Out-of-state, salvage and rebuilt titles: selling a junk car in Illinois

Living a few blocks from the Indiana line, plenty of people around Calumet City and Lansing own a car titled in another state, or one that came back from an insurance claim with a salvage or REBUILT brand. The good news is that none of these blocks a junk car sale in Illinois on its own. The details depend on which document you hold.

What Illinois asks a scrap buyer for

The rule that governs our side of the sale is 625 ILCS 5/5-401.3. A private seller must hand over documentary proof of ownership in one of these forms: 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.” The buyer also records two IDs from the seller, one a driver’s license or State ID. The same section covers vehicles possessed in Illinois or brought in from another state. Source: 625 ILCS 5/5-401.3.

Document by document

What you hold	What it is	Can it be sold for junk?	Bring to pickup
Out-of-state title	Another state’s title in your name	Yes, if the car is in Illinois	The title, signed at pickup, and two IDs
Illinois salvage certificate	Issued after damage, often a total-loss claim	Yes	The certificate and two IDs
REBUILT title	A title issued after a salvage vehicle was rebuilt	Yes, like any title	The title and two IDs
Title marked “flood”	A title for a car that took water into the cabin	Yes, like any title	The title and two IDs
Junking certificate	Final paper for a car that will never be titled again	Yes, scrap only	The certificate with the endorsement and two IDs
Only a registration card	Not a title	Maybe; we check on the call	Read selling without a title

Out-of-state titles

Section 3-117.1 of the Vehicle Code, which sets out when junking and salvage certificates are needed, refers more than once to “a similarly acceptable out-of-state document of ownership.” In practice, a title from Indiana, Wisconsin or anywhere else, in the seller’s name and free of liens, works like an Illinois one for a junk sale. Sign it the way that state’s form asks, usually in the assignment section on the back, and only when the driver is there.

Two things to check first. If the title still shows a lender, get the lien release before you call; our lien article explains why. And the car itself has to be in Illinois: we don’t pick up in Indiana, even a mile over the line.

Salvage certificates

A salvage certificate isn’t a regular title. Under 625 ILCS 5/3-117.1, one has to be applied for in set situations, including when an insurer pays a total-loss claim (the insurer is then treated as the owner, and the certificate is issued in its name), when a repossessed car is damaged beyond 50% of its value, and when a flood car’s damage passes that same 50% mark, in which case the word “flood” goes on the certificate and every later title. Source: 625 ILCS 5/3-117.1.

If you hold a salvage certificate in your own name, you can sell the car to us on it. If you’re not sure whether the insurer or you owns the car after a claim, read keeping or selling a car your insurer totaled first.

REBUILT titles

A salvage vehicle that’s repaired can get a regular title again, but Illinois marks it. Section 3-118.1 says a title issued for a vehicle that previously had a salvage certificate “shall bear the notation REBUILT” (source). Getting there takes an application signed with an affirmation that a rebuilder holding an Illinois license did or supervised the work and that the parts’ identification numbers are intact (625 ILCS 5/3-304, source).

For a junk sale, a REBUILT title is simply a title. The brand matters to someone who wants to drive or insure the car again; it doesn’t stop us from buying it.

Junking certificates

If someone already applied for a junking certificate, the car’s road life is over. Section 3-117.1(a) says a title “shall not again be issued” for that vehicle, and the certificate lets its holder possess, transport, or by endorsement transfer ownership of the junked vehicle. We can still buy it; bring the certificate.

Next step

Tell us which document you have when you request an offer, or call (708) 578-8868 and read us what’s printed at the top of it. We buy cars on every one of these papers across our area, including Calumet City and Lansing by the state line. Other guides are on our articles page.