How can I legally get an abandoned vehicle parked in my property in Texas?

Full question:

There is an abandoned automobile sitting on my property. I would like to get the vehicle and use it for my own personal use. What do I need to do or get to take the vehicle legally?

• Category: Abandoned Property
• Subcategory: Vehicles
• Date: 04/07/2025
• State: Texas

Answer:

The vehicle that has remained on your private property without your consent for more than 48 hours is considered as abandoned vehicle. You can report it to a law enforcement agency and they shall send a notice of abandonment to the last known registered owner of the motor vehicle. The law enforcement agency will that take that vehicle into custody and the agency is entitled to reasonable storage fees. If the vehicle is not claimed, the law enforcement agency can sell the vehicle at a public auction.

You can buy the vehicle at the auction. If you buy, you take the title free and clear of all liens and claims of ownership.

You can have a look at the relevant law in this regard below.

Tex. Transp. Code § 683.002  (2016)
Sec. 683.002.  Abandoned Motor Vehicle.

“(a) For the purposes of this chapter, a motor vehicle is abandoned if the motor vehicle:
     (1) is inoperable, is more than five years old, and has been left unattended on public property for more than 48 hours;
     (2) has remained illegally on public property for more than 48 hours;
     (3) has remained on private property without the consent of the owner or person in charge of the property for more than 48 hours;
     (4) has been left unattended on the right-of-way of a designated county, state, or federal highway for more than 48 hours;
     (5) has been left unattended for more than 24 hours on the right-of-way of a turnpike project constructed and maintained by the Texas Turnpike Authority division of the Texas Department of Transportation or a controlled access highway; or
     (6) is considered an abandoned motor vehicle under Section 644.153(r).
(b) In this section, "controlled access highway" has the meaning assigned by Section 541.302.”

Tex. Transp. Code Sec. 683.011.
Authority to Take Abandoned Motor Vehicle into Custody.

“(a) A law enforcement agency may take into custody an abandoned motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor found on public or private property.
(b) A law enforcement agency may use agency personnel, equipment, and facilities or contract for other personnel, equipment, and facilities to remove, preserve, store, send notice regarding, and dispose of an abandoned motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor taken into custody by the agency under this subchapter.”

Tex. Transp. Code § 683.012.
Taking Abandoned Motor Vehicle into Custody: Notice.

“(a) A law enforcement agency shall send notice of abandonment to:
     (1) the last known registered owner of each motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor taken into custody by the agency or for which a report is received under Section 683.031; and
     (2) each lienholder recorded:
         (A) under Chapter 501 for the motor vehicle;
         (B) with the Federal Aviation Administration or the secretary of state for the aircraft; or
         (C) under Chapter 31, Parks and Wildlife Code, for the watercraft or outboard motor.
(a-1) A law enforcement agency that takes into custody an aircraft shall contact the Federal Aviation Administration in the manner described by Section 22.901 to attempt to identify the owner of the aircraft before sending the notice required by Subsection (a).
(b) The notice under Subsection (a) must:
     (1) be sent by certified mail not later than the 10th day after the date the agency:
         (A) takes the abandoned motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor into custody; or
         (B) receives the report under Section 683.031;
     (2) specify the year, make, model, and identification number of the item;
     (3) give the location of the facility where the item is being held;
     (4) inform the owner and lienholder of the right to claim the item not later than the 20th day after the date of the notice on payment of:
         (A) towing, preservation, and storage charges; or
         (B) garagekeeper's charges and fees under Section 683.032 and, if the vehicle is a commercial motor vehicle impounded under Section 644.153(q), the delinquent administrative penalty and costs; and
     (5) state that failure of the owner or lienholder to claim the item during the period specified by Subdivision (4) is:
         (A) a waiver by that person of all right, title, and interest in the item; and
         (B) consent to the sale of the item at a public auction.
(c) Notice by publication in one newspaper of general circulation in the area where the motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor was abandoned is sufficient notice under this section if:
     (1) the identity of the last registered owner cannot be determined;
     (2) the registration has no address for the owner; or
     (3) the determination with reasonable certainty of the identity and address of all lienholders is impossible.
(d) Notice by publication:
     (1) must be published in the same period that is required by Subsection (b) for notice by certified mail and contain all of the information required by that subsection; and
     (2) may contain a list of more than one abandoned motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor.
(e) A law enforcement agency is not required to send a notice, as otherwise required by Subsection (a), if the agency has received notice from a vehicle storage facility that an application has or will be submitted to the department for the disposal of the vehicle.
(f) In addition to the notice required under Subsection (a), if a law enforcement agency takes an abandoned motor vehicle into custody, the agency shall notify a person that files a theft report or similar report prepared by any law enforcement agency for the vehicle of that fact. The notice must be sent by regular mail on the next business day after the agency takes the vehicle into custody. The law enforcement agency shall also provide the name and address of the person that filed the theft report or similar report to the vehicle storage facility or governmental vehicle storage facility that is storing the vehicle.”

Tex. Transp. Code § 683.013.
Storage Fees.

“A law enforcement agency or the agent of a law enforcement agency that takes into custody an abandoned motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor is entitled to reasonable storage fees:
     (1) for not more than 10 days, beginning on the day the item is taken into custody and ending on the day the required notice is mailed; and
     (2) beginning on the day after the day the agency mails notice and ending on the day accrued charges are paid and the vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor is removed.”

Tex. Transp. Code § 683.014.  
Auction or Use of Abandoned Items; Waiver of Rights.

(a) If an abandoned motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor is not claimed under Section 683.012:
     (1) the owner or lienholder:
         (A) waives all rights and interests in the item; and
         (B) consents to the sale of the item by public auction or the transfer of the item, if a watercraft, as provided by Subsection (d); and
     (2) the law enforcement agency may sell the item at a public auction, transfer the item, if a watercraft, as provided by Subsection (d), or use the item as provided by Section 683.016.
(b) Proper notice of the auction shall be given. A garagekeeper who has a garagekeeper's lien shall be notified of the time and place of the auction.
(c) The purchaser of a motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor:
     (1) takes title free and clear of all liens and claims of ownership;
     (2) shall receive a sales receipt from the law enforcement agency; and
     (3) is entitled to register the motor vehicle, aircraft, watercraft, or outboard motor with and receive a certificate of title from the appropriate authority.
(d) On consent of the Parks and Wildlife Department, the law enforcement agency may transfer a watercraft that is not claimed under Section 683.012 to the Parks and Wildlife Department for use as part of an artificial reef under Chapter 89, Parks and Wildlife Code, or for other use by the Parks and Wildlife Department permitted under the Parks and Wildlife Code. On transfer of the watercraft, the Parks and Wildlife Department:
     (1) takes title free and clear of all liens and claims of ownership; and
     (2) is entitled to register the watercraft and receive a certificate of title.”