Sell your car in Winston-Salem: running, untagged or not running
On a residentially zoned lot in Winston-Salem, two or more untagged vehicles can draw a Code Enforcement citation, so pulling the plate off a second dead car that's staying in the yard can bring one. Get an online cash offer from our buying partner first, and the free pickup can take the car off the lot anywhere in Forsyth County.
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The Forsyth County refund on a sold car
- Apply after the sale. Forsyth County lets an owner apply for a refund of the taxes paid on a motor vehicle once it's sold (Forsyth County Tax).
- Fax the proof within a year. Send a copy of your FS20 plate-surrender form and the bill of sale to 336-727-2369, within one year of surrendering the plate (Forsyth County tax FAQ).
- Hold on to the bill of sale. Since it travels with the FS20, make your copy before the car leaves the driveway.
Where we pick up around Winston-Salem
Pickup is free in every part of Winston-Salem and across the rest of Forsyth County. A car beside the house, in a parking deck or at the end of a gravel drive is fine; say how a truck can reach it.
Emissions, as of May 2026. WFDD reported then that Forsyth still required a yearly emissions test, as one of 19 North Carolina counties, while the state's 2024 request to end it waited on EPA, which had proposed approving it (WFDD).
A tax notice for a car you've already sold
Forsyth County doesn't bill a registered car's tax itself. That goes through the state's Tag & Tax system, and the county handles vehicle taxes only when a vehicle is unregistered or has a gap in registration (Forsyth County Tax).
So when a combined registration renewal and tax notice turns up for a car you no longer own, the county's FAQ sends you to the NCDMV Help Line at 919-814-1779 (Forsyth County Tax). Have the sale date handy, and the FS20 if you surrendered the plate.
A gap in registration is the other case the county handles itself, so if the registration lapsed for a stretch before the sale, that gap is a matter for Forsyth County rather than for Tag & Tax.
Cash for your car in Winston-Salem
Winston-Salem's Code Enforcement counts two or more untagged vehicles in a yard as a storage yard, and if you live on a residentially zoned lot and have two or more, you can be cited (Winston-Salem Code Enforcement).
That's worth knowing before you pull the plate on a car that will sit, because without a tag it counts toward that limit. Selling it instead takes it off the lot, and if two untagged cars are already there, selling one brings the count back under the line.
If Code Enforcement has already tagged the car, the days written on the tag are the days you have to comply before it's towed, and CityLink takes code reports at 311 or (336) 727-8000 (Code Enforcement).
Tag or no tag, running or not, it can still be sold, and the pickup hauls it away free. Our junk car page covers a car that's finished, and selling with an expired registration covers a tag that has lapsed.
Where a Winston-Salem plate goes back
- •1141 Silas Creek Parkway, in the Parkway Plaza Shopping Center, is the Winston-Salem license plate agency in NCDMV's June 2026 notice (NCDOT). Agencies like it offer vehicle registration services and title transactions (NCDOT)
- •In person: the Forsyth County tax FAQ says plates can be surrendered to your local license plate agency (Forsyth County Tax)
- •By mail: NC DMV Vehicle Registration Section, 3148 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-3148 (Forsyth County Tax)
Asked by Winston-Salem sellers
Can I get Forsyth County tax back if I put my plate on my new car?
No. If you transfer the plate to another vehicle, you won't be eligible for a refund of the taxes paid (Forsyth County Tax).
Does pulling the plate stop the tax on a car I'm keeping in Winston-Salem?
Not by itself. Once a vehicle is unregistered, its taxes are handled by Forsyth County directly instead of through Tag & Tax (Forsyth County Tax).
Is it too late to claim a Forsyth refund on a car I sold months ago?
Not if you're still within a year of surrendering the plate. The county wants the FS20 and the bill of sale within one year of the surrender (Forsyth County tax FAQ).
I'm moving out of state. Can I get Forsyth County tax back?
You can apply for a refund when the vehicle is registered out of state, and the county takes a faxed copy of your FS20 with the new state's registration at 336-727-2369 (Forsyth County Tax).
Can I mail my plate instead of taking it to the Silas Creek Parkway agency?
Yes. The county's FAQ gives NCDMV's mailing address for plates: NC DMV Vehicle Registration Section, 3148 Mail Service Center, Raleigh, NC 27699-3148 (Forsyth County Tax).
Title signing and the plate rules are the same across North Carolina, and our North Carolina page lays them out; license plates when you sell, by state shows how North Carolina's rule compares.