Automotive Dismantlers and Parts Recyclers.

Ala. Code tit. 40, ch. 12, art. 9

in effect

Ala. Code § 40-12-410 Definitions.

40-12-410. Definitions. For the purposes of this article, the following terms shall have the meanings respectively ascribed to them by this section: (1) AUTOMOTIVE DISMANTLER AND PARTS RECYCLER. A person, firm, or corporation engaged in the business of purchasing and dismantling, disassembling or repairing, wrecked, abandoned, or repairable motor vehicles, and selling the usable parts thereof, or selling such wrecked, abandoned, or repairable motor vehicles as a unit at wholesale, or selling the hulk of the vehicle after the salvageable parts have been removed. For the purposes of this article, a person, firm, or corporation shall be presumed to be engaging in the business of an automotive dismantler and parts recycler if such person, firm, or corporation shall possess 10 or more inoperable motor vehicles for more than 30 days, except where such inoperable motor vehicles are being held by a licensed junk dealer or scrap processor for the purpose of recycling scrap metal or are being held by a licensed repair business awaiting repairs, nor shall this term include any person, firm, or corporation which repairs, reconstructs, or reconditions its own motor vehicles for its own use, nor shall it include any person, firm, or corporation disposing of a motor vehicle acquired for its own use. (2) MOTOR VEHICLE. Every automobile, motorcycle, mobile trailer, semitrailer, truck, truck tractor, trailer, and other device which is self-propelled or drawn, in, upon, or by which any person or property is or may be transported or drawn upon a public highway, except such as is moved by animal power or used exclusively upon stationary rails or tracks. (3) PLACE OF BUSINESS. The place owned or leased and regularly occupied by a person, firm, or corporation licensed under the provisions of this article for the principal purpose of engaging in the business of an automotive dismantler and parts recycler, where the products for sale are displayed and offered for sale and where the books and records required for the conduct of the business are maintained and kept. (4) SALVAGE POOL or SALVAGE DISPOSAL SALE. A scheduled sale at auction or by private bid of wrecked or repairable motor vehicles by insurance underwriters or dealers, either at retail or wholesale. (Acts 1979, No. 79-756, p. 1342, §1.)

Ala. Code § 40-12-411 License - Required.

40-12-411. License - Required. No person, firm, or corporation in this state, unless licensed under this article by the Department of Revenue, shall engage in the business of an automotive dismantler and parts recycler as defined in Section 40-12-410. (Acts 1979, No. 79-756, p. 1342, §2.)

Ala. Code § 40-12-412 License - Application.

40-12-412. License - Application. Every person, firm, or corporation desiring to engage in the business of an automotive dismantler and parts recycler shall apply in writing to the Department of Revenue on a form prescribed by the department, which form shall contain: (1) The name of the applicant. (2) The street address of the applicant’s principal place of business. (3) A statement that the applicant’s place of business meets federal, state, and local laws concerning screening and beautification, which is a requirement to be licensed under this article. (4) The type of business organization of the applicant. (5) The applicant’s sales tax number. (6) The applicant’s unique registration number provided by the Administrator of the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System known as the NMVTIS ID Number. (7) Such additional information as may be required by the Department of Revenue. (Acts 1979, No. 79-756, p. 1342, §3; Act 2011-633, p. 1507, §2.)

Ala. Code § 40-12-413 License - Fee.

40-12-413. License - Fee. Every application for a license as an automotive dismantler and parts recycler shall be accompanied by a state privilege license fee of $225 and any fee for issuing licenses as may be otherwise prescribed by law. (Acts 1979, No. 79-756, p. 1342, §4.)

Ala. Code § 40-12-414 License - Proof of Financial Responsibility.

40-12-414. License - Proof of Financial Responsibility. (a) Except as provided in subsection (b), every person, firm, or corporation, before being licensed under this article, must show proof of responsibility by depositing with the Commissioner of Revenue a continuing bond in the amount prescribed in Section 40-12-398 with surety thereon of a company authorized to do business in the State of Alabama, which bond shall be approved by the Commissioner of Revenue, payable to the State of Alabama, and shall be conditioned upon the faithful observance of all the provisions of this article and shall also indemnify any person who suffers any loss by reason of a failure to observe the provisions of this article. (b) The department, by rule, may permit a surety bond obtained pursuant to Section 40-12-398, to serve in lieu of the surety bond prescribed in subsection (a). (Acts 1979, No. 79-756, p. 1342, §5; Acts 1981, No. 81-811, p. 1449, §1; Acts 1991, No. 91-321, p. 595, §1; Act 2015-362, §2.)

Ala. Code § 40-12-415 License - Term; Renewal.

40-12-415. License - Term; Renewal. Every privilege license issued to an automotive dismantler and parts recycler under this article shall be valid for one fiscal year of the State of Alabama, and shall be renewed on October 1 of each year. Thirty days of grace for obtaining such license shall be allowed without penalty. Thereafter, penalties prescribed by law for delinquent licenses shall be imposed. (Acts 1979, No. 79-756, p. 1342, §6.)

Ala. Code § 40-12-416 License - Refusal, Cancellation, or Revocation - Authority of Commissioner of Revenue.

40-12-416. License - Refusal, Cancellation, or Revocation - Authority of Commissioner of Revenue. The Commissioner of Revenue, subject to the notice and appeal provisions set out in Chapter 2A of this Title 40, is authorized to refuse a license to any person, firm, or corporation who does not meet the requirements of this article; to cancel the license of any licensee for willful failure to continue to meet the requirements of this article; and to refuse, cancel, or revoke a license for the felony conviction of a state or federal law involving theft or for violation of Chapter 8 of Title 32 or similar laws of other states by an applicant, a licensee, a partner of an applicant, or licensee or a director or manager in the case of a corporate applicant or licensee. (Acts 1979, No. 79-756, p. 1342, §10; Acts 1992, No. 92-186, p. 349, §31.)

Ala. Code § 40-12-418 Other Licenses Not Required.

40-12-418. Other Licenses Not Required. An automotive dismantler and parts recycler may, as an end result of the conduct of his principal business, accumulate hulks and parts and may scrap such hulks and parts without first obtaining a separate license as a scrap processor or as a junk dealer. A licensed automotive dismantler and parts recycler shall not be required to obtain a separate license as an automobile dealer, an automobile accessory dealer, an automobile garage, or shop or a storage garage or yard to engage in the business of an automotive dismantler and parts recycler as set forth in this article. (Acts 1979, No. 79-756, p. 1342, §8.)

Ala. Code § 40-12-419 Records to Be Kept; Inspection of Records.

40-12-419. Records to Be Kept; Inspection of Records. Every automotive dismantler and parts recycler shall keep a register of all purchases and sales of motor vehicles for five years from the date of purchase or sale, showing the make, model, year, body style, vehicle identification number, and the name and address of the purchaser or seller. A salvage pool shall furnish the purchaser with the make, model, year, body style, vehicle identification number of the vehicles it sells and, if the owner is an insurance company, the salvage pool shall furnish the purchaser with the claim number. Such registers shall be made available for inspection by identified law enforcement officers of the state, county and municipality of the automotive dismantler and parts recycler’s business location at reasonable business hours on business days. (Acts 1979, No. 79-756, p. 1342, §7.)

Ala. Code § 40-12-420 Transfer of Motor Vehicle Certificate of Title to or from Automotive Dismantler and Parts Recycler.

40-12-420. Transfer of Motor Vehicle Certificate of Title to or from Automotive Dismantler and Parts Recycler. An automotive dismantler and parts recycler, duly licensed under this article, shall have the authority to transfer the certificate of title to a motor vehicle as a dealer under subsection (a) of Section 32-8-45. (Acts 1979, No. 79-756, p. 1342, §9.)

Ala. Code § 40-12-421 Restrictions on Sales at Salvage Pools or Salvage Disposal Sales; Buyer’s Identification Cards.

40-12-421. Restrictions on Sales at Salvage Pools or Salvage Disposal Sales; Buyer’s Identification Cards. (a) Sales at a salvage pool or a salvage disposal sale shall be open only to persons holding a current automotive dismantler and parts recycler license or their agents or employees as hereinafter defined. Such persons must have a separate buyer’s identification card to buy at a salvage pool or salvage disposal sale. (b) Any person, firm, or corporation desiring to purchase a buyer’s identification card must do so by making application to the Department of Revenue upon a form prescribed by the department, which form shall contain: (1) The name of the applicant. (2) The street address of the applicant’s principal place of business. (3) If an agent or employee, the name of the licensee for whom the applicant will be making purchases at salvage pools or salvage disposal sales. (4) The license number under which the applicant will be making purchases. (5) Such other information as may be required by the Department of Revenue. (c) In order to obtain a buyer’s identification card, a person, firm or corporation must: (1) Be a licensed automotive dismantler and parts recycler or an agent or employee of a licensed automotive dismantler and parts recycler. (2) Pay a fee of $10 to the Department of Revenue for processing said buyer’s identification card. The card shall be valid as long as the holder is a licensed automotive dismantler and parts recycler or an agent or employee of the same licensed automotive dismantler and parts recycler at the time the card is issued. Buyer’s identification cards are not transferable, and should the holder no longer be a licensed automotive dismantler and parts recycler or an agent or employee of a licensed automotive dismantler and parts recycler, then the card becomes invalid and it is the duty of the holder to return the same to the Department of Revenue. (d) A licensee shall not have more than three agents or employees who are holders of a buyer’s identification card. (e) It shall be unlawful for the owner, manager, or person in charge of any salvage pool or salvage disposal sale to permit the bidding by a person who does not possess a valid buyer’s identification card at a sale. (f) All buyer identification cards heretofore issued by the Department of Revenue are hereby revoked and each person, firm, or corporation who qualify and desire to obtain a new buyer’s identification card must resubmit their application and pay the fee prescribed. (Acts 1979, No. 79-756, p. 1342, §12; Acts 1981, No. 81-811, p. 1449, §2.)

Ala. Code § 40-12-422 Salvage Dealers Licensed in Other States.

40-12-422. Salvage Dealers Licensed in Other States. Nothing in this article shall prohibit salvage dealers licensed in other states from buying at a salvage pool or salvage disposal sale, provided they qualify under the provisions of this article as a holder of a buyer’s identification card. (Acts 1979, No. 79-756, p. 1342, §13.)

Ala. Code § 40-12-423 License Plates from Dismantled Vehicles to Be Forwarded to Department of Revenue. [Repealed]

40-12-423. License Plates from Dismantled Vehicles to Be Forwarded to Department of Revenue. [Repealed] Repealed by Act 2015-70 effective April 21, 2015. (Acts 1979, No. 79-756, p. 1342, §13A.)

Ala. Code § 40-12-424 Penalty.

40-12-424. Penalty. Any person violating any provision of this article shall be guilty of a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, may be punished by a fine of not less than $25 nor more than $1,000, or by imprisonment in the county jail for not more than six months, or by both such fine and imprisonment. (Acts 1979, No. 79-756, p. 1342, §14.)

Ala. Code § 40-12-425 Injunctive Relief.

40-12-425. Injunctive Relief. The district attorney of any judicial circuit may seek injunctive relief in the circuit court to prohibit continued violations of this article by any person, firm, or corporation. (Acts 1979, No. 79-756, p. 1342, §15.)

Source: Alabama Legislature (alison.legislature.state.al.us)URL: https://alison.legislature.state.al.us/code-of-alabamaFetched: 10/20/2026