Abandoned Vehicles

Albany County Sheriff’s Office - Abandoned Vehicle Sales Instructions

(Revised September 2018)

Notice: Make Copies for Submission

When completing documents related to the sale of an abandoned vehicle, make copies of the documents for your records and submission to the Albany County Sheriff’s Office.

The Albany County Sheriff’s Office is not responsible for making copies of submitted documents and cannot accept original documents.

Step 1: Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) Inspection

Coordinate with local law enforcement to have a VIN Inspection on the vehicle you intend to hold a sale on. For vehicles inside city limits, call the Laramie Police Department at 307-721-2526 (VIN Inspections are Sunday through Wednesday from noon to 4 pm). If the vehicle is outside of city limits call the Albany County Sheriff’s Office at 307-755-3520 to set up a VIN Inspection at the deputies’ earliest convenience.

Step 2: Application

Fill out an "Application for Abandoned Vehicle Identification Request or Vehicle Record and Privacy Disclosure Release" form MV-220 which can be picked up at the Albany County Sheriff’s Office. Keep a filled out copy of this document for your records and submission to the Albany County Sheriff’s Office.

Step 3: Submit Documents

Mail the completed documents with a $5 fee to:
Wyoming Department of Transportation
Attn: Motor Vehicle Services
5300 Bishop Boulevard
Cheyenne, WY 82009-3340

Step 4: Department of Transportation Response

The Department of Transportation (WYDOT) will reply to this request with a document outlining the last known ownership and lien holder information (names and addresses). Make a copy of this document for submission to the Albany County Sheriff’s Office.

Step 5: Notify Last Owner

Send via Certified Mail a notice to the last known owner and (if applicable) lien holder with the following information:

  1. Complete description of the:
    1. Year
    2. Make
    3. Model
    4. License plate number and state indicator
    5. VIN
  2. Amount of money being claimed for expenses incident to the removal, preservation, custody storage ($10 per day) and sale.
  3. Date, time and place of the sale.

Certified letters must be mailed to these parties not less than 10 days preceding the date of the sale.

Make Copies
Make copies of the letters (content and envelope with proof of delivery via certified mail and certified delivery stubs) for submission to the Albany County Sheriff’s Office.

Step 6: Notify Sheriff’s Office

Mail or personally deliver a notice with the same information outlined in Step 5 to the Albany County Sheriff’s Office. Notice to the Sheriff’s Office must be submitted not less than 10 days preceding the date of the sale.

Step 7: Repeat Notices for 2 Weeks

The same information outlined in Step 5 must be published once per week for 2 consecutive weeks in a newspaper or general circulation in the county where the vehicle was abandoned. Be sure to:

  • Notify the newspaper to publish as an Abandoned Vehicle Sale.
  • Request an Affidavit of Publication from the newspaper, and copies of the newspaper notice.
  • Make copies of these documents for submission to the Albany County Sheriff’s Office.

Reclaiming Vehicles & Sales

At any time prior to the sale, the owner or lien holder on record may reclaim the vehicle upon payment of expenses incident to:

  • Custody
  • Preservation
  • Removal
  • Sale
  • Storage

The vehicle may be sold by the owner or person in lawful control of the property at public auction to the highest bidder, or may be sold following and action filed pursuant to Wyoming Statute (WS) 31-13-112 (e).

Recovering Proceeds

The owner or lien holder is entitled to recover from the person selling the vehicle any proceeds of the sale in excess of the costs of the sale and monies owed for the related expenses, if any, provided an action is filed in the proper court for recovery within 120 days of the sale.

After Sale

After the sale has taken place, copies of all the above mentioned documents must be submitted to the Albany County Sheriff’s Office by the successful bidder. The documents submitted will be reviewed by the Albany County Sheriff’s Office, which will ensure all information in consistent throughout all documents (exact match of VIN, year, make, model of vehicle, etc.)

Certificate of Sale & Fees

If all documents submitted to the Albany County Sheriff’s Office are deemed as accurate and correct, a certificate of sale will be created in the name of the successful bidder.

A $7.50 fee will be collected for the creation of said certificate of sale, and an additional $5 fee will be collected for notarization of the certificate of sale. If payment of these fees is written as a check, make it payable to the Albany County Treasurer’s Office; if paying in cash, bring exact change.

Further Document Processing

All original documents and certificates of sale may be taken to the Albany County Clerk’s Office for further processing.

For More Information

For additional information please call our office at 307-755-3520, or the Wyoming Department of Motor Vehicle Services at 307-777-4883, or visit the WYDOT website.

Sample Template for Abandoned Vehicle Newspaper Advertisement

"NOTICE is hereby given that on Monday, January 1st, 2000 at 10 am at 100 Grand Avenue, Laramie WY 82070 the following vehicle(s) will be sold at public auction to the highest bidder. The owner and description of the vehicle(s) is listed below. The abandoned vehicle(s) will be sold by John Smith pursuant to WS 31-13-109 for expenses incurred and incident to the removal, preservation, custody, storage and sale of the vehicle(s). Storage expenses are computed at the rate of $20 per day.

Owner: Jane Johnson. 1990 Ford F-150 VIN: 1FMNUCK12KF48TC21. License plate WY5-1234. Amount owed: $2,020 plus expenses of the sale.

Publish January 1st and January 7th."

Update Information

Sections of the template in bold should be updated to match your needs; the information in the newspaper notice must match the information mailed to the owners/lien holder(s) and the notice given to the Sheriff’s Office.