Before taking your vehicle to the George Town Landfill, you must terminate its licence at the DVDL.
Disposal & Removal Process
You cannot simply take a vehicle down to the Cayman Islands Landfill and dispose of it; the staff at the dump will not accept it. You must first terminate the registration at the Department of Vehicle and Driver's Licensing (DVDL). For the process of doing this please read below:
1. The first step to dispose of your vehicle is to fill out an ‘Application for Suspension/Termination of Vehicle Licence’ form and present it to the DVDL, along with your photo ID and the vehicle’s registration certificate (duplicates can be bought at the DVDL for CI$30). There is a CI$25 termination fee, and you will have to pay any additional back-duty if accrued. See this page on the DVDL website to terminate the vehicle.
2. You will then be required to surrender your registration plates, log book and coupon to the DVDL. Although, if you are terminating your vehicle prior to the expiration date of your coupon, you may get a refund. Once this process has been completed, the vehicle cannot be driven on the road. You will then have to arrange a collection by the DEH (see details below), or tow it to the Landfill yourself.
3. For a fee of CI$75 the DEH will then remove a derelict vehicle from private land. Please email them on dehcustomerservice@gov.ky or call them on (345) 949 6696 in Grand Cayman or (345) 948 2321 in Cayman Brac and Little Cayman. As a side note, the current waste handling and disposal fee of CI$250 which is payable to Customs & Border Control on the importation of all vehicles, is set aside for the job of processing derelict vehicles once they get to the landfill, and does not cover the cost of transporting the vehicle to the landfill.
Please note that you must be the registered owner of the vehicle to terminate it. In exceptional circumstances, another person can terminate the vehicle if the registered owner has given written authorisation in a sworn affidavit in the presence of a Licensing Officer, a Justice of the Peace or a Notary Public.
Please note that leaving a derelict vehicle in a neighbourhood is considered littering under Section 8 of the Litter Act (1997 Revision) and you can be fined a minimum of CI$500 or be imprisoned for 6 months. It is also considered a nuisance under Section 7 of the Public Health Act (2021 Revision) and can create a public health and safety hazard. It affects curbside drainage, street maintenance, can attract vandals, lowers the look and feel of a neighborhood and can provide shelter for rodents to multiply. The solution is the safe removal and disposal to the Landfill.
Transfer of Ownership
In the unfortunate event that you are responsible for dealing with the vehicle of a person who has passed away, the following may be useful. Once a person is deceased, a death certificate or a notarized copy must be produced. If the spouse is seeking the transfer, then an original or notarized copy of the marriage certificate is required as well. If the person dies intestate (without a will), then a notarized letter or sworn Affidavit must be produced stating that there is no will and no other interested parties, including a spouse or any children who would otherwise be entitled to the property. If there is a will with multiple trustees/ administrators, then a letter stating that there is no objection to the transfer of ownership must be signed by all with a witness.
Note that the notary public must be the same across all documents requiring notarization. Valid identification is required by all involved in the transfer. For further guidance with this process, visit the Department of Vehicle and Drivers' Licensing website.