Last Update: July 27, 2026

How To Claim an Abandoned Vehicle in Wyoming

Claiming an abandoned vehicle in Wyoming is a legal process governed by state statute and agency procedure. Compliance with owner-identification, notice, timing, public sale, title application, and recordkeeping requirements is necessary before ownership may transfer. For private-property cases, the process is administered through WYDOT Motor Vehicle Services, the county sheriff, and the county clerk under Wyoming’s abandoned vehicle laws and WYDOT’s abandoned vehicles guidance.

What Qualifies as an Abandoned Vehicle in Wyoming

Wyoming law uses the term "abandoned vehicle" and sets out several qualifying situations in W.S. 31-13-101 through 31-13-116.

A vehicle may be treated as abandoned in Wyoming if it falls into one of these categories:

• Left unattended on a highway for more than 24 hours after a notice of intent to impound is placed on the vehicle
• Left unattended on public or private property without consent for more than 5 days after a notice of intent to impound is placed on the vehicle
• Left unattended or unclaimed on private property for more than 30 consecutive days without consent
• Left at a repair, service, or maintenance business and not reclaimed 30 days after the agreed date
• Removed or stored at the request of a police officer and then left unclaimed for more than 10 days after personal property is removed

For private-property claims, WYDOT states that vehicles bought without a clear title and vehicles left with consent cannot be processed through the abandoned-vehicle procedure reflected in the MV-220 request form.

Process To Claim an Abandoned Vehicle in Wyoming

Understanding the Abandoned Vehicle Process

Wyoming generally requires a title and lien search, mailed notice, newspaper publication, public auction, and a sheriff-issued certificate of sale before the purchaser may apply for title. A person in possession of the vehicle does not become the owner by possession alone. Title work is completed through the county clerk, while the sheriff issues the certificate of sale after proof of statutory compliance is presented.

Report the Unclaimed Vehicle

For a vehicle abandoned on private property in Wyoming, the first formal step is submission of the abandoned vehicle identification request to WYDOT Motor Vehicle Services.

The form requires:

• Applicant name and contact information
• Vehicle year, make, model, VIN, and plate information if available
• The Wyoming location where the vehicle was abandoned
• The date of abandonment or tow
• A description of how possession was obtained
• The current storage location, if moved

WYDOT’s form instructions state that the filing package must include the completed request, a copy of a VIN inspection if the vehicle is already in the applicant’s possession, a copy of government-issued photo identification, and the $15 search fee.

Verify Title Records And Owner Information

WYDOT requires a title and lien search to identify the owner and any lienholder of record. The state’s title search page states that a certificate of title search request must contain at least one of the following: the VIN, the title number, or the legal owner’s name.

For private-property abandoned vehicles, the MV-220 request is the prescribed method. WYDOT states on that form that the department’s role is to make reasonable efforts to identify the owner and any lienholder of record and provide that information to the requester.

Send Required Notices

After the title search results are received, a written notice of sale must be sent to the parties identified by law and agency guidance:

• The owner of record, if identified
• Any lienholder of record, if identified
• The sheriff of the county where the vehicle was abandoned

Notice to the owner and lienholder must be sent by certified mail not less than 10 days before the sale. Notice to the sheriff must also be given at least 10 days before the sale.

The notice must include:

• A complete description of the vehicle
• The amount claimed for removal, preservation, custody, storage, and sale
• Service or repair charges, if the vehicle was left at a repair facility
• The date, time, and place of sale

If the owner or lienholder reclaims the vehicle before sale, release is allowed upon payment of the lawful expenses and any service-related charges recognized by statute. The official materials reviewed do not provide a separate returned-mail procedure beyond the required certified mailing and publication steps.

Allow The Statutory Waiting Period

For private-property abandoned vehicles, the vehicle must first satisfy the 30-day abandonment threshold depicted in WYDOT’s private-property instructions. After that point, the required mailed notice and publication period must run before sale.

For vehicles impounded by law enforcement, the timing rules differ. Title 31 provides separate notice and waiting provisions for police-impounded vehicles, including a 30-day period before sheriff disposition in the cases described in W.S. 31-13-104 and W.S. 31-13-108.

File Notice Of Sale, Auction, Or Transfer

Wyoming does not appear to use a centralized state portal for filing a notice of sale in private-property abandoned-vehicle cases. The operative filing steps are the title-search request to WYDOT and the required notice to the county sheriff.

Before the sheriff issues the sale certificate, satisfactory evidence of compliance must be presented. WYDOT states that this evidence includes:

• A completed copy of the abandoned vehicle request
• Copies of the notice of sale
• Proof of mailing
• Proof of publication

Publish Auction Notice

Publication is required once per week for two consecutive weeks in a newspaper of general circulation in the county where the vehicle was abandoned.

The published notice must state:

• The make, year, model, plate number, and VIN
• The amount claimed for expenses
• The date, time, and place of sale

The state materials reviewed do not identify an additional statewide publication form.

Conduct The Public Auction Or Other Authorized Sale

For private-property abandoned vehicles, the vehicle may be sold at public auction to the highest bidder.

A sale may not proceed if a written court order prohibiting the sale is served on the proposed seller before the auction. The statute allows judicial intervention for good cause shown.

Complete The Bill Of Sale And Title Documents

Wyoming uses a sheriff-issued certificate of sale rather than a separate statewide abandoned-vehicle bill of sale. After the sale, and after proof of compliance is delivered, the sheriff issues a certificate of sale in duplicate.

The purchaser then assembles the title packet for the county clerk. The packet commonly includes:

• Sheriff’s certificate of sale
• certificate of title application
• VIN inspection, if required
• Tax documentation, if required by the county clerk
• Any additional ownership or identity documents requested by the clerk

Apply For Title

WYDOT states that Wyoming title applications are processed through the local county clerk. The current county clerk title office directory provides filing locations statewide.

The purchaser should be prepared to submit:

• The sheriff’s certificate of sale
• A completed MV-300A title application
• A VIN inspection if the clerk requires one
• Sales or use tax receipt if applicable
• Title fees set by statute

Wyoming’s fee statute sets the certificate of title fee at $15 and the VIN inspection fee at $10 in W.S. 31-3-102. The official materials reviewed do not identify a separate abandoned-vehicle title deadline after the sale certificate is issued.

Bonded Title Or Surety Bond Requirements

A bonded title is a separate Wyoming procedure and is not the ordinary route when a valid sheriff’s certificate of sale is available. The process is used when the applicant cannot present a properly assigned title or other ownership evidence acceptable to the county clerk.

The process uses the affidavit of ownership and generally requires the following:

• VIN inspection
• Title search
• Certified letters to any lienholder
• Certified letter to the prior owner
• Proof of vehicle value
• A surety bond for 2 times the retail value

WYDOT’s affidavit instructions state that no bond is required for a vehicle valued at less than $2,500. The same instructions also state that a county clerk may waive the bond when the vehicle is inoperable, requires substantial repairs, and is being restored for personal use. In that circumstance, the title may be marked non-transferable for 180 days.

Special Rules For Salvage, Rebuilt, Or Inoperable Vehicles

WYDOT’s salvage vehicle guidance states that a vehicle declared a total loss, or damaged in an amount exceeding 75% of actual retail cash value when no insurer is involved, must be handled under Wyoming’s salvage-title rules unless a stated exemption applies.

If an abandoned vehicle carries a salvage history, the purchaser may need to:

• Apply for a Wyoming salvage title through the county clerk
• Obtain a rebuilt salvage decal before registration if the vehicle is rebuilt
• Complete law-enforcement VIN certification for the rebuilt vehicle
• Disclose the brand on later sale

The MV-300A title form also reflects Wyoming’s branded-title categories, including salvage, rebuilt salvage, flood, and junk.

Maintain Records

All notices, mailing receipts, publication proofs, title-search records, sale papers, and sheriff-issued documents should be retained in the file supporting the sale. Those records establish compliance if the sheriff or county clerk requests verification.

For licensed storage and disposal facilities, Title 31 requires record retention for 3 years under the storage and disposal provisions in W.S. 31-13-114. County practice may require the same documents to be produced before title work is accepted.

Wyoming Storage Fees And Financial Considerations

Storage Fee Rules

For private-property abandoned-vehicle sales, WYDOT states that storage may be claimed at $20 per day and that the total allowable expenses for removal, preservation, custody, storage, and sale may not exceed $1,000.

For police-impounded abandoned vehicles, Title 31 separately limits storage charges to $20 per day for not more than 30 days.

Towing And Recovery Charges

Wyoming’s public-property abandoned-vehicle provisions set separate expense limits for county-paid abandoned-vehicle cases. Under the fee provisions summarized in W.S. 31-13-111 and W.S. 31-3-102, allowable towing costs for those cases are $6 per mile or $100, whichever is greater. Sale and title costs are capped at $60, and the total expense limit per vehicle is $760.

Disputes Over Charges

The official state materials reviewed do not identify a separate statewide administrative complaint procedure specific to abandoned-vehicle storage or towing charges in private-property title-transfer cases.

Wyoming law does provide court-based remedies in related circumstances:

• A proposed sale may be stopped by a court order before the auction
• The owner or lienholder may seek recovery of surplus proceeds after sale within the period stated by statute

Where a dispute concerns title acceptance rather than storage charges, the local county clerk and WYDOT Motor Vehicle Services are the primary government points of contact.

Sale Proceeds And Excess Funds

Contact Information

WYDOT Motor Vehicle Services
5300 Bishop Boulevard, Cheyenne, WY 82009-3340
Phone: (307) 777-4709
Official Website: WYDOT Motor Vehicle Services