Catalytic Converter Theft Is Exploding. What Are Your State's Lawmakers Doing about It?

More than 50,000 catalytic converters were stolen off parked vehicles in the U.S. last year, a massive increase from 2020 (around 14,500) and 2019 (3400).The National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB) is tracking more than 150 pieces of legislation that have either been enacted or are in some stage of consideration in state houses across the country.A federal bill, the bipartisan Preventing Auto Recycling Theft Act, or PART Act, is also working its way through Congress.

Across the country, state governments are trying to do something about the rising number of catalytic converter thefts. The responses often center on redefining the status of a converter in legal terminology—for example, including converters in the list of “major component parts” in Indiana—or placing additional rules on people who might be buying or selling converters. For such a simple act of thievery, the reaction is most certainly scattershot, but national legislators in Washington, D.C., are also talking about solutions.

Just under 3400 catalytic converters were stolen from cars in the U.S. in 2019, but that number jumped by a factor of four in 2020, when almost 14,500 were stolen. In 2021, more than 50,000 converters were stolen, according to data from the National Insurance Crime Bureau (NICB). As we recently reported, converters from the popular Ford F-series trucks and Honda Accord sedans were the most common targets for catalytic theft.

The increase in the number of stolen converters comes as the price to replace them went from $1000 to around $3000 in recent years, NICB president and CEO David Glawe told NBC News.

“Crime’s a business, and business is really good in this space,” he said. “There’s a lot of money to be made. And there’s very little deterrent.”

One Solution: Putting the VIN on It

That could be about to change, if you take seriously all the related legislation in NCIB’s database that is under consideration for 2022. Aside from the 152 different pieces of state legislation NCIB is tracking on its website, there’s also a bipartisan bill currently under discussion in Congress. Called the Preventing Auto Recycling Theft (PART) Act, this bill would codify the federal penalties for anyone convicted of stealing a converter. It would also set some federal rules on making catalytic converters trackable by stamping VINs onto them in new cars. The bill would also require that people who buy and sell converters keep records of these transactions.

NICB’s map of catalytic converter bills in the works. Darker = more legislation.

National Insurance Crime Bureau

Of the 152 pieces of state legislation, only 26 have been enacted. Most of the others are in the early “introduced or prefiled” category, while some are being seriously discussed in various committees. Some of the states that recently enacted laws regarding converter theft include Connecticut and Mississippi.

In Connecticut, it is now illegal for vehicle recyclers to acquire a converter that’s not connected to a car, and recyclers now need to keep written records of any transactions involving converters. Mississippi’s new law increases fines for anyone caught stealing a converter and requires sellers to provide their personal ID and the VIN of the vehicle that the converter came from in order to sell it. Buyers also need to pay by check.

Hawaii with 16, Minnesota (14), and California (11) are the three states considering the most pieces of converter theft legislation. Many of the rest are considering between one and a half-dozen. According to the NICB, 13 states are not considering any type of legislation regarding catalytic converter thefts. They are Arkansas, Florida, Idaho, Kansas, Michigan, Montana, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Mexico, North Dakota, Oregon, Texas, and Wyoming.

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