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Chapter 7 › XII.C Privately-Owned Vehicles and Vessels on Public Property

Can we remove abandoned cars and boats left by the disaster?

FEMA term
Privately-owned vehicles and vessels on public property
Short answer

Yes, from public property, if the vehicle or vessel blocks access to a public-use area, is abandoned, and you follow your own removal laws and document how you handled it.

What FEMA requires

  • The vehicle or vessel blocks access to a public-use area;
  • It is abandoned;
  • You follow applicable state, local, tribal or territorial removal ordinances; and
  • You document its handling.

Limited storage is eligible when removal is needed before the owner can be identified. If you find the owner, pursue storage and removal costs and credit FEMA its share.

Documentation

Photos, location, ordinance followed, owner search records, and storage and disposal records for each vehicle or vessel.

Watch out · Govstar practitioner advice

Run owner searches as you go. Recovered costs reduce FEMA’s share, so a missing paper trail looks like you didn’t try.

Govstar summarizes FEMA’s Public Assistance Program and Policy Guide in plain language and links to the official text. Govstar is independent and not affiliated with FEMA. This is general guidance, not legal advice.