GovPlanet FAQ: Humvee Titles, Fees, Inspections, Pickup (2026)

GovPlanet is the military surplus arm of IronPlanet, which Ritchie Bros acquired in 2017. It holds the contract to sell rolling stock and equipment from DLA Disposition Services, the agency that disposes of retired U.S. military property. When the Army retires a batch of Humvees or a depot clears out generators, GovPlanet is where the public buys them.

The inventory is unlike anything else in government auctions: HMMWVs in the $10,000 to $40,000 range depending on configuration and condition, M35 and M939 series cargo trucks, LMTVs, military trailers, generators, forklifts, and construction equipment. Weekly online auctions move the bulk of it, with lots sitting at military depots and DLA sites around the country.

Because it shares the Ritchie Bros account system, one registration also works across the IronPlanet family. Registration is free. You can browse GovPlanet lots on BidProwl alongside DLA's own sales and every other source, which helps because the same class of truck sometimes lists on both channels at different prices.

This is the question that decides whether a GovPlanet Humvee makes sense for you. Most HMMWVs sell with an off-road use only designation. You do not get a normal title at the sale. What you get, once payment and paperwork clear, is an SF97, the federal form that serves as evidence of ownership for a government vehicle.

What happens next depends entirely on your state:

• Title-friendly states will process the SF97 into a regular title, sometimes as an assembled or specially constructed vehicle, and you can plate the truck after passing whatever inspection the state requires.
• Strict states will not issue a road title for an off-road-designated military vehicle at all. No amount of paperwork fixes it. Owners in these states either keep the truck as an off-road or farm vehicle or title it through mechanisms in another state, which brings its own legal complications.

Call your DMV and ask specifically about titling a military surplus HMMWV from an SF97 before you bid. Insurance is the second call: many mainstream insurers will not write a policy on one, while specialty and classic vehicle insurers will.

One more paperwork layer: Humvees and certain other items are controlled property, so the sale only completes after your End User Certificate (EUC) is approved. The EUC is a federal form verifying who you are and what you intend to do with the item. First-time approval commonly takes a few weeks. Your removal clock does not start until it clears, but neither does your ownership, so build the wait into your plans.

GovPlanet adds a 10% buyer's premium to the hammer price. A $15,000 winning bid on a Humvee costs $16,500 before tax and transport. That sits between GSA Auctions (no premium) and GovDeals (12.5%), and you should bake it into your maximum bid the same way. The buyer's premium calculator does the math for any rate.

Payment is due promptly after the auction, by wire transfer for most vehicle-sized amounts. Sales tax depends on the pickup state and your own state's use tax rules; the invoice spells out what is collected.

Budget honestly for the other line items, because they are where Humvee math goes wrong. Transport on a non-running truck from a depot two states away runs $1,200 to $2,500 on a flatbed or lowboy. Batteries, fluids, and tires on a truck that sat for years add hundreds more. A $12,000 hammer price is realistically a $15,000 to $16,000 truck in your driveway. Check what comparable trucks have actually closed for in the sold price archive before you decide what a lot is worth.

GovPlanet's saving grace for remote bidders is the inspection program it inherited from IronPlanet. Many lots carry an IronClad Assurance report: a detailed inspection with dozens of photos, fluid checks, and notes on what runs, what leaks, and what is missing. The report comes with a limited guarantee that the item matches what the inspector wrote, which is more protection than almost any other government auction channel offers.

Read the reports literally. "Engine cranks, does not start" means exactly that, not "probably an easy fix." Plenty of GovPlanet lots sell as non-running and non-driving, and military depots do not diagnose the reason. Assume the worst repair consistent with the symptoms and bid accordingly.

Lots without an inspection report deserve a bigger discount. You are bidding on photos and a one-line condition code, and unlike a GovDeals municipal seller, there is no fleet manager to phone up for details. The gap between reported and unreported lots is where experienced buyers concentrate: they pay up slightly for documented trucks and skip the mystery ones unless the price is at parts value. Our general inspection guide covers the mechanical checklist if you can visit a depot in person during a preview window.

Most GovPlanet lots sit on military installations or DLA sites, and removal works differently than at a county yard. You typically have 15 business days from the invoice to remove the item, with storage fees around $35 per day after that. The real friction is access:

• Base access takes paperwork. You or your carrier submit driver and vehicle details in advance, and processing at the gate can take 30 to 60 minutes. Show up unannounced and you will not get in.
• Loading is scheduled. Depots load during set hours on set days, usually weekdays only. Your carrier needs to hit that window.
• Non-running vehicles need the right trailer. Confirm whether the depot can push or lift the vehicle onto a trailer. Most can, but verify before booking transport.

Hiring a carrier who has hauled off military bases before is worth a modest markup; they know the drill. Cost ranges and booking advice are in the shipping and removal guide.