Yes, someone else can pick up a car in your name, and with SAKAEM Logistics it is genuinely simple: any adult who is at least 18 years old that you designate can hand off the car at pickup or receive it at delivery. You do not need a notarized authorization letter, and you do not need a power of attorney — you just tell us who is handling it. Every carrier we assign is licensed and registered with the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA), so your vehicle stays in vetted hands the whole way, whether you meet the driver yourself or send someone in your place.
This matters more often than people expect. You may be flying ahead of your car, closing on a house, deployed, at work during the delivery window, or buying a vehicle in another state you cannot reach in person. SAKAEM has arranged transport for situations exactly like these since 2017, and the third-party handoff is one of the easiest parts of the process — not one of the hardest.
Can Someone Else Pick Up Your Car in Your Name?
Yes. The person who books the shipment can name anyone to stand in for them, and that person does not have to be the registered owner. The only firm requirement is that your designated person is at least 18 years old. That is the whole rule.
Some companies make this complicated, requiring a notarized letter that lists your booking number, the designee’s full name, and the vehicle’s VIN before they will release the car. SAKAEM does not. You tell us who is receiving the vehicle, and that adult can complete the handoff on your behalf. Simpler is also safer here, because fewer moving parts means fewer ways for a delivery to stall.
| Situation | Can someone else handle it? |
|---|---|
| Pickup at the origin | Yes |
| Delivery at the destination | Yes |
| You’re traveling or flying ahead | Yes |
| Military deployment | Yes |
| Buying a car remotely | Yes |
| Selling a car remotely | Yes |
| Apartment or condo delivery | Yes |
Who Can You Designate?
Anyone you trust who is 18 or older can act as your representative. In practice, customers most often name:
- A family member — a spouse, parent, or adult child receiving the car at the destination.
- A friend or neighbor at the delivery address who can be there during the window.
- A coworker or assistant when the shipment is going to a business.
- A property manager or building staff member for an apartment or condo delivery.
- The seller or a contact at the origin when you are buying a car you cannot reach in person.
Your representative does not need any special relationship to you or to the vehicle. They simply need to be an adult you have chosen and who can be present for the handoff.
Here is what that looks like in practice:
- Flying ahead of your car. You land in Florida on Monday and your car arrives Wednesday — your adult daughter can accept delivery, inspect the vehicle, sign off, and take the keys.
- Buying a car out of state. You purchase a Mustang from a seller in Texas, and the seller releases the vehicle to the carrier at pickup on your behalf.
- Deployed or traveling for work. Your spouse handles both the pickup and the delivery from start to finish while you are away.
How to Set It Up
Setting up a third-party pickup or delivery takes one step: let your SAKAEM coordinator know who will be handling the car. You can give us their name when you book or any time before the pickup or delivery is scheduled, and a quick call or email is enough to put it on file.
A few practical pointers keep the day smooth:
- Name your person in advance, not at the last minute. Drivers confirm the handoff before they arrive, so a representative added an hour before delivery can create avoidable delays.
- Have your representative bring a photo ID. It is not required, but it makes the handoff faster and reassures the driver that the right person is receiving the car.
- Make sure they are reachable. The carrier calls ahead to arrange the delivery window, so your representative needs a working phone that day.
You will not be asked for a notarized letter or a power of attorney. If a company ever tells you those are mandatory just to let a friend accept your car, that is their policy, not an industry rule.
One exception is worth knowing about. This covers standard door-to-door pickups and deliveries at a home or business. If your route runs through a terminal, port, or auction yard — for example, some Hawaii or Alaska shipments, or a vehicle bought at an auction such as Copart or Manheim — that facility may enforce its own ID, gate-pass, or authorization requirements on top of ours. Those are the yard’s rules, not SAKAEM’s, and your coordinator will tell you exactly what your representative needs before the day so nothing gets held up.
It Works at Pickup, Too — Not Just Delivery
The same simplicity applies at the origin. If you cannot be there when the carrier loads the vehicle, any adult you designate can release it to the driver, sign off, and hand over the keys. This is common when you are buying a car online and the seller is the one present at pickup.
In the rare case where no one can be on site at pickup, you have one more option: you can arrange to leave the keys for the driver by signing a waiver in advance. It is not the standard process, but it exists for the occasional situation where an in-person handoff simply is not possible. Your coordinator will walk you through it if you need it.
What Your Representative Handles at the Handoff
Whoever receives the car steps into your shoes for a few minutes, so it helps if they know what to expect. At delivery, your representative will:
- Inspect the vehicle in good light and compare its condition to the report taken at pickup.
- Document anything new — a quick set of phone photos of any fresh marks protects you if a claim is ever needed.
- Sign the Bill of Lading, which is the delivery receipt confirming the car arrived and noting its condition.
- Take the keys and confirm everything that left with the vehicle is accounted for.
- Handle any balance due, if your terms call for payment on delivery.
The inspection is the step that matters most. When your representative signs the Bill of Lading, they are formally confirming the car arrived in the condition shown — so if they sign a clean form and only later notice a fresh dent or scratch, recovering it through a damage claim becomes far harder. A careful walkaround in good light, photos of all four sides, and noting anything new before signing is what protects an asset worth tens of thousands of dollars.
Brief your representative on these steps before delivery day so the handoff takes minutes, not a back-and-forth phone call with you while the driver waits.
A Few Things to Get Right
The handoff is easy, but a couple of small misses cause most of the avoidable hiccups:
- Adding your representative too late. Tell us before the carrier is scheduled, not after they have arrived.
- An unreachable representative. If the driver cannot reach the person on file to coordinate the window, delivery slips.
- Skipping the inspection. Signing the Bill of Lading without checking the car first can complicate a later claim, so make sure your representative takes the two minutes to look it over.
Avoid those three and a third-party handoff is no harder than one you do yourself.
Can Someone Else Pick Up My Car FAQ
Can someone else pick up my car in my name?
Yes. With SAKAEM, the person who books the shipment can designate any adult to pick up or receive the car on their behalf. The representative does not need to be the registered owner.
Do I have to be present at pickup or delivery?
No. You do not have to be there yourself, but an adult you have designated does need to be present to release the car at pickup or receive it at delivery.
Who can I designate to pick up my car?
Anyone you trust who is at least 18 years old — a family member, friend, neighbor, coworker, property manager, or the seller at the origin. They do not need any special relationship to you or the vehicle.
Does my designated person need to be a certain age?
Yes. The one firm requirement is that your representative is at least 18 years old.
Do I need a notarized authorization letter or a power of attorney?
No. SAKAEM does not require a notarized letter or a power of attorney for a third-party handoff. You simply tell your coordinator who will be receiving the car.
Does my representative need to bring ID?
It is recommended but not required. A photo ID speeds up the handoff and reassures the driver, but your representative can still accept the car without one.
Can someone release my car at pickup, not just receive it at delivery?
Yes. Any adult you designate can hand the vehicle off to the driver at the origin, sign the paperwork, and provide the keys — which is common when you are buying a car remotely.
Can I leave the keys for the driver if no one can be there at pickup?
In rare cases, yes. If an in-person handoff is not possible, you can arrange to leave the keys for the driver by signing a waiver in advance. Your coordinator will explain the steps.
How far in advance do I need to name my representative?
Name them before the pickup or delivery is scheduled — a call or email is enough. Adding a representative at the last minute can delay the handoff because the driver confirms it ahead of time.
What does my representative do at delivery?
They inspect the vehicle against the pickup report, photograph any new damage, sign the Bill of Lading, take the keys, and handle any balance due.
The Bottom Line
Having someone else pick up your car in your name should not be a paperwork ordeal, and with SAKAEM it is not. Any adult 18 or older that you designate can manage the handoff at pickup or delivery, with no notarized letter and no power of attorney — just a name on file and, ideally, a photo ID for a smooth exchange. Every carrier is FMCSA-licensed and vetted before assignment — and you can verify any carrier’s authority and safety record yourself in the FMCSA’s SAFER database — so your car is protected no matter who meets the driver.
Can’t be there for pickup or delivery yourself? That is exactly what we coordinate. Get a free, no-obligation quote or call us at (470) 410-6364, tell your coordinator who will be handling the car, and we will confirm the details with the carrier so the handoff is smooth without you on site. While you plan, our guides on the documents you need to ship a car and door-to-door delivery cover the rest of the handoff, and our step-by-step shipping guide walks through the whole process from quote to delivery.
