By Brad Emholtz · Published February 11, 2026 · 11 min read

In Minnesota, the short answer is yes — you need a title to legally sell a junk car in almost every case. The long answer involves duplicate titles, bonded titles, derelict-vehicle paperwork, and a small number of legitimate exemptions. Here is the actual process, the actual costs, and exactly what we accept at Merritt's.

Why title transfer matters (even for a non-running car)

Two reasons, and both protect you:

  1. Liability. Until the title transfers out of your name, you are still the registered owner of record. If the vehicle is involved in an accident, racks up parking violations, or gets dumped on a public street between you selling it and the buyer recycling it, the citations come back to your address.
  2. Resale legitimacy. Licensed Minnesota auto recyclers are required by Minnesota Statutes 168A.151 to maintain a paper trail showing legal acquisition of every vehicle they crush, dismantle, or part out. A yard that buys without a title is operating outside the law, and any "deal" you make with one is the kind of deal that can come back to bite later.

The standard sale: title in hand

If you have the original Minnesota title (Form PS2000) sitting in a drawer, this is straightforward.

On the back of the title:

  • Fill in the buyer's name and address — for Merritt's that is Merritt's Auto Recycling, 3106 68th Ave N, Brooklyn Center, MN 55429.
  • Enter the sale price (write the actual cash amount paid).
  • Enter the odometer reading. If the car is 10 years old or older, the federal odometer disclosure is no longer required, but Minnesota still wants the field filled in — write the current reading or "EXEMPT" for very old vehicles.
  • Sign and date.

Hand the signed title to our driver at pickup. We give you a printed bill of sale plus your cash, and we file the title transfer with the Minnesota DVS on our end. You are out of the chain of custody from that moment forward.

Lost your title? Duplicate title path

Lost titles are common, especially for cars that have sat in a garage for years. The Minnesota Department of Vehicle Services issues duplicates for $7.25 (as of 2026) and the process takes 7 to 10 business days.

How to do it:

  1. Download Form PS2067A from the DVS website (or pick up a paper copy at any deputy registrar office).
  2. Fill in the VIN, owner information, and reason for duplicate (lost, stolen, illegible, never received).
  3. Sign in front of a notary or DVS clerk.
  4. Mail to DVS at 445 Minnesota Street, St. Paul, MN 55101, or submit in person at any registrar.
  5. Wait for the new title to arrive in the mail at the address on file.

If the title was issued to a previous address, update your address with DVS first using Form PS2030 (or online) — otherwise the duplicate goes to the wrong mailbox.

The vehicle is titled to someone who died, divorced, or moved

Three of the most common edge cases:

Deceased owner, no probate

If the title is in a deceased spouse's or parent's name and the vehicle is worth less than $75,000 (it always is for a junk car), Minnesota allows transfer via Form PS2071 — Affidavit for Transfer of Vehicle Without Probate. The surviving spouse or heir signs the affidavit, attaches a certified copy of the death certificate, and submits to DVS with the standard title transfer. We have seen this go from "Mom passed away three years ago" to "title cleared, car sold" in about two weeks.

Title in ex-spouse's name

The divorce decree must specifically award the vehicle to you. Submit the decree (or a court-certified excerpt) plus Form PS2000 to DVS. Without the decree language, the title still belongs to the named owner and they must sign.

Out-of-state title

If you moved to Minnesota and never re-titled the car here, you can still sell it. The out-of-state title is honored at transfer as long as you can prove ownership. We have processed sales from titles issued in Wisconsin, North Dakota, Iowa, Illinois, Texas, and Florida this year alone.

Bonded titles — when the chain of ownership is broken

This is the one to be aware of: you bought the car off Craigslist five years ago with a "signed title" that was never transferred, and the named owner on the title is some stranger you can no longer locate. Or you inherited a vehicle that was never registered to anyone in your family. The chain of ownership is broken.

The fix is a Minnesota surety bond title:

  1. Purchase a surety bond from any DVS-authorized surety company. Cost is roughly 1% to 3% of the vehicle's assigned value, with most junk-car bonds running $50 to $100 total.
  2. Submit Form PS2007 (Application for Bonded Title) along with the bond, a VIN inspection by law enforcement, and the $20.25 title fee.
  3. DVS issues a "Bonded" branded title in your name. The brand stays on the title for 3 years; after that, it converts to a clean Minnesota title.

For a junk car, the bonded path takes 3 to 6 weeks and runs $80 to $130 all-in. Worth it if the vehicle is worth more than the cost; not worth it for a $200 scrap-only sedan.

The "derelict vehicle" path — usually the wrong answer

Minnesota allows local governments to dispose of abandoned vehicles via derelict-vehicle paperwork. You will sometimes hear that you can "sign it over as a derelict" and skip the title. That is a path for towing companies and impound lots — not private sellers. As an individual selling a car off your own driveway, you cannot use the derelict process to bypass title transfer. Yards that claim otherwise are not following state law.

What we accept at Merritt's

To make pickup smooth, have at hand:

  • Original or duplicate Minnesota title (or out-of-state equivalent), signed on the back.
  • A government-issued photo ID matching the seller named on the title.
  • If selling on behalf of a deceased relative — the affidavit plus death certificate.
  • If selling under a bonded title — the bonded title itself; we treat it like a normal title.

If the paperwork is clean, we hand you the cash and load the car within 30 to 60 minutes of arrival.

Don't forget the plates

Separate from the title: Minnesota law requires you to remove and cancel your license plates before the vehicle leaves your possession. Step-by-step in our plates guide.

Got questions about your specific paperwork?

Brad has been navigating Minnesota DVS title rules for 37 years. Call 763-533-2775 and walk him through what you have — he will tell you immediately whether you are ready to sell or whether you need to spend $7 and ten days getting a duplicate first.