Selling a catalytic converter in Texas

Who may sell a detached converter

Registration falls on the buyer, and the converter declaration is part of it. A person may not act as a metal recycling entity or represent to the public that the person is one unless registered under the chapter (§ 1956.021), and the department issues a certificate to an applicant who applies and pays the fee, presents the qualifications evidence commission rule requires, submits a declaration describing the extent to which the applicant intends to engage in transactions involving converters removed from motor vehicles, shows it intends to use a fixed location, and gives that location's physical address (§ 1956.022(a)(1) to (5)). Where the business involves converters, the declaration has to say which category of business activity the applicant will conduct with them, or that it will deal only incidentally with them (§ 1956.022(a-1)(1) to (3)). A certificate is valid two years (§ 1956.023(a)) and the entity has to maintain a fixed location at all times (§ 1956.030(a)).

The seller produces documents rather than a license of any kind. A person attempting to sell regulated material displays a personal identification document; gives the make, model, color, and license plate number of the motor vehicle used to transport the material and the issuing state; and either presents written documentation evidencing legal ownership or the right to sell, or signs a written statement provided by the entity to the same effect (§ 1956.032(a)(1) to (3)). The entity or its agent visually verifies the accuracy of the identification at the time of purchase and makes a copy for its records (§ 1956.032(c)).

Converters add two mandatory items and a matching test. In addition to § 1956.032, a person attempting to sell a converter provides the year, make, model, and vehicle identification number for the vehicle it was removed from, and a copy of the certificate of title or other documentation indicating that the person has an ownership interest in that vehicle (§ 1956.0321(a)(1), (2)). A metal recycling entity may not purchase a converter from a seller who does not comply (§ 1956.0321(b)), and may not purchase one unless it determines that the converter is consistent with the manufacturer's specifications for a converter from the vehicle the seller described (§ 1956.0321(c)). Catalytic converter, for the chapter, includes any material removed from a catalytic converter (§ 1956.001(2-a)), and "regulated metal" expressly includes catalytic converters not attached to a vehicle, which in turn makes them regulated material (§ 1956.001(9)(E), (10)(O)).

What the buyer must record

The general record is long and in English. It holds the place, date, and amount of the purchase; the name and address of the seller in possession of the material; the identifying number of the seller's personal identification document; a trade description of the commodity type and quantity; the vehicle and ownership information from § 1956.032(a)(2) and (3); the applicable air conditioning license, registration, or receipt documentation; burned communications wire documentation where applicable; the registration verification copy for a seller claiming to be a recycling entity; and a copy of the payment documentation § 1956.0381(b) requires (§ 1956.033(b)(1) to (9)).

Converters add a thumbprint and a unique number. Where the regulated material purchased is a converter, the record carries a clear and legible thumbprint of the seller unless the seller presents a valid cash transaction card issued under § 1956.0382 (§ 1956.033(b)(10)). The entity marks each converter it purchases with a unique number in the manner the commission prescribes by rule (§ 1956.0321(d)), and keeps a converter record containing the § 1956.033 information, the vehicle information, a copy of the ownership documentation, and that unique number (§ 1956.0321(e)(1) to (4)). For every purchase of regulated metal the entity also obtains a digital photograph or video recording accurately depicting the seller's entire face and each type of metal purchased (§ 1956.0331(a)).

Retention, inspection, and reporting run on separate clocks. Records required by §§ 1956.032, 1956.0321, and 1956.033 are preserved until the second anniversary of the date made, kept in an easily retrievable format, and available for inspection not later than seventy-two hours after the time of purchase (§ 1956.034); a video recording is preserved until the ninety-first day and a digital photograph until the one hundred eighty-first day after the transaction (§ 1956.0331(b)). On request the entity permits a peace officer, a department representative, or a local licensing authority to inspect the records during usual business hours (§ 1956.035(a)). Not later than the close of business on the entity's second working day after the purchase, it sends an electronic transaction report to the department through the department's website containing the information §§ 1956.0321 and 1956.033 require, although the amount of the purchase and the payment documentation copy may be left out (§ 1956.036(a), (d-1)).

How you are paid

Cash exists in Texas but only through a card. A metal recycling entity may pay for a purchase of regulated material only by cash where the seller has been issued a cash transaction card, by debit card where the seller has been issued such a card, by check, by money order, or by direct deposit by electronic funds transfer (§ 1956.0381(a)(1) to (5)). Cash or debit payment requires that, before payment issues, the seller present a valid cash transaction card issued by that entity or another Texas metal recycling entity, or that the entity pull a copy of the seller's card from its own records (§ 1956.0382(a)(1), (2)).

The card itself is an identity document. An application for issuance or renewal includes the applicant's name, address, sex, and birth date, the identification number from the personal identification document, a digital photograph accurately depicting the applicant's entire face taken at the time of application, a clear and legible thumbprint, and the applicant's signature (§ 1956.0382(b)(1) to (5)). The issued card carries the seller's name and address, a digital photograph of the seller's entire face, a unique identifying number, and an expiration date no later than two years out, is mailed to the address on the application, and is not transferable (§ 1956.0382(d), (e), (f)). Two conditions kill cash outright: an entity without the required certificate of registration or local license may not pay cash, and neither may one the department has barred from paying cash for failing to comply with the reporting section (§ 1956.038(b)(1), (2), § 1956.036(e)).

The converter itself waits five working days. A metal recycling entity may not dispose of, process, sell, or remove from the premises an item of regulated metal unless it acquired the item more than five days, excluding weekends and holidays, before that disposal, processing, sale, or removal where the item is a catalytic converter, against seventy-two hours for ordinary regulated metal and eight days for a cemetery vase, receptacle, or memorial in a material other than aluminum (§ 1956.037(a)(1)(A) to (C)). That waiting period does not apply where the entity purchased the item from a manufacturing, industrial, commercial, retail, or other seller that sells regulated material in the ordinary course of its business (§ 1956.037(a)(2)). A peace officer with reasonable suspicion that an item is stolen may add a written sixty day hold on top of it (§ 1956.037(b), (c)).

Penalties

Converters raise the grade at every level. Knowingly violating the prohibited acts section is a Class A misdemeanor, rising to a state jail felony on a prior conviction under the subchapter, but an offense involving a catalytic converter is a state jail felony from the start and a felony of the third degree on a prior converter conviction (§ 1956.040(a)). The prohibited acts themselves are, with intent to deceive, displaying a false or invalid personal identification document, making a false material statement in the ownership statement or in the entity's efforts to obtain record information, displaying or providing information the person knows is false or invalid, or displaying another individual's identification document (§ 1956.038(a)(1) to (4)).

Buying and selling stolen material is graded the same way. Knowingly buying stolen regulated material is a Class A misdemeanor, or a state jail felony on a prior conviction, but where the material purchased was a converter the offense is a state jail felony and becomes a third degree felony on a prior converter conviction (§ 1956.040(b), (b-1), (b-2)). Knowingly selling stolen regulated material is a state jail felony and a third degree felony on a prior conviction (§ 1956.040(c)). Operating unregistered, letting a certificate lapse, failing to report, or buying outside permitted hours is a Class A misdemeanor with a fine capped at ten thousand dollars, or a state jail felony on a prior such conviction (§ 1956.040(a-1), (a-2)).

Business closure is available as a remedy. The department or a local government may sue to enjoin the business operations of an owner or operator who has not applied for a certificate of registration or the required local license, for not less than thirty and not more than ninety days, and a judgment for the state closes the place of business for the same period (§ 1956.038(e), (f)). On conviction for knowingly buying stolen material a court may also order the entity to cease doing business for a period the statute limits by offense count (§ 1956.040(d)). The commission may separately impose an administrative penalty after notice and an opportunity for a hearing (§ 1956.041(a)), and a local government may set the hours of purchase, subject in turn to a statutory ceiling: a metal recycling entity may not purchase regulated material from the general public for more than fifteen consecutive hours in one day or later than nine p.m. (§ 1956.039(a), (b)).

What this means when you sell to us

Bring a personal identification document, because Texas has us verify it visually and copy it before we can buy (§ 1956.032(a)(1), (c)). For each converter, bring the year, make, model, and vehicle identification number of the vehicle it came off and a copy of the title or other documentation showing your ownership interest in that vehicle, and expect us to check that the unit matches the manufacturer's specifications for that vehicle (§ 1956.0321(a), (c)). You leave a thumbprint unless you hold a cash transaction card, and we photograph your face and the metal (§ 1956.033(b)(10), § 1956.0331(a)). Cash and debit are available only with a cash transaction card; otherwise Texas allows a check, a money order, or a bank transfer (§ 1956.0381(a), § 1956.0382(a)). Each converter then stays put for five working days before it moves on (§ 1956.037(a)(1)(B)).