Before your donated car leaves, do a 15-minute sweep. Remove the garage-door remote, toll transponder, parking permits, disability placards, insurance card, registration, glovebox papers, personal items, cash, tools, chargers, and anything in the trunk. Delete vehicle data by factory-resetting the infotainment system, including Bluetooth pairings, HomeLink, and saved home address. Do not remove the keys or the signed-over title. Leave both with the car for Ride to Relief.
Your pre-pickup checklist
Remove security items
Start with the items that can open doors or identify where you live. Take the garage-door remote out of the visor or console. Remove spare house keys, office keys, gate fobs, storage-unit keys, and building access cards. Check key rings you plan to leave with the vehicle. Only the vehicle keys should stay with the donation.
Stop billing items
Pull every toll transponder or sticker you can safely remove. Check the windshield, bumper-mounted holder, glovebox, and center console. Then log in to the toll account and remove this vehicle from the account, or contact the provider for the correct account update. That prevents future tolls, parking charges, or reloads from following the car.
Clear glovebox documents
Empty the glovebox and door pockets of papers. Remove the insurance card, registration, old repair invoices, finance papers, receipts, owner notes, and anything with your address or policy number. Keep personal medical paperwork and disability placard paperwork with you. Leave only donation-needed vehicle paperwork, especially the signed-over title, for the tow driver at pickup.
Sweep cabin and trunk
Work front to back. Look under both front seats, between cushions, in seat-back pockets, visors, cup holders, the center console, door bins, floor mats, and the rear cargo area. Open the trunk and check side compartments, tool trays, emergency kits, and the spare-tire well. Remove clothing, sunglasses, cash, medications, work badges, mail, and personal tools.
Wipe saved vehicle data
Before the vehicle goes, clear stored data. Use the settings menu to factory-reset the infotainment system when possible. Delete Bluetooth pairings, phone contacts, call history, garage HomeLink buttons, saved navigation addresses, and the saved home address. If the screen will not power on, remove phones from the paired-device list on your phone and take any memory cards.
Remove optional add-ons
Remove add-ons only if you can do it without changing the donated vehicle from how you described it. You may take dash cams, phone mounts, toll-tag holders, removable GPS units, upgraded stereo faceplates, and child seats. Do not strip parts, cut wires, remove fixed equipment, or leave the car unsafe, incomplete, or different from the pickup description.
Leave keys and title
Put the vehicle keys with the car where they can be handed over at pickup. Leave the signed-over title with the car as well, not in your house, purse, or files. If your title situation is unusual, confirm the right signing steps with the state motor-vehicle office before the vehicle is released. This helps avoid a paperwork stop.
Two items to treat separately
Do not put every vehicle-related item in one folder and carry it away. The keys and signed-over title are not personal property for this checklist; they stay with the car. Vehicle donation paperwork rules vary by state, so if anything about an unusual title situation is unclear, confirm it with the Colorado DMV before free pickup. Keep copies or photos of documents for your records if you normally maintain a vehicle file. For license plates, use our separate guide: License Plates After Donation. For release of liability, use our separate guide: Release of Liability After Donation.
Common questions
Should I leave the registration in the glovebox?
No. Remove the registration with your other glovebox papers unless Ride to Relief specifically asked you for a document. Registration cards can include personal information. The main paperwork to leave with the vehicle is the signed-over title, plus the vehicle keys.
What if the infotainment screen will not turn on?
Do what you can from your phone and from the vehicle. Delete the vehicle from your phone’s Bluetooth list. Remove USB drives, SD cards, CDs, and garage remotes. If the screen is dead, note that you attempted the reset and continue the physical sweep.
Can I keep my upgraded stereo or dash cam?
Usually, yes, if it is removable and the vehicle remains intact and as described. Take dash cams, mounts, memory cards, and removable stereo faceplates. Do not cut wiring, remove built-in equipment, or take parts that make the vehicle incomplete or unsafe.
More donation prep guides
A clean sweep protects your information and keeps the donation handoff simple. Your cleaned-out vehicle can then move through the Ride to Relief donation process for Heritage for the Blind (EIN 58-2164446). Place the signed-over title and keys with the car, keep your removed items, and use this checklist for one last walkaround before your free pickup.