Selling a catalytic converter in Georgia

Who may sell a detached converter

Subject to the article-wide exception described below, no secondary metals recycler may purchase a catalytic converter unless it is still attached to a vehicle or it comes from one of six sources (§ 10-1-351(c)). Four of them are licensed businesses that hand over a copy of the license or business license at the time of the purchase for the recycler to scan or photocopy, or keep one on file: a used motor vehicle dealer or used motor vehicle parts dealer licensed under Chapter 47 of Title 43 or by another state, a new motor vehicle dealer, a motor vehicle repairer, and a manufacturer or distributor of converters (§ 10-1-351(c)(2)(A) to (D)).

The fifth source is the ordinary seller, and it takes two documents. That person needs verifiable documentation such as a receipt or work order showing the converter is the result of a replacement performed by a used motor vehicle dealer, new motor vehicle dealer, or motor vehicle repairer, with a notation of the make, model, and year of the vehicle it came out of, and a copy of a certificate of title or registration showing ownership of or interest in that vehicle (§ 10-1-351(c)(2)(E)). The sixth is another registered secondary metals recycler that provides proof of registration and a signed statement that the transaction information was reported to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation under § 10-1-359.5 (§ 10-1-351(c)(2)(F)).

Two flat prohibitions sit on top. It is unlawful for any person to purchase, or to solicit or advertise for the purchase of, a used, detached converter or any nonferrous metal parts of one unless that person is a registered secondary metals recycler in full compliance with the article, and it is unlawful for any person to purchase, possess, transport, or sell one unless authorized under § 10-1-351(c) and holding the licenses, registrations, or other documentation that subsection requires (§ 10-1-351(d)). A used, detached converter means motor vehicle exhaust system parts used for controlling exhaust emissions that contain a catalyst metal, excluding a unit tested, certified, and labeled for reuse under applicable federal Clean Air Act regulations (§ 10-1-350(18.1)). Each unlawfully possessed or obtained unit is a separate offense (§ 10-1-351(d)(3)). One exception sits outside all of that, and it changed in 2025: the article does not apply to purchases of regulated metal property from registered charitable, philanthropic, religious, fraternal, civic, patriotic, social, or school-sponsored organizations or nonprofit corporations, a law enforcement officer acting officially, a trustee in bankruptcy, executor, administrator, or receiver who proves that status, a public official acting under judicial process, a sale on the execution of a judgment, or a manufacturing, industrial, or other commercial vendor that generates and sells regulated metal property in the ordinary course of its business and is not itself a secondary metals recycler (§ 10-1-358). Senate Bill 40 of 2025 struck the words that had excluded used, detached catalytic converters from that exception, as its own caption says, so a converter purchase from one of those six categories now falls outside the article altogether. What survives is the report: Senate Bill 40 added the words "Notwithstanding any provision of Code Section 10-1-358 to the contrary" to the reporting duty, so the converter report to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation still applies (§ 10-1-359.5(a)(2)).

What the buyer must record

A secondary metals recycler keeps a legible record of all purchase transactions holding its own name and address, the date, and the weight, quantity, or volume with a description of the type of metal, which includes a general physical description such as wire, tubing, extrusions, or castings (§ 10-1-353(a)(1) to (3)). It keeps a digital photograph or digital video image of the metal showing it reasonably clearly, and the amount of consideration together with a copy of the check or voucher or documentation evidencing the cash or electronic funds transfer given for it (§ 10-1-353(a)(4), (5)).

Two signed statements follow. The seller signs that they are the rightful owner or have been authorized to sell, and signs a second statement acknowledging the definition of a secondary metals recycler and that no ferrous metals, nonferrous metals, aluminum property, copper property, or catalytic converters may be purchased by a recycler unless it is registered under the article (§ 10-1-353(a)(6), (7)). Signing either statement knowing it to be false is itself a violation of the article and exposes the seller to the civil and criminal liability in § 10-1-359.2 (§ 10-1-353(d)). A personal identification card is a current and unexpired license or identification card from the Department of Driver Services or a similar card from another state, a military identification card, or a current federal work authorization, carrying name, address, and photograph (§ 10-1-350(12)).

Identification is captured for both the seller and, where different, the deliverer, meaning whoever brings the metal in (§ 10-1-350(7)). The recycler scans or photocopies a valid personal identification card for each, records its type and distinctive number, records each person's name and date of birth, and takes a photograph, videotape, or digital recording showing a recognizable facial image of each (§ 10-1-353(a)(8) to (11)). It also records the vehicle tag or identification number, state of issue, and the make, model, and color of the vehicle used, and copies the documentation, licenses, certificates, and registrations that §§ 10-1-351 and 10-1-352 require (§ 10-1-353(a)(12), (13)). Records are kept for not less than two years (§ 10-1-353(b)), and everything except the consideration paid goes electronically to the Georgia Bureau of Investigation for every purchase transaction (§ 10-1-359.5(a)(1)). Converters draw a second report: notwithstanding the exemptions in § 10-1-358, each recycler electronically submits to the Bureau the receipt of each converter purchase from a commercial vendor that generates and sells them in the ordinary course of business or from another recycler, giving the seller's name and address, the date, time, and place, and the number of converters or pounds of catalyst metal (§ 10-1-359.5(a)(2)).

How you are paid

A recycler may pay only by check, electronic funds transfer, cash, or voucher, and any check, transfer, or voucher is payable only to the person recorded as the seller (§ 10-1-355(a), (b)). Cash is then stripped away for the things Georgia worries about. No recycler may pay any seller more than one hundred dollars in cash for any transaction or complete more than two transactions per seller, per day, per registered location, and no recycler may pay cash to any seller for used, detached catalytic converters or coils, used utility wire, used communications copper, copper wire, or a battery (§ 10-1-355(d)). Those caps were due to lapse on January 1, 2026 and were kept in force by Senate Bill 40 of 2025, whose caption says it was passed to allow them "to remain in effect after January 1, 2026".

Vouchers carry their own timing. A voucher is either handed to the seller at the time of the transaction or mailed to the address on the personal identification card presented, and where it is handed over rather than mailed the recycler may not redeem it for three days from the date of the transaction (§ 10-1-355(c)). The voucher states the date of purchase, the seller's name, the amount paid, a detailed description of the metal, whether it was mailed or handed over, the first date it may be redeemed, and its expiry date, and it may be redeemed for cash only by the named seller or that person's heirs or legal representative (§ 10-1-355(c)). An unredeemed voucher expires six months after the date of the transaction (§ 10-1-355(c)).

Two more rules shape the mechanics. A recycler may not redeem or cash any check or electronic funds transfer it paid a seller for regulated metal property, and may not provide or permit any mechanism on its premises for doing so (§ 10-1-355(e)). Section 10-1-355 does not apply to a transaction between business entities (§ 10-1-355(f)), and that matters for converters: the version Senate Bill 60 of 2023 set running on January 1, 2026 and Senate Bill 40 of 2025 carried forward no longer carves converter transactions out of the business-entity exception, so the cash ban in § 10-1-355(d)(2) binds the private-seller route under § 10-1-351(c)(2)(E) rather than a sale between two business entities. Georgia sets no waiting period on the converter itself, so the only timing rule inside § 10-1-355 is the voucher redemption date.

Penalties

Anyone who buys or sells regulated metal property in violation of the article is guilty of a misdemeanor for a first offense, a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature for a second, and a felony punishable by one to ten years imprisonment for a third or subsequent offense or where the property was unlawfully obtained and the resulting property damage exceeds one thousand five hundred dollars in the aggregate (§ 10-1-359.2(a)). Each unlawfully possessed or obtained used, detached converter counts as a separate offense under that section (§ 10-1-359.2(a)). The same person is also liable in a civil action to any victim of a crime involving the metal for its full value, repairs and related expenses, litigation expenses, and reasonable attorney fees (§ 10-1-359.2(b)).

Converters are contraband when held unlawfully. Any used, detached converter possessed in violation of § 10-1-351(d) is declared contraband in which no person has a property right, and so is any vehicle used to transport it, with civil forfeiture proceedings for a seized vehicle stayed while criminal proceedings are pending unless the owner or interest holder agrees otherwise (§ 10-1-359.3(b)(3)). The same declaration covers property used or intended for use to facilitate theft by taking, theft by conversion, theft by receiving, first degree criminal damage to property, or any criminal violation of the article, together with the proceeds (§ 10-1-359.3(a), (b)(1)).

Registration is the buyer's exposure. It is unlawful for a recycler to purchase regulated metal property in any amount without registering with the sheriff of each county where it maintains a place of business, on a form the Secretary of State promulgates, with each registration valid for twelve months and renewed annually by January 1 (§ 10-1-359.1(a)). The sheriff charges two hundred dollars for a new registration and for each annual renewal, may require a current valid local business license, requires the registered agent to submit to a criminal background check and fingerprinting costing up to seventy-five dollars, and may deny or revoke registration for a revoked registration in another county, false information, or felony convictions under the article (§ 10-1-359.1(c)). A recycler convicted of violating that section is guilty of a misdemeanor of a high and aggravated nature (§ 10-1-359.1(e)).

What this means when you sell to us

Bring a current photo ID for whoever signs and for whoever brings the units in, since Georgia records both (§ 10-1-353(a)(8) to (11)). Dealers, parts dealers, repairers, and converter distributors bring the license or business license for us to copy (§ 10-1-351(c)(2)(A) to (D)). Everyone else brings the replacement receipt or work order naming the make, model, and year, plus a copy of the title or registration for that vehicle (§ 10-1-351(c)(2)(E)). You sign both ownership statements, and we photograph you and the units. Georgia bans cash for used, detached converters on the private-seller route, so payment to you is by check, electronic transfer, or voucher made out to you (§ 10-1-355(b), (d)(2)). A sale between two business entities sits outside § 10-1-355 entirely (§ 10-1-355(f)).