How to ship a car from Copart

Copart shipping, after you win, is four steps: pay, wait until Copart shows the lot as released, give the driver the release Copart issued, and then let a truck load it. People search for a single Copart shipping cost and a single Copart shipping time. There isn't one. The yard's storage clock, the car's condition, and the lane each change the number. RideShipper can show a transport range. Copart's invoice is a different bill.

RideShipper is not Copart and not a carrier. It does not place bids, pull gate passes, or set Copart's fees. Companies that receive a quote request may pay RideShipper. See how we make money.

What is the sequence?#

Use this order. Do not send a truck at step 1.

1. Win. The lot page is the condition you bought. Save the lot number, the VIN, the yard name, and the photos.
2. Pay Copart the sale price plus the fees your invoice lists, by the deadline in your member terms. The Copart help URL checked on 10 November 2026 did not return the article, so this guide does not state a number of days. Open the terms on your account and the location page for the yard that has the car.
3. Release. When payment posts, Copart's account flow is where a gate pass or PIN appears. Follow the labels on the screen you see. Send the credential to the transporter the way that screen says. Do not email it to a list of companies "just in case."
4. Truck. Give the carrier the yard address, hours, lot number, and the last day you can pick up before storage. Say whether the car rolls, steers, and brakes.

Do not plan to drive the car off the lot until that yard's current page says a buyer may. Ask the yard. A transporter with the release Copart issued is the usual plan when the car will be shipped.

Why this page does not list a storage price#

Storage is why Copart pickups go wrong. The clock is short, and a carrier's pickup window is a range of days. You need the date for this lot.

This guide does not print a storage dollar amount. A single national Copart rate was not on a page that loaded on 10 November 2026. The location page and your invoice are the rate for this lot.

Do this instead:

• Open the location page for the yard on the lot.
• Read the storage lines on your invoice after you win.
• Write the first day a fee applies on the note you send the carrier.
• If the page and the invoice disagree, call the yard number on the location page and ask which date they will enforce.

The auction cost tool can hold the date you found. It does not replace the invoice.

What should I tell the carrier about the car?#

Copart lots include run-and-drive cars and cars that do not roll. The badge on the listing is a start. The loading plan is still the three questions on a car that does not run: rolls, steers, brakes. Add missing wheels, a missing key, or "starts only with a jump" if those are true.

A standard car carrier may not be allowed to wander the rows. Ask the carrier if they have picked up at that yard before, and ask Copart's location page whether the yard brings the car to a dock. A quote from a company that has never entered a salvage yard is a question to ask out loud.

If the car is an EV with battery damage, say that. A damaged lithium battery is not an ordinary winch. See shipping an electric car.

What does "Copart shipping time" leave out?#

Count the days in pieces, and do not add them into a promise.

Transit time estimates days after pickup for a highway route. It does not include the days the car sits in the yard. A highway range for a running sedan is a comparison point only:

Mark the pickup as a Copart yard, and mark whether the car runs. If you need the general auction order, including yards that are not Copart, read shipping from an auction.

How do I avoid a second problem while I solve the gate?#

Look up the carrier before you pay a deposit. FMCSA says interstate brokers and auto transporters must be registered. Use the company check. The BBB's 21 July 2023 alert describes a low quote and a wallet-app fee with no pickup. A storage deadline is not a reason to skip that check.

Ask the company what happens if the yard turns the driver away, and what happens if you cancel because the title is delayed. Those answers should be in the contract. RideShipper does not set them and does not refund Copart storage.

At delivery, compare the car with the lot photos before you sign. The condition report should already show the auction damage. New damage from the trip is what you note. A salvage title is a state process after the car is home. The truck does not clear a salvage brand.

Title, keys, and a second address#

Copart's title timing is on your invoice and the lot's title status, not in a national day count we are willing to print. Some purchases mail a title later. Some are title-absent or require a state process before anyone can register the car. Read the status before you promise a shop, or a buyer of your own, a date the car will be legal to drive. The truck can sometimes move a car before the title arrives. Registration cannot. If you need the title in hand first, say that, and do not dispatch a truck that will deliver a car you cannot yet use.

Keys are a listing fact. "No keys" means the driver may not be able to unlock the steering or shift the transmission. Say it. A locksmith at the yard is the yard's rule and your cost. Do not assume the carrier includes one.

If the delivery address changes after you pay Copart, that is a change to the truck contract, not to the Copart invoice. Ask the carrier what a reroute costs before the car is loaded. After it is loaded, it may be a new shipment. The amount is in that contract. RideShipper does not refund Copart storage caused by the change.

Keep the lot photos. They are the condition you bought. The pickup photos are the condition that left the yard. The delivery walk is the condition that arrived. Three sets, compared in that order, are how you tell auction damage from transport damage. One set is not enough.

A yard release is not a shipping contract#

Copart's job, once you have paid what the invoice says, is to release the car under that yard's rules. The carrier's job is to load it and deliver it. Those are two companies. A note in the Copart account that names a transporter does not, by itself, set the freight price, the pickup window, or what happens if the car will not roll. Read the transport contract for those terms. Read the yard page for gate hours, storage, and who may enter.

If you hire a carrier who has never been to that yard, ask them the four questions on the general auction page: how the yard releases cars, what truck they send for a non-runner, what a turned-away driver costs, and whether the window ends before storage. "We do Copart all the time" is not an answer you can use when the driver is at a closed gate.

Do not give a stranger the login to your Copart account so they can "handle the release." Give the assigned driver the credential the yard's own screen says to give, for that pickup, and change or expire it afterward if the site lets you. A shared password is how a second person can schedule a pickup you did not order.

When the car is home, the salvage or clean title follows the state's path. The truck ride did not repair the brand and did not pay the state's fees. If you bought the car to part out, say so only to the people who need to know. The carrier still needs the three loading facts. A parts car that does not roll is an inoperable shipment, priced as one.