Is my car being sold? Lien sales and auctions in El Paso

24 hours to 5 days after the lot receives the car

The lot must mail a first notice by certified mail to the registered owner and the main lienholder (14 days for a car registered in another state). If it mails late, it may not start charging daily storage until 24 hours after it actually mails.

Source: Occ. Code § 2303.151

Only in limited cases

Notice by publication is allowed only when the owner or address cannot be found (for example, an out-of-state car). Since September 1, 2025 the publication may be on a website run by a TDLR-approved company instead of a newspaper.

Source: Occ. Code § 2303.152 (H.B. 3928, 2025)

Day 10 after the first notice

A car not claimed by then is treated as abandoned.

Source: Occ. Code § 2303.154(a)

Day 15 to day 20 after the first notice

The lot must send a second notice. It must say that if the car is not claimed before the 30th day after this notice, the owner gives up all rights and consents to a public sale. If the second notice is late, storage stops from day 21 until 24 hours after it is sent.

Source: Occ. Code § 2303.154

30 days after the second notice

If no one has claimed the car, the lot may sell it at a public sale. The money first pays the lot's allowed charges; anything left over must go to the person entitled to it. A car at least 10 years old that is fit only for scrap can be disposed of 30 days after the first notice, without a second notice.

Source: Occ. Code §§ 2303.157, 2303.1545

While the car waits

State maximums since 2024: $22.85 a day for a vehicle 25 feet or shorter, $39.99 a day if longer, a $22.85 impoundment fee, and a notification fee of up to $50 that cannot be charged if the car is picked up within 24 hours or before any notice was sent.

Source: Occ. Code § 2303.155; 16 Tex. Admin. Code § 85.722

Before custody

A car generally counts as abandoned after 48 hours left illegally on public property or on private property without the owner's consent (24 hours on a turnpike or controlled-access highway right-of-way).

Source: Transp. Code § 683.002

Within 10 days after custody

The agency must mail a certified notice to the last registered owner and each lienholder. The notice says where the car is and that it can be claimed no later than the 20th day after the notice by paying the towing, preservation and storage charges.

Source: Transp. Code § 683.012

After the claim period

An unclaimed car may be sold at public auction. After the agency takes its costs, the rest of the money is held for 90 days for the owner or lienholder.

Source: Transp. Code §§ 683.014-683.016

If the car is worth only scrap

Before an abandoned car goes to a demolisher, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles notifies the owners on record, who get 20 days to claim it.

Source: Transp. Code §§ 683.051-683.054

Within 5 days after taking the car

A lienholder that took the car under a state law or city ordinance must notify the owner and lienholders by certified mail (14 days for an out-of-state car).

Source: Prop. Code §§ 70.003-70.004

Before the 31st day after the notice is filed with the county

The owner or a lienholder can get the car back by paying all charges. If no one pays, the car may be sold at a public sale no earlier than the 31st day after a copy of the notice is filed with the county tax assessor-collector; extra money goes to the person entitled, or to the county treasurer if unclaimed.

Source: Prop. Code §§ 70.006-70.007

During service and 90 days after

Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a lien on a servicemember's car may not be enforced by sale or other disposal without a court order. The U.S. Justice Department has reached settlements over towed cars sold without court orders in both San Antonio and El Paso (see the records list).

Source: 50 U.S.C. § 3958