Selling a catalytic converter in Arkansas

Who may sell a detached converter

Arkansas does not restrict converter sales to a list of licensed businesses. What it does instead is require documentation from every seller and criminalize possession of an unmarked unit. A seller may not sell and a scrap metal recycler may not purchase scrap metal unless reasonable, written documentation is provided showing that the seller owns the metal or is an employee, agent, or other person authorized to sell it for the owner (§ 17-44-102(b)). Since 2023 the definition of scrap metal expressly includes detached catalytic converters (§ 17-44-101(7)(B)), so that rule reaches a converter sale. The section does not apply at all to a transfer from one scrap metal processor to another where the purchaser or transferee obtained a bill of sale or similar document at the time of transfer, nor to transactions involving only beverage or food containers or only ferrous metals (§ 17-44-102(h)).

Reasonable, written documentation is defined tightly. The written document has to name the entity or individual the seller acquired the metal from, give the date it was acquired and the physical address it was acquired from, and carry two affirmations from the seller: that he or she is the owner or is the employer, agent, licensed contractor, licensed HVACR technician, plumber, electrician, or other person authorized to sell for the owner, and that he or she has not pleaded guilty or nolo contendere to, or been found guilty of, theft, burglary, or vandalism where the offense involved scrap metal (§ 17-44-102(a)(1) to (5)).

The criminal side puts a marking requirement behind that. A person commits unauthorized possession of a catalytic converter by knowingly possessing a converter removed from a motor vehicle that is not permanently marked, unless that person owns the vehicle it came off or possesses it in the ordinary course of business (§ 5-36-126(c)). Permanently marked means marked in a permanent manner, engraving or permanent ink included, clearly and legibly showing the date the converter was removed and the vehicle identification number, the last eight digits of it, or a stock number in an electronic database tied to a single identification number (§ 5-36-126(a)(2)). The list of businesses presumed to be in the ordinary course of business was repealed in 2023, so the exception now turns on the facts rather than on a named trade (Act 709 of 2023, § 2, repealing § 5-36-126(d) and (e)).

What the buyer must record

Every scrap metal recycler doing business in Arkansas maintains an accurate and legible record of each scrap metal purchase transaction, with individual records not required for a series of purchases made under a contract, and repeat sellers' identification data may sit in a relational database recorded once and related to later purchases (§ 17-44-102(c)(1) to (3)). Each record carries the seller's name, address, gender, birth date, and the identifying number from a driver license, military identification card, passport, or other government-issued photo identification, plus a photocopy of that identification (§ 17-44-102(d)(1), (2)).

The rest of the entry covers the transaction and the metal: the date, the seller's digital thumbprints, a general description of the predominant types of scrap made according to the custom of the trade, a general description of the configuration and whether the material is insulated, the weight, quantity, or volume, the consideration paid, and the plate number of the vehicle used to bring the material in (§ 17-44-102(d)(3) to (9)). A clearly identifiable date-and-time-stamped digital photograph is taken of the seller, of the scrap metal in the form it was purchased, and of a catalytic converter if any, with the name of the person who took the photographs recorded alongside them (§ 17-44-102(d)(10)). The photocopy, thumbprints, and photographs all have to be reasonably clear (§ 17-44-102(e)).

Reporting is daily and electronic. A recycler files a daily electronic record of that day's scrap metal purchases into an automated database that law enforcement can access statewide (§ 17-44-102(f)(1)), and the database operator sends the county sheriff a list every seven days of recyclers with access that have not filed (§ 17-44-102(f)(2)(A)). Records are kept for one year, made available to any state, municipal, or county law enforcement office, and available for use in any legal proceeding (§ 17-44-102(g)). A buyer of used converters who is not a scrap metal recycler carries a parallel regime: an electronic record entered in the same database within twenty-four hours of purchase, naming the buyer and seller with home addresses, the seller's plate and photo identification number, the number of converters, and a photo of them, with the receipt kept as the record of purchase and held one year (§ 17-44-109(a)(1), (a)(3), (a)(4), (b)(1), (c)). That record is not required where the converter is sold as a repair part in compliance with federal Environmental Protection Agency policy and is permanently marked with the removal date and the vehicle identification number or a linked alternative number (§ 17-44-109(a)(2)).

How you are paid

Arkansas sets no payment rules for scrap metal. The chapter contains no cash ban, no dollar threshold above which a check is required, no instruction on who a check is made out to or where it is mailed, and no waiting period before a seller may collect. The only money term the statute touches is the record: the consideration paid has to be written into the transaction record (§ 17-44-102(d)(8)), and for a converter buyer who is not a recycler the electronic record has to be filed within twenty-four hours of the purchase (§ 17-44-109(a)(3)).

Arkansas likewise imposes no statutory hold on the metal. There is no requirement to keep a converter in its received condition for a set number of days and no hold-notice procedure in the chapter, so a buyer may process or move a unit once the record and the daily report are done. What fills the gap is the documentation requirement: because a covered purchase cannot happen without reasonable, written documentation of ownership (§ 17-44-102(b), (h)), the paperwork rather than a waiting period is what stands between a seller and payment.

Penalties

A person who violates the scrap metal dealers chapter may be assessed a civil penalty of up to one thousand dollars per violation, and knowingly giving false information about anything the chapter requires to be recorded is a Class A misdemeanor (§ 17-44-106). Failing to file the daily electronic record draws that civil penalty for a first offense, is a Class A misdemeanor on a second violation, and is a Class D felony on a third or later one, and the same ladder applies to a converter buyer who misses the daily filing (§ 17-44-102(f)(2)(B), § 17-44-109(f)). Anyone convicted of theft of scrap metal under § 5-36-123 is forever prohibited from selling scrap metal in the state (§ 17-44-107).

The converter offenses are graded as felonies. Theft of a catalytic converter, committed by anyone who commits, aids, or is an accomplice to theft of property under § 5-36-103(a) where the property is a converter, is a Class C felony, and the court may order restitution for the value of repairing or replacing the unit (§ 5-36-126(b), (f)). Unauthorized possession of a converter is a Class D felony, rising to a Class C felony where the person has a prior conviction for the same offense or, in the course of the possession, commits or attempts, conspires, or solicits another to commit a converter-related offense (§ 5-36-126(g)).

Receiving is punished separately, but under a narrower definition. Theft by receiving of scrap metal covers receiving, retaining, purchasing, or disposing of another person's scrap metal where the person knows or should have known it was stolen, and a felony conviction carries a discretionary five-year sentence enhancement where the finder of fact determines the metal was nonferrous (§ 5-36-124(b), (d)). Scrap metal for that section means copper, copper alloy, copper utility wire, any bronze, or any aluminum as described in § 17-44-101 et seq. (§ 5-36-124(a)(2)), and the 2023 act put detached converters into § 17-44-101(7)(B) rather than into that definition, so a converter is normally charged under § 5-36-126 instead. On the buyer's side, a scrap metal recycler needs a license from the county sheriff, two hundred fifty dollars initially and twenty-five dollars a year after, available only to a business with a fixed physical location, permanent utilities, proof of any required stormwater permit, and the ability to comply with online reporting, and a court may suspend or revoke it in a civil action brought by the prosecuting attorney (§ 17-44-108). A buyer of used converters who is not a scrap metal recycler registers with the county sheriff on the same terms, two hundred fifty dollars initially and twenty-five dollars annually, payable to the sheriff of the county where the buyer has its fixed physical location, with the same utilities and online-reporting conditions and the same route to suspension or revocation (§ 17-44-109(e)(1) to (6)).

What this means when you sell to us

Bring a government photo ID and the written ownership document Arkansas requires: where you got each converter, the date, the address, and your signed affirmation that you own it or are authorized to sell it and have no scrap metal theft, burglary, or vandalism conviction (§ 17-44-102(a), (b)). Have units permanently marked with the removal date and the vehicle identification number where you can (§ 5-36-126(a)(2)). We photograph you and each converter, take a thumbprint, record the count and weight, and file the day's purchases electronically (§ 17-44-102(d), (f)). Arkansas sets no payment rules, so our own terms apply.