Blank Vehicle Title

So, is it okay to get a blank title for a vehicle? A blank title is also known as an open title, meaning that the front of the title has the prior owner’s name printed from the DMV. On the back, it has a place for them to sign over the title to a new owner.

Legal Requirements for Title Transfer
What’s supposed to happen is the owner signs it and fills in the buyer information. Legally, that must be filled in when it’s signed. However, in some cases, the seller will just sign their name, leave it blank, leaving it an open title, and hand it off to the buyer.

Risks of an Open Title
The risk of doing that is that another buyer may put in their name, they may get a loan on it, is the signature even legitimate? There also have been scenarios where the DMV has audited those titles and found out that the date when the new buyer put their information in didn’t match the location, identity, or even whether or not that seller was still alive at that point.

Precautions When Handling Open Titles
So, make sure that if you’re getting an open title, if possible, have that person who is the legal owner fill in the information right then and there with your name on it so that you’re the owner. Because if you lose that title and it’s an open title, whoever grabs it, they own your vehicle. They could put their name in, come to your house, and say this is my car and they take it from you.

Conclusion
So, a blank title and open title has risks, but there’s ways you can take care of that.

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