Sell your car in Huntsville: running, not running or on PCS orders
To sell your car in Huntsville, AL, describe it online for a same-day offer and schedule the pickup. The rest of this page covers your choices when orders move you off Redstone Arsenal, what city code says about a car that no longer runs, and where Madison County's tag counters are.
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City and Arsenal rules for a private sale
- Keep the For Sale sign off the curb. City code bans displaying a vehicle for sale on a street or other public property, and a car parked that way can be towed and impounded at the owner's expense. Driving with the sign, or parking while you run an errand, is allowed. At home, the limit is one vehicle for sale per lot.
- Don't leave a car without a plate on the street. The code treats any vehicle on public property without a current plate as inoperable and abandoned. After a 24-hour notice on the car, the city can have it towed and impounded.
- Get a buyer through Gate 9 first. If the car is on Redstone Arsenal, anyone without a DoD ID registers at the Visitor Control Center outside Gate 9, with a photo ID, a background check and a photo. The center is open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. on weekdays and closed on federal holidays.
Where we pick up around Huntsville
Madison, Athens up in Limestone County and Decatur across the river are all inside the pickup area. So are smaller places at Madison County's edges, such as Harvest, Hazel Green, New Market and Owens Cross Roads. Wherever the car sits in that area, the offer and the pickup are the same.
Out-of-state titles and car loans. Say which state issued the title when you describe the car, so the paperwork is ready at pickup. If you still owe on the car and the offer is more than the payoff, the difference is yours at handoff.
Leaving Redstone Arsenal: ship, store or sell the car
Orders for a posting outside the 48 contiguous states can include a car benefit: the government may pay to ship one car to the new duty station, or to store one car for the length of the tour (Military OneSource). The Household Goods/Transportation Office in Building 3433 on Snooper Road, open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. weekdays, can tell you what your orders cover and whether the country you are headed to lets the car in.
To sell it yourself on post, the Automotive Skills Center runs a resale lot in front of the Commissary. As of an August 2025 report, you need proof of insurance and registration to list a car, and the parking permit costs $30 to $40 a month, charged a month ahead with no refunds.
Or sell it outright: describe the car online, get an offer, and the sale itself takes a day. If you are weighing all three, read our guide to selling your car before a PCS move.
Cash for your car in Huntsville
Junk cars in Huntsville fall under chapter 12 of the city code, and its definition is broad. A vehicle counts as inoperable when disrepair or damage, "including without limitation a flat tire," keeps it from running or moving under its own power. A car kept for parts counts too. At a home, an inoperable vehicle has to be kept inside an enclosed structure, which the code defines as four walls and a roof.
A car sitting on a flat in the driveway can fall under that rule. If that is your car, you can ask for an offer on it like any other, and pickup is where it sits. Our page on how to sell a junk car explains the rest.
If what keeps yours off the road is bigger than a flat, our guides cover selling a car with a blown head gasket or seized engine, selling one with a slipping transmission and selling a car that was wrecked in an accident.
Where Madison County handles tags and titles
- •Madison County's tag office, the counter many people call the Alabama DMV, is the Madison County License Department. Its main office is in the Madison County Service Center at 1918 North Memorial Parkway, open 8:30 a.m. to 4:45 p.m. weekdays (Madison County)
- •In Madison, the satellite in the Madison Taxpayer Service Building at 100 Plaza Blvd. handles tags and titles, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Madison County)
- •The satellite at 7900 Bailey Cove Road sits inside a Huntsville Police Department precinct and handles tags and titles, 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. (Madison County)
Asked by Huntsville sellers
Is the Madison County tag office on Redstone Arsenal open to civilians?
It serves anyone with access to the installation. The satellite is in the One Stop, Building 3494 on Honest John Road, offers limited services, and is open Tuesday through Thursday only. If you can't get on post, use one of the off-post counters listed above.
If my orders ship or store the car, where do I drop it off from Huntsville?
At a vehicle processing center, with an appointment booked through PCSmyPOV, the program's scheduling site. The closest center on its list is the Atlanta VPC at 2579 Campbell Boulevard in Ellenwood, Georgia. Ask the transportation office on post to confirm your entitlement before you book.
How much warning does Huntsville give before a junk-car citation?
For an inoperable car on private property, the code requires at least 30 days' written notice before a citation, served in person, by mail or posted on the property. You can ask the housing board of adjustments and appeals for more time, in writing, within the window the notice gives. A first conviction carries a fine of $100 to $500.
What if the car sits outside Huntsville's city limits?
In the parts of Madison County outside any city or town limits, the county's own junk ordinance is the one to check. The County Commission adopted it on June 18, 2007. It covers junk, litter and vehicles that create a public nuisance, and it does not apply to licensed junkyards.
For the statewide paperwork, see our page on selling a car in Alabama.