prove ownership. They are not a shortcut to claim a stranger’s car.
When is a vehicle legally abandoned in Minnesota?
Minnesota Statutes section 168B.011 defines three kinds of vehicles that can be removed and impounded. Which one you have decides how long the wait is later.
| Type | What the statute says | Wait before sale |
|---|---|---|
| Abandoned vehicle | Left illegally more than 48 hours on government property (4 hours if properly posted), or on private property without the consent of the person in control of it, for the time set in section 168B.04. It must also lack vital parts or be inoperable, unless kept in an enclosed garage or storage building. | 15 days after notice |
| Junk vehicle | Three years old or older, extensively damaged, apparently inoperable, no valid current plate, and worth about its scrap value. | 15 days after notice |
| Unauthorized vehicle | Subject to removal and impound (for example parked on private property without permission) but not junk or abandoned. Many running cars fall here. | 45 days after notice in most places |
Some vehicles are never abandoned under this definition: classic and pioneer cars, vehicles in a licensed junkyard, a vehicle held for storage by agreement, and a vehicle under a police hold, writ or court order.
That storage rule matters. If a friend or tenant asked you to hold their car, it is not abandoned. You need their signature on the title, or a court, not the impound process.
How long can a car sit on private property in Minnesota before it is towed?
Section 168B.04 sets how long a vehicle can be left unattended before it can be impounded. On private property the clock depends on what kind of property it is.
| Where the vehicle is left | When it can be impounded |
|---|---|
| Single-family or duplex residential property | Immediately |
| Any residential property, properly posted | Immediately |
| Private nonresidential property, properly posted | Immediately |
| Private nonresidential property, not posted | After 24 hours |
| A repair, service or maintenance shop’s property | Five business days after the shop notifies the vehicle owner by certified mail, return receipt requested |
| Highway, properly tagged by a peace officer | After 4 hours |
| Posted public parking or other government property | After 4 hours |
Section 168B.035 also confirms that a private property owner keeps the authority to have an unlawfully parked vehicle towed. In practice, you call a towing company or your local police or city, and the vehicle goes to an impound lot. Buying a car someone else is selling without a title is a separate problem, covered in our guide to buying a car with no title in Minnesota.
Can you keep an abandoned car left on your property in Minnesota?
Not by simply keeping it. Minnesota law treats the car as the registered owner’s until the chapter 168B process has run, and section 168B.03 makes abandoning a vehicle on someone else’s property without consent a misdemeanor for the person who left it. There is no form that lets a property owner skip the notice and waiting periods.
If you want the car itself, the realistic paths are: get the registered owner to sign the title over to you, or buy it when the impound lot sells it. Owners do sometimes answer the impound notice, so plan for that. If the title exists but was lost, the owner can apply for a duplicate Minnesota title and sign it to you, and our lost or stolen Minnesota title guide covers that side.
Step by step: how an abandoned vehicle gets a Minnesota title
This is the sequence chapter 168B lays out, from the car on your property to a title in a buyer’s name.
- 1. Get it removed. Call your local police or city, or a towing company for a private property tow. The vehicle goes to a public or nonpublic impound lot.
- 2. The lot sends notice. Under section 168B.06, the unit of government or impound lot operator sends written notice within five days, excluding weekends and legal holidays, by mail to the registered owner and every readily identifiable lienholder of record. DVS makes owner information available to impound lot operators for this. If the owner cannot be identified with reasonable certainty, the notice is published once in a local newspaper.
- 3. The waiting period runs. Under section 168B.051, abandoned and junk vehicles are eligible for sale 15 days after notice. Unauthorized vehicles are eligible 45 days after notice, or sooner if the registered owner signs the title over to the impound lot operator.
- 4. The owner can reclaim it. Until the waiting period ends, the owner or a lienholder can take the vehicle back by paying the towing and storage charges. If they do not, the law treats that as giving up all right, title and interest in the vehicle.
- 5. The vehicle is sold. Under section 168B.08, an unclaimed vehicle can be sold at auction or sale. The buyer gets a receipt in a form prescribed by the registrar of motor vehicles.
- 6. The buyer applies for a title. That receipt entitles the buyer to register the vehicle and receive a certificate of title, free and clear of all liens and ownership claims. Before the new title is issued, the vehicle must pass a motor vehicle safety check. The DVS application form is the Application to Title and Register a Motor Vehicle (PS2000); ask your deputy registrar what else to bring.
So if you want the car, the receipt from the sale is your title path. Ask the impound lot how and when it sells unclaimed vehicles, and our guide to police and government vehicle auctions in Minnesota explains how they run.
Minneapolis and St. Paul run on a shorter clock
For an unauthorized vehicle impounded by the city of Minneapolis or the city of St. Paul, the vehicle is eligible for sale 15 days after notice is sent by certified mail, return receipt requested. If the owner or a lienholder delivers a written statement of intent to reclaim within those 15 days, the wait extends to 45 days after the notice. Elsewhere, an unauthorized vehicle that stays unclaimed 30 days after the first notice gets a second notice by certified mail.
What forms and fees does Minnesota DVS charge for the title?
There is no special abandoned vehicle title fee. The new owner pays the regular title fees listed on the DVS vehicle fees page, plus taxes. The fees that most often apply:
| Fee | Amount | When it applies |
|---|---|---|
| Title fee | $8.25 | Each time a title is issued |
| Filing fee | $12 | Each title transaction |
| Technology surcharge | $2.25 | Most title transactions |
| Public Safety Vehicle fee | $3.50 | Most transfers |
| Transfer tax | $10 | Most transfers, with listed exceptions |
| Local office surcharge | $1 | Transactions at a deputy registrar |
| Late transfer penalty | $2 | Transfer not submitted within 20 calendar days of the sale |
| Sales tax and registration tax | Varies | Based on the vehicle |
Fees are set by the Legislature and can change, so confirm the total with your deputy registrar. For a full worked example with tax, see what a Minnesota title transfer costs.
When is a bonded title the right route instead?
A bonded title solves a different problem: you acquired a vehicle, but you cannot prove ownership because a prior owner or lienholder cannot be found. DVS explains it on its no proof of ownership title page, and section 168A.07 sets the rules.
- Age limit: the vehicle’s model year must be more than five years before the year you apply.
- Bond amount: DVS sets the vehicle’s value from your photos, and you file a bond for 1.5 times that value, through a surety company or a cash deposit.
- Three years: the title is branded BONDED. If no ownership claim is made for three years, the bond may be returned and a title issued without the brand.
- Newer vehicles: if the vehicle is five years old or newer, or a bonded title is not possible for another reason, DVS says you may need a court order directing the Department of Public Safety to issue a title.
The documents depend on whether DVS finds a record for the vehicle in the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System:
| If DVS finds a vehicle record | If DVS finds no vehicle record |
|---|---|
| Affidavit of Due Diligence (PS2026), completed and notarized | Statement of Facts (PS2002) explaining why no proof of ownership exists |
| Application to Title and Register (PS2000) with the full description and VIN | Application to Title and Register (PS2000) with the full description and VIN |
| Clear photos of all four sides plus the VIN | Bill of sale with year, make, VIN, sale date and buyer name, or the seller’s signature on the application |
| Any title documents, bill of sale or registration you have | Clear photos of all four sides plus the VIN |
| Title and registration fees, due when you submit | Title and registration fees, due when you submit |
A car a stranger left on your land is not a vehicle you acquired, so for that case the impound process above is the route. The bond also costs money: you pay a surety company a premium for it, and the surety sets that price.
What if you run a repair shop and a customer never came back?
Repair, service and maintenance shops have their own rule. Under section 168B.04 and section 168B.055, the shop can have an unauthorized vehicle removed five business days after notifying the vehicle owner by certified mail, return receipt requested. The notice must include the plate number, the VIN, and the make, model and color. After that, the vehicle is handled under the same sale rules in sections 168B.051 to 168B.10.
Chapter 168B also says it does not impair a garagekeeper’s lien under other Minnesota law. If you are owed for repairs or storage, that lien process is separate, and our guide to auto repair shop and lien sale auctions covers what buyers of those cars should check.
What if your car was the one towed as abandoned?
Read the notice the same day it arrives. Under section 168B.07, you can reclaim the vehicle by paying the towing and storage charges within the 15 or 45 day window. Miss it, and you lose all right, title and interest in the vehicle. The impound lot must always let a registered owner retrieve proof of identification, prescription medicine and medical equipment from the vehicle, and owners who are homeless or receive need-based aid can retrieve all contents without charge with the right documentation.
Skip the wait: buy a car that comes with its title
If what you really want is a cheap car you can plate, an impound sale and a 15 to 45 day wait is the slow way. Remarket Space is an online car auction open to the public, with no dealer license needed and a free account, and our lot is in the Twin Cities area. Every listing shows a full inspection by a Remarket Space inspector, a free Carfax and the out-the-door price before you bid. Our how it works page explains the title side: we handle the transfer, state processing usually takes 8 to 12 weeks, and title issues are guaranteed for life.
See this week’s cars at auction, or start with cars under $1,000 and cars under $5,000 in Minnesota. Every fee is on the buyer premium and fees page. Have a titled car to move on instead? See how to sell a car in Minnesota, and for the bigger picture start with our guide to car auctions in Minnesota.
FAQ
On government property, more than 48 hours, or 4 hours where properly posted. On private property, section 168B.04 sets the time: immediately on single-family or duplex property and on posted property, 24 hours on unposted nonresidential property. The vehicle must also be inoperable or missing vital parts.
Not directly. The vehicle has to go through towing and impound under chapter 168B. The lot notifies the owner, waits 15 or 45 days, then sells it. Whoever buys it gets a receipt that lets them register the vehicle and receive a title free of liens.
An abandoned or junk vehicle can be sold 15 days after notice to the owner. Most unauthorized vehicles can be sold 45 days after notice, or sooner if the owner signs the title over to the impound lot. Minneapolis and St. Paul use a 15 day period for unauthorized vehicles.
Yes, if the vehicle is more than five years old and you cannot prove ownership because a prior owner or lienholder cannot be found. DVS sets the value, you file a bond for 1.5 times that value, and the title is branded BONDED for three years.
The impound lot mails notice to the registered owner and lienholders. If their identity and address cannot be determined with reasonable certainty, the notice is published once in a newspaper in the area the vehicle was towed from. The waiting period then runs as normal.
Yes. Leaving a motor vehicle on public or private property without the consent of the person in control of that property is a misdemeanor under Minnesota Statutes section 168B.03.
Yes. Section 168B.08 says the vehicle must receive a motor vehicle safety check before a new certificate of title is issued to the buyer. Ask your deputy registrar where and how to complete it.
Sources
- Minnesota Revisor of Statutes: Chapter 168B, abandoned motor vehicles and towing, including sections 168B.011, 168B.03, 168B.04, 168B.051, 168B.055, 168B.06, 168B.07 and 168B.08
- Minnesota Revisor of Statutes: Section 168A.07, bonded titles
- Minnesota DVS: No proof of ownership vehicle title application
- Minnesota DVS: Vehicle fees
- Minnesota DVS: Application to Title and Register a Motor Vehicle (PS2000)
General information, not legal advice. Your city may add local rules on top of chapter 168B, so check with your city or police department.
