Sell your car in Katy: running, storm-damaged or won't start
Katy spreads across Fort Bend, Harris and Waller counties, so the county tax office that handles the title depends on the buyer's county, and Fort Bend's Katy Branch closes at noon on Wednesdays. The cash offer comes online, and the free pickup comes to the car on whichever side of a county line it sits.
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Taking a sold car off your toll tag
- Check whether it carries a tag. The Katy Managed Lanes take tolls only from an EZ TAG or TxTag (HCTRA rate chart), so a car that used them should have one.
- Ask HCTRA to deactivate it. Under its EZ TAG agreement, HCTRA provides timely deactivation of an account or its tags and plates when the customer asks (EZ TAG agreement).
- Until then, the charges are yours. Charges keep accruing to the account holder until the change in status has been made (EZ TAG agreement).
- Then the state's side. The transfer notice is the other half of cutting ties with the car, and our Texas selling page explains it.
Where we pick up around Katy
Pickup is free at any Katy address, whichever county it falls in, and across Fort Bend, Harris and Waller counties, Sugar Land and Richmond included; a car that won't start is no obstacle. If it sits in a flooded-out garage or under a downed limb, say so when you book.
A renewal location can't do the transfer. Harris County has about 200 vehicle license renewal locations selling registration stickers (Harris County Tax Office), but a change of ownership goes to a county tax office.
Cash for your car in Katy
Inside the City of Katy, a junk vehicle is a police call. The city's Code Enforcement Division enforces nuisance and zoning violations, but its own page sends junk vehicles, parking and vehicles creating a traffic hazard to the Katy Police Department at 281-391-4848 (City of Katy, 2025 copy).
In the city or out in the county, a car that no longer runs can still get an offer from our buying partner, with no obligation to take it, and the pickup is free. Our junk car page covers selling one for parts and scrap, and how to sell a car that doesn't run compares the buyers that send a truck.
A car that took Beryl's water or a falling limb
Beryl made landfall near Matagorda at 4 a.m. on July 8, 2024, as a Category 1 hurricane with peak over-water sustained winds of 80 mph (National Weather Service). It hit Fort Bend County directly that Monday morning, leaving streets flooded, tree limbs down and roofs damaged; it came directly over Sugar Land and Katy with high winds and rain, and the Katy area in Harris and Waller counties felt it too (Covering Katy News).
A car that sat in one of those flooded streets, or caught a falling limb, can still get an offer. Put the water line or the dent in your notes. If an insurer has already paid a claim on it, our guide to selling a flood-damaged car covers what that changes. For a dented roof or a cracked windshield, selling a damaged car covers what buyers check.
Asked by Katy sellers
Is the Grand Corner Drive office Fort Bend County's main tax office?
No. TxDMV lists Fort Bend's main tax office at 1317 Eugene Heimann Circle in Richmond, (281) 341-3710 (TxDMV). Besides Katy, the county's branches are Missouri City Annex, Needville, Sienna Annex and Sugar Land (Fort Bend County).
Who answers code questions inside Katy's city limits?
The City of Katy's Code Enforcement Division, at 281-391-4830 or code@cityofkaty.com (City of Katy, 2025 copy). A junk-vehicle complaint goes to the Katy Police Department instead.
Is Wednesday a bad day for a Katy title errand?
It can be. Fort Bend's Katy Branch closes at noon on Wednesdays (Fort Bend County), and Harris County's downtown office is closed Wednesdays (Harris County Tax Office). For a Waller County address, call the county tax office in Hempstead at (979) 826-7620 before you go.
The Texas rules for signing the title, the transfer notice and the plates don't change at a county line, so they're on our Texas selling page. Our guide to release of liability after selling a car compares what ends a seller's exposure in each state.
Your buyer's county decides the tax office
- •Fort Bend County: Katy Branch, 22333 Grand Corner Dr., 281-341-3710. Open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday from 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and Wednesday from 8:00 a.m. to noon. (Fort Bend County)
- •Harris County: 1001 Preston, downtown Houston, (713) 274-8000 (TxDMV). The downtown office is open Monday, Tuesday, Thursday and Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., and closed Wednesdays; the county keeps its list of branch locations on its homepage. (Harris County Tax Office)
- •Waller County: 836 Austin St, Ste 1400, Hempstead, (979) 826-7620 (TxDMV). Unlike Fort Bend and Harris, Waller isn't on TxDMV's emissions-county list. (TxDMV FAQ)