How many times have you traveled down the road, or driven through town, and you come across a car that's been left there in Texas? Well there's a good chance you've probably seen it once; whether it's a car broken down on the side of the road or left in a parking lot somewhere.

How long can you leave your car alone in Texas?

Well the answer is, not that long. If you leave a car anywhere in the state of Texas that's left unattended (and without permission), the maximum time allowed before your car would be considered "abandoned" is 48 hours. 2 days & that's it.

Of course if you broke down, and left to get assistance that's one thing. Sometimes that gets squared away in a few minutes or a few hours. But this applies for a vehicle that's been there for a long time.

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What constitutes as an "abandoned vehicle" in Texas?

You know. A car that looks like this:

Abandoned car
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Or this:

Old, rusty, junked car in the woods
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According to the Texas Transportation Code, Chapter 683, any vehicle that is:

  1. inoperable, is more than five years old, and has been left unattended on public property for 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. or as 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

Now if a car is abandoned on your property, and it's YOURS, then you can keep it as long as you want. Just as as long as it's not leaking or causing environmental damage.

How do you get rid of an abandoned vehicle in Texas?

If you need to get rid of a vehicle, the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles states that a person can apply for a Certificate of Authority to remove said vehicle. There are a few different ones people can apply for on the Texas DMV website here.

Or...you can always call a tow truck and explain that someone left their car and you want it gone.

SUV on tow truck
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There's also more to this issue so if you want to read more, the Texas State Law Library offers more links on how to deal with removing abandoned vehicles in Texas.

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