Join Auctions

Before You Bid

Keep in mind that you may start placing bids only once your account is activated (i.e. you have submitted the documents required to complete registration and received an email from us confirming that your account is now active). If you’d like to place bids higher than $2,000, also remember to add a deposit or upgrade to Premier beforehand.

Joining Copart Auctions

Once you’ve found the vehicles on which you’d like to bid, you can submit a preliminary bid or join a live online auction!

You don’t need to be logged in to view an auction, but you will need a Basic or Premier Membership to place a bid. Sign in or register here. Once you’re signed in, click on the Auctions tab to see a list of Today’s Auctions, where you can jump directly into ongoing live online auctions, and the Auctions Calendar to view future auctions. There are a handful of other entry points for auctions as well, including the Copart homepage, Member Dashboard and individual Location pages.

Ultimately, you’ll be directed to the Auctions Dashboard, where Basic and Premier Members can add as many auctions as are running at that particular time (non-Members and Registered Guests may only view one auction at a time). The Auctions Dashboard is where you can minimize or maximize auction windows and even place bids. Reorganize your Auctions Dashboard using the customization drag-and-drop feature, and experience Copart auctions the way you prefer. Copart’s Auction Dashboard is powered by our revolutionary VB3 platform.

Joining Auctions on Mobile

Joining an auction from your mobile device is just as easy as it is from your computer. Using Copart Mobile, tap on Today’s Auctions, and look for the red “Auction in Progress” notice. One more tap on one of these live sales, and you’re placed directly into the auction. Just remember to sign in if you plan to bid. If you tap on an upcoming auction instead of a live auction, you’ll be directed to that location’s Sale List, where you can preview the vehicles coming up for auction soon.

Auction Times

Auctions of facilities located in the Eastern Time Zone begin at 10 a.m. local time. All others begin at 12 p.m. local time. Members may also join evening auctions Monday through Thursday at 9 p.m. Eastern Time. These auctions feature vehicles that didn’t sell earlier that day during either the daytime auctions or the second chance preliminary bidding period. Evening sales appear on the Upcoming Auctions and Auctions Calendar pages alongside our other sales and are denoted by "*NCS" for "Night Cap Sale."

You’ll find that many of our sales contain multiple lanes, which are subsets of all the items up for bid during any given live auction. The number of lanes concurrently running depends on the sale’s inventory size. Larger sales will have several lanes, whereas sales with minimal inventory will have fewer lanes. Lanes are assigned based on vehicle item numbers, which indicate vehicle type and condition.