The narrow route for selling a car with no title to a scrap yard. Arizona allows a registered scrap metal dealer or a licensed automotive recycler to buy a vehicle without a certificate of title only where three things are all true: the transaction is worth $1,200 or less, the vehicle is at least twelve model years old, and there is no lien on it. This affidavit is how the seller certifies all three, and it ends the vehicle permanently.
Written against 46-4421 (R05/25), issued under A.R.S. 28-2098.
This affidavit ends a vehicle. It is the right answer for a car that is genuinely finished and the wrong one for a car whose title has simply gone missing - and the two look identical from a driveway. If the vehicle is worth more than $1,200 to anybody, a bonded title is the slower but reversible route.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank 46-4421 from the apps.azdot.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is the actual 46-4421, rendered from the PDF the Arizona Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division publishes and completed end to end: letterhead, every field, and the blocks at the foot.
Amber — you write it
Grey — not yours to fill
Numbered — explained below
Notice the odometer line: NOT Actual Mileage is ticked, which on a scrapped vehicle is often the honest answer. The certification above your signature is a criminal one, and a guessed mileage is exactly the kind of thing it is aimed at.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
Vehicle Identification Number
One character per printed box, with the 5th, 10th and 17th positions marked.
Watch out: If the VIN plate is unreadable, this form is not available - the buyer has to photograph the VIN or the federal identification sticker as part of the transaction.
2
You fill this in
Vehicle Year, Make, Model
The vehicle as it is.
Watch out: The year is doing real work here. It is what the twelve-model-year certification a few lines down is measured against.
3
You fill this in
Name of Vehicle Owner and identification
Your name, and the number and type of identification you are showing.
Watch out: A driver licence, a non-operating identification licence, or a tribal or United States military photo card. The buyer keeps a copy of it.
4
You fill this in
The value certification
That the vehicle does not exceed $1,200.00 in value.
Watch out: This is a ceiling, not a guide. A vehicle worth more than that cannot be sold this way even if both parties would like it to be.
5
You fill this in
The three title statements
Tick whichever is true: never obtained a title, the title was lost or stolen, or the title was returned to the Department.
Watch out: Tick one only, and tick the true one. Returning the title to MVD is a different history from never having had one, and the statute treats them differently.
6
You fill this in
The two vehicle certifications
At least 12 model years old, and not subject to a security interest or lien.
Watch out: Both boxes, or the affidavit does not work. A lien you think was cleared years ago should be checked on AZ MVD Now before you tick the second one.
7
You fill this in
Owner Signature and Date
The certification signature, on the ruled line.
Watch out: This is the signature that ends the vehicle. Once the statement is filed, no Arizona title will ever be issued for that VIN again.
8
You fill this in
The odometer block
Reading, unit box, exception boxes, then your printed name and a second signature.
Watch out: Two signatures on one form is not a mistake. The first certifies the vehicle's history; the second certifies its mileage, and they are separate legal statements.
9
You fill this in
Owner Initial and Business Initial
Both parties initial the acknowledgement.
Watch out: The sentence above it names the penalty: knowingly falsifying anything on this statement is a Class 1 misdemeanor for both of you.
10
Dealers only
The business block
Business name, address, NMVTIS number, agent's signature and date, completed by the recycler or scrap metal dealer.
Watch out: Ask to see the NMVTIS number filled in before you leave. A buyer who cannot supply one is not the kind of business this route is open to.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
The banner
In capitals across the top: THIS VEHICLE MAY NEVER BE TITLED OR REGISTERED AGAIN. IT MUST BE DISMANTLED OR SCRAPPED.
Vehicle Identification Number
A boxed comb with the 5th, 10th and 17th characters marked, then vehicle year, make and model.
Name of Vehicle Owner, Identification Number and Identification Type
Who is selling, and what identification they showed - a driver licence, a non-operating identification licence, or a tribal or military photo card.
Mailing Address, City, State, Zip
The owner's address.
The value and title certification
That the value of the vehicle does not exceed $1,200.00, and one of three title statements: never obtained a title in my own name, was issued a title and it was lost or stolen, or have returned the title to the Department.
The two vehicle certifications
At least 12 model years old, and not subject to a security interest or lien. Both have to be ticked.
Owner Signature and Date
On a ruled line rather than in a box.
The odometer block
Reading, miles or kilometers, the two exception boxes, and a further Owner Name (printed) and Owner Signature beneath the certification sentence.
Acknowledgement, with Owner Initial and Business Initial
Both parties initial to acknowledge that the statement will be filed with the Department and that it is a Class 1 misdemeanor to knowingly falsify any information on the statement.
The business block
Business Name Acquiring Vehicle, Business Address, Business NMVTIS Number, Business Agent's Signature and Date - filled in by the scrap metal dealer or recycler, not by you.
What gets this one rejected
•A vehicle worth more than $1,200. The statutory ceiling is a transactional value not exceeding $1,200, and it is certified rather than estimated.
•A vehicle under twelve model years old. The second certification box is a flat test with no discretion in it.
•Any lien, including one you believe was paid. The certification is that the vehicle is not subject to a security interest or lien.
•A private buyer. Only a registered scrap metal dealer or a licensed automotive recycler can buy under this route.
•Cash. A.R.S. 28-2098(B)(2) requires the buyer to pay for the vehicle with a check and not with cash.
•A missing initial in the acknowledgement. Both the owner and the business initial it, and the acknowledgement is what carries the misdemeanour warning.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•The buyer photographs the transaction. The statute requires a picture at the time of the transaction of the owner, the vehicle, and the vehicle's VIN or federal identification sticker.
•It is filed with the department. The statement goes to MVD, electronically where the department can accept it, together with the business's NMVTIS identification number.
•It is final. The first certification on the sheet is that the vehicle will not be titled again and will be dismantled or scrapped. There is no route back from it.
•The odometer disclosure still applies. Federal and state law require the seller to state the mileage in connection with the transfer of ownership, and the form carries a full disclosure block for it.
