Plates, stickers and paperwork after you junk a car

Selling a junk car takes an afternoon. The paperwork afterward takes ten minutes, and skipping it can cause headaches for months: test notices for a car you no longer own, a village sticker bill, or a ticket on plates that went out the door with the car. Here’s the checklist.

1. Take the plates off

In Illinois, license plates belong to the owner, not the vehicle. The Secretary of State says you can’t transfer plates when you sell a car or transfer a title; you can only move them to another vehicle you own. So unscrew them before the tow truck leaves. If you’re moving them to a different car, the Secretary of State lists the fee as $25 for a transfer only, or $190 for title and transfer ($165 title plus $25 transfer), using form VSD 190.

Source: Secretary of State, transferring plates.

2. Sign the title over at pickup

Illinois law requires the owner to fill in and sign the assignment on the title to the buyer when the vehicle is delivered (625 ILCS 5/3-112). Do it when the driver is there, not before.

3. File the Seller’s Report of Sale (VSD 703)

The Secretary of State’s form says that when you sell or release interest in an Illinois vehicle, you must complete VSD 703 immediately and mail it to the Vehicle Services Department, Record Inquiry Division, 501 S. Second St., Room 629, Springfield, IL 62756. It “will release your responsibility for the vehicle.” The same form notes that it doesn’t replace signing the title over.

Filing it also stops emissions test notices: the Illinois Air Team says notices end once the Secretary of State updates the registration, either from the Seller’s Report or a visit to an SOS facility. Source: VSD 703.

4. Deal with the village sticker

Most towns around us require a local vehicle sticker. What they say, from their own codes and notices:

Town	What the rules say
Calumet City	A city vehicle license is required for vehicles registered to or stored at a city address; $50 a year for a passenger car; seniors 65 and over get one vehicle free if they apply by May 31 (Code §§ 90-582, 90-584).
Burnham	When you trade a vehicle, remove the Burnham sticker and bring it to Village Hall with the new registration (2026-2027 sticker notice).
Lansing	Licenses expire June 30 and go on sale May 1; late purchases cost double or triple (Code § 38-78).
Glenwood	Every resident vehicle needs a license; $250 fine if unpaid by May 1 or 30 days after purchase; the license year ends April 30 (Code §§ 102-542, 102-546).
Sauk Village	$30 for a passenger car; expires June 30; half fee after December 31 (Code §§ 74-245, 74-247).
Lynwood	Vehicles owned, housed or registered in the village need a license within 30 days of moving in (Code § 102-79).
Chicago Heights	The city’s sticker division reads “Reserved” since a 2017 ordinance; we found no current requirement.

None of these codes, as we read them, spells out a refund for a junked car. The practical move: if the sale is near a renewal date, ask the village clerk before you buy a new sticker for a car that’s leaving. Details for each town are on its page, for example Calumet City and Burnham.

5. Insurance last

No state page we read tells sellers when to cancel insurance. Our suggestion: file the Seller’s Report first so the state’s records show the car as sold, then call your insurer.

On the day

Have the plates off and a photo of the signed title on your phone before the car leaves. You’re paid on the spot by cash, Zelle or Cash App. The tow is free; see how pickup works. If the title is missing, start with replacing a lost Illinois title. If the car is going because it failed emissions, see what to do after a failed emissions test.