Arizona defines an automotive recycler by a number. Remove parts for resale from six or more vehicles in a calendar year and the statutory scheme reaches you, bringing a state license, a three-year record-keeping duty and a stack of environmental permits with it. Below six it does not apply at all. That line is worth knowing before you sell a car to a yard or buy a part from one, because it says what the operation is obliged to hold.
A.R.S. § 28-101 defines an automotive recycler as "a person that is engaged in the business of buying or acquiring a motor vehicle solely for the purpose of dismantling, selling or otherwise disposing of the parts or accessories and that removes parts for resale from six or more vehicles in a calendar year".
That threshold is the whole definition. Below it the statutory scheme doesn't reach the activity; at six it does. A.R.S. § 28-4302 names the license classes, an automotive recycler's license and a provisional automotive recycler's license, with a $15 filing fee and a $100 annual license fee, issued through the Arizona Department of Transportation. Applications carry a criminal records check under A.R.S. § 28-4361.
A.R.S. § 28-4404 requires records of vehicles and parts kept at the established place of business "for a period of three years from the date of acquiring each item recorded". Where a yard tows or transports a disabled vehicle, the record has to carry the make, model and description, the owner's name, the license plate number, the condition of the vehicle and where it was taken.
Dismantling itself runs through A.R.S. § 28-2094. An owner selling a vehicle as scrap assigns the certificate of title to the purchaser, who applies for a dismantle certificate with the title documents, registration card, license plate and a $4 fee. Once that happens the door closes behind it: "the department shall not issue a certificate of title for the vehicle if it is dismantled or destroyed." A licensed recycler holding a lien-free title may begin dismantling after five days where documents were mailed, or three where they were delivered.
The Arizona Department of Environmental Quality lists salvage yards under Sector M, covering establishments primarily engaged in dismantling motor vehicles to sell parts. Shredding for scrap metal is Sector N, a different classification with different obligations.
Permits a yard may hold include an outdoor used tire storage registration, a hazardous waste EPA identification number, industrial stormwater coverage under the AZPDES multi-sector general permit, drywell registration and aquifer protection general permits covering vehicle and equipment washes. A stormwater pollution prevention plan is required before permit coverage. ADEQ notes its own list may not be comprehensive.
Arizona licenses automotive recyclers through the Department of Transportation, so the license is checkable before you go.
At six vehicles. A.R.S. 28-101 defines one as a business buying vehicles solely to dismantle, sell or dispose of the parts, that removes parts for resale from six or more vehicles in a calendar year. Below that number the statutory scheme does not reach the activity.
A $15 filing fee and a $100 annual license fee, issued through the Arizona Department of Transportation under A.R.S. 28-4302. Applications carry a criminal records check under A.R.S. 28-4361.
Three years from the date it acquired each item, under A.R.S. 28-4404. Where the yard tows or transports a disabled vehicle, the record also has to carry the make, model and description, the owner name, the plate number, the condition of the vehicle and where it was taken.
No. A.R.S. 28-2094 says the department shall not issue a certificate of title for a vehicle that is dismantled or destroyed. A licensed recycler holding a lien-free title may begin dismantling after five days where the documents were mailed, or three where they were delivered.
ADEQ lists salvage yards under Sector M. Coverage may include an outdoor used tire storage registration, a hazardous waste EPA identification number, industrial stormwater under the AZPDES multi-sector general permit, drywell registration and aquifer protection general permits, with a stormwater pollution prevention plan required before coverage. ADEQ notes its own list may not be comprehensive.