(a) Any person or unit of government upon whose property or in whose possession is found any abandoned motor vehicle, or any person being the owner of a vehicle whose title certificate is faulty, lost, or destroyed, may apply to the sheriff or chief of police of the jurisdiction in which the vehicle is situated for authority to sell, give away, or dispose of the vehicle to a demolisher.
(b) The application shall set out the name and address of the applicant, the year, make, model and serial number of the vehicle, if ascertainable, together with any other identifying features, and shall contain a concise statement of the facts surrounding the abandonment, or that the title of the vehicle is lost or destroyed, or the reasons for the defect of title in the owner. The applicant shall execute an affidavit stating that the facts alleged therein are true and that no material fact has been withheld.
(c) If the sheriff or chief of police finds that the application is executed in proper form, and shows that the vehicle has been abandoned upon the property of the applicant, the notification procedures set forth in Section 56-5-5630 shall be followed. If the vehicle is not reclaimed in accordance with Section 56-5-5630, the sheriff or chief of police shall follow the procedure set forth in Section 56-5-5660(d) for issuance of disposal authority certificates.
(d) If the application shows that the vehicle is not abandoned but that the applicant appears to be the rightful owner, the sheriff or chief of police shall give the applicant a certificate of authority to sell, give away or dispose of the vehicle to any demolisher for demolition, wrecking or dismantling. A disposal authority certificate may contain multiple listings. The demolisher shall accept such certificate in lieu of the certificate of title to the vehicle.
(e) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law, any person or unit of government upon whose property or whose possession is found any abandoned motor vehicle, or any person being the owner of a vehicle whose title certificate is faulty, lost, or destroyed, may dispose of such vehicle to a demolisher without the title and without notification procedures of Section 56-5-5630 if the vehicle is over eight years old, does not have a valid registration plate affixed to the vehicle, and has no engine or is otherwise totally inoperable.