In Mississippi, how long before an abandoned car is yours depends on where it was left: five days if it’s been sitting on a public street, road, or highway, and forty days if it was left with a dealer, repair shop, or wrecker service, or towed to private property at a law enforcement officer’s written request.1Mississippi Secretary of State. Mississippi State Tax Commission Title 35 Part VII – Motor Vehicles Waiting out the clock is only part of it. Even after the statutory period runs, you don’t own the vehicle until you’ve notified the Department of Revenue, had law enforcement inspect it, published a newspaper notice for two consecutive weeks, cleared any lienholder’s claim, and received a certificate of title in your name.
The Waiting Periods by Situation
Section 63-23-3 of the Mississippi Code defines when a vehicle legally counts as abandoned, and the answer sets the clock you have to wait out.
A vehicle left on a public street, road, highway, or other public property qualifies as abandoned after five days unattended. That’s the shortest wait in the statute, and it applies only to public roadways. Officers often tag inoperable or stripped vehicles on public roads, and the five-day count runs from the tag date rather than from whenever a neighbor first noticed the car.
A vehicle left with an automobile dealer, repair shop, or wrecker service becomes abandoned forty days after the agreed pickup date. If no pickup date was set, the forty days run from the day the owner dropped the car off.
A vehicle lawfully towed at an officer’s written request to property belonging to someone other than the vehicle’s owner is abandoned once it has sat unclaimed on that property for forty days.1Mississippi Secretary of State. Mississippi State Tax Commission Title 35 Part VII – Motor Vehicles
The five-day rule does not stretch to private land. A car parked on your driveway or back lot through some informal arrangement doesn’t become abandoned just because it hasn’t moved in a week. If it ended up there through a law enforcement tow, the forty-day rule governs. If it was simply dumped, you’ll still need to involve law enforcement to start a legitimate process.
The Lienholder’s Thirty-Day Window
The statutory wait on the vehicle itself isn’t the only clock. The person authorized to sell or dispose of the vehicle must notify any Mississippi lienholder on record within ten days of receiving it, and that lienholder then has thirty days from the date of notice to make a claim.2Justia. Mississippi Code 63-23-5 – Sale or Disposal of Vehicle Generally; Notification of Lienholders
If a bank or finance company holds a loan against the car, their interest doesn’t disappear because the car was abandoned. They can claim it. If they do, you don’t get a title. If they don’t respond within thirty days, the vehicle can move forward in the disposal or sale process. This is where most claims stall, so it’s worth checking for a lien before you start counting on the car being yours.
What You Have To Do While the Clock Runs
Waiting is necessary but not sufficient. Section 63-23-9 lays out the steps that have to happen before the Department of Revenue will issue a title in your name.
First, notify the Mississippi Department of Revenue. The notice must include the make, model, year, color, and vehicle identification number. The DOR uses that information to pull the title history and flag any outstanding liens.3Justia. Mississippi Code 63-23-9
Second, arrange a law enforcement inspection. A local officer confirms the vehicle matches your description, verifies the VIN, and checks whether it’s reported stolen or otherwise flagged. The officer’s report is part of the package you’ll submit to the DOR, and it is not optional.
Third, publish a notice in a local newspaper once a week for two consecutive weeks. The notice has to carry enough detail (make, model, VIN, location) that a previous owner or lienholder could identify the vehicle and come forward.3Justia. Mississippi Code 63-23-9
If no one contests within the notice period, you compile the DOR notification, the law enforcement report, and the publication proof, and send the package to the Department of Revenue. Review typically takes several weeks. If the submission checks out, the DOR issues a certificate of title in your name. That’s the moment the car is actually yours.
Costs You’ll Owe Before You Get the Title
The waiting period isn’t free time. Several charges accumulate or come due before you can register the vehicle:
- Mississippi’s standard title fee is $9.00.4Mississippi Department of Revenue. Motor Vehicle Titles
- Newspaper publication for the two-week notice generally runs anywhere from $30 to over $100 depending on the paper.
- Towing and storage charges have to be paid before title transfers, and storage accrues daily. A car that sat in an impound lot for several weeks before you decided to pursue it can carry hundreds of dollars in storage fees.
- Some counties charge a nominal fee for the law enforcement inspection.
Storage is the figure most likely to blow up a plan. A forty-day wait at an impound lot’s daily rate often costs more than the car is worth.
If the Owner Is in the Military
The Mississippi waiting periods don’t override the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act. If the registered owner is on active duty, anyone holding a storage, repair, or similar lien on the vehicle cannot foreclose on or enforce that lien during the member’s military service, or for ninety days afterward, without first getting a court order.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 U.S. Code 3958 – Enforcement of Storage Liens
Acting against those requirements is a federal crime, punishable by fines under Title 18, up to one year in prison, or both.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 U.S. Code 3958 – Enforcement of Storage Liens A Department of Defense sticker, base registration, or a hit when law enforcement runs the plate is a signal to stop and get legal advice before going further.
Taking the Car Before the Wait Is Up
Possessing the vehicle after five or forty days doesn’t make it yours. Without a certificate of title issued by the DOR, you can’t register or insure the vehicle, which rules out legal road use. If the previous owner surfaces, you can be held responsible for the vehicle’s value and the resulting legal costs.
Mississippi also holds people liable for improperly causing a vehicle to be removed. Someone who initiates an improper removal can be on the hook for removal, transportation, and storage costs, plus damages and the other party’s attorney’s fees and court costs. That exposure applies to property owners who move too fast as well as to individuals who skip the statutory steps and try to claim a car on their own timetable.
The short version: the clock starts the day the car legally qualifies as abandoned, runs five or forty days depending on where it is, and only ends when the DOR puts your name on the title.