Donate Your Car

1. It’s fast and easy.
2. You will feel good knowing your donated vehicle will directly help the animals in your community and throughout the region. It will allow us to provide care and new homes to pets in need; keep our humane officers in the field investigating neglect and abuse; and support other OHS programs. Your gift helps keep our doors open to all who need our services.
3. Your gift is being used efficiently. Because we manage this program ourselves, there are no “middleman expenses.” Therefore, a very high percentage of your vehicle’s sale price (typically 80%) goes to OHS. The “expense” portion reimburses our company partners for towing costs, providing auction services and processing DMV paperwork.
4. Because OHS is not affiliated with any other local or national animal welfare organizations, OHS relies on the generosity of people like you to sustain our shelter and programs.
5. Our Autos for Animals program operates in full compliance with Oregon DMV and Federal IRS rules.

The Autos for Animals program happily accepts running and non-running cars, trucks, and motorcycles. Pick-up of these vehicles is free.

We also accept RVs, camper trailers, boats, tractors, ATVs, snowmobiles, jet skis, and planes based on condition. These vehicles do require pre-approval from our partner liquidators, which OHS is happy to assist with, just give us a call or email to learn more!

The better the condition of any vehicle, the easier it is to sell for a good price at auction, resulting in more funds to care for the animals. If you have questions about a specific vehicle, please contact us at (503) 802-6766 or email.

It’s easy and convenient:

1. Fill out the online form or call us at (503) 802-6766 to submit the form over the phone.
2. Once the donation form is submitted, our partner tow company will contact you within 2 business days with their consignment forms and to schedule a pick-up time of the vehicle, if needed.
3. At pick up, the tow company will collect the title, consignment form, keys and vehicle.
4. OHS will send a donation acknowledgment to you and will notify the Oregon DMV of the donation, provided we have been given the vehicle’s correct VIN on the donation form.
5. The towing company will list the vehicle at their weekly auctions. Specialty or high-value vehicles chosen for the retail lot may take a little longer to sell.*
6. Once the vehicle sells, the tow company will notify the Oregon DMV of the sale and OHS will mail an official tax receipt to you acknowledging your charitable deduction.

*All vehicles donated to OHS are consigned to a licensed vehicle dealer. The dealer determines whether the vehicle will sell best at an open-to-the-public auction or retail lot.

If you supply complete VIN and plate numbers, OHS will notify the DMV (for Oregon registered vehicles) that your vehicle has been donated. Once your vehicle has been sold, the Oregon DMV is notified who purchased the vehicle.

We recommend that you contact the DMV to let them know the vehicle was donated if the vehicle is titled in a state other than Oregon.

If you are donating a boat, it is recommended that you contact the State Marine Board to notify them you have donated your vessel to OHS.

Absolutely!

Absolutely! Our local partner tow company can accommodate tows throughout Oregon, however, tows in some parts of the state may require additional time to schedule. If your vehicle is located 100 miles outside of Portland, please give us a call at (503) 802-6766 and we can discuss the timeline.

Certain vehicles can be donation without a title depending on the vehicle’s registered state and year.

Vehicles registered in Oregon:

• 2010 or older: Title not required, , but if you do not have the title, you must provide the tow company with one of the following:
  • A current Oregon registration
  • A vehicle record print from the DMV
• 2011 or newer: Title required

Vehicles registered in Washington:

• Title not required regardless of the vehicle’s year

Vehicles registered in states other than Oregon and Washington:

• Title required regardless of vehicle’s year

Steps Involved:

Immediately after receiving your donated vehicle, OHS will mail an acknowledgement letter providing proof that you donated your vehicle to the Oregon Humane Society, an eligible 501(c)3 charitable organization.

After the vehicle sells, a tax-receipt will be mailed to you stating the amount for which the vehicle was sold. Typically we are able to notify you of the sale of your vehicle within 45 days. Classic or high-end vehicles could take longer. If you want to claim a charitable deduction for a vehicle that sells for more than $500, we will need your social security number so that an IRS tax form 1098-C can be issued. For additional guidance on vehicle donations, visit www.irs.gov and see publication 4303.

Claim Value:

The IRS allows for vehicles with a value of less than $500 to be claimed for the fair market value. Higher value vehicles are claimed for the sales price.

You will need to sign the title before we can accept the vehicle. In Oregon there are several versions of vehicle titles.

DO NOT sign where it says, “… security interest holder or lessor releasing all interest.”

DO sign under “seller’s printed name” or “signature of owner releasing interest/certifying odometer reading.”

Example 1, Example 2

All parties listed on the title need to sign off on the title before OHS can accept the vehicle.

If you would like to buy a donated vehicle, check out Speed’s Auto Auction.

Absolutely! By dropping your vehicle off directly with our auction partner, your vehicle donation helps more animals by eliminating the towing fee. Contact us at (503) 802-6766 to learn how to drop off your vehicle directly.