Laws in California Regarding Vehicle Title DuplicateSo what are the laws in California about getting a vehicle title a true duplicate title is using form number reg two to seven that means that you have the car in your name you already had a title issue to you you just lost that document you can use that register to seven process to get another title if the owner is not present at the DMV needs to be notarized before you send it in if you’re having a process done of any type and it’s not the actual DMV that you’re paying the person you’re paying has to be licensed under California code CVC 505 point two if they’re not licensed the whole thing is invalid you can do it yourself that’s okay but if you’re paying somebody to do it for you that person has to be licensed.
Simultaneous Transfer of Ownership and Duplicate Titlean owner can transfer ownership simultaneous to getting a duplicate title that’s one really good thing about the California paperwork they can request a duplicate and request transfer at the same time this happens under California statute within eight to ten days their statute requires a certain turnaround time you can even pay extra for a rush title although you can only do that online you can’t do that if you walk into the DMV so make sure if you’re deal in California you abide by their very specific rules using the right form using a licensed agent if you’re paying somebody else and making sure that it’s notarized if you don’t appear in person.
Visit Our YouTube Channel for more insights and discussions on various topics. Consider subscribing to our YouTube channel. Click here!
How to Get a Bonded TitleIn order to get a duplicate, a bonded title is a process where if you don’t have sufficient information and documents to give to the DMV and you want them to take your word for it that you’re the owner you might need to get a bonding company to issue you a policy which they’ll back up your word meaning that if there’s anything wrong with the title somebody comes up you know six months later and says hey that’s my car this bonding company will pay everybody off to make it make it right in pain anybody’s ownership claims off.
Verification ProcessThis is something that the bonding company doesn’t do automatically they’re gonna verify your story verify all the information you have to make sure that they’re not going to be on the hook to pay off thousands of dollars for a vehicle that somebody else is going to claim or lien holders kind of claim so the car has to qualify for this bond to title.
Fees and SpecificsThe other thing is there’s some fees you got to pay the bonding company fee you have to pay the policy itself is like an insurance policy you have to buy it’s also state specific not every state will allow bonded titles it even gets worse if you get a bond the title from one state and then you bring it to another state that doesn’t recognize it that may be void in that state so be aware the bonded titles are state specific but sometimes it’s the method of last resort if you can’t do anything else you have to get a bound to title it something you can do yourself it’s completely DIY you don’t have to pay any third party to do this you just have to pay the bond fee and then the DMV fees to get the duplicate title but a bonded title can be a method of last resort if all other avenues have been exhausted and you can’t reach the prior owner.
So how can you get a title for your vehicle if all you have is a bill of sale transferring the car to you?
Transferring OwnershipWell if you have a bill of sale that means the ownership is transferred to you, so you should be able to get a title based on that.
Using Vermont’s Registration TitleIf the vehicle is 15 years or older, you can go through the state of Vermont and get what’s called a registration title from that state. Once you have that, it costs very little money, forty or fifty dollars depending on the vehicle.
Transferring to Your StateOnce you have that, you can bring that to your state and transfer the car title into your state’s title based on that Vermont registration title.
Newer VehiclesIf the car is newer than that, then you may have to use some other state process in your state, such as a deed ship. Sometimes there’s a court process you can go through, a power of attorney, but all these things you can do yourself.
DIY Title TransferYou don’t need to pay somebody to get you a title for your car if you have a bill sale transfer to your name.
What is a Car Title Certificate of Destruction?So what is a car title certificate of destruction? This is a document that’s issued by an insurer with the designation that it’s designated for destruction, meaning that this car is not legal for use on the road ever again. It’s not a salvage title, it’s not a junk title, it’s not a repair title, it’s a destruction title, meaning that the insurer is saying this car needs to be destroyed. They do this because of liability.
Auction and Resale IssuesNow, many of these cars come from Copart or IAA auctions or some of the other insurance options that exist. In many cases, they sell for very, very cheap. Buyers will look at it and say, “I can fix this car up and sell it and make a lot of money on it.” However, without the legal title, you can’t put it on the road. Sometimes these become like musical chairs, right? The guy buys it from the auction, he finds out he can’t do anything with it, and then sells it to somebody else without a title and doesn’t disclose that it has a CD or certificate of destruction.
Disclosing the Certificate of DestructionIf you come across one of these cars, the first thing to do is find out where you disclose this information. If you bought it from the auction, you need to find out if it was disclosed to you. If it wasn’t, you can return it to the auction. If you bought it from a dealer, they have to disclose it to you. If not, you can return it. Look for that method first because, in most cases, no matter how much you paid for it, how cheap it is, it’s never going to be worth it to try to do something with that car because, without a title, you can’t even bring it to the junkyard.
Selling Parts and Export RestrictionsNow, if you can sell the parts off it to get your money back, maybe that’s the way to go. But remember, when you’ve sold all the parts off it and still have a frame and a chassis and the bare bones left, you have to get rid of that, and sometimes that costs money more than what you might have gotten from the parts. In addition, in many cases, it’s blocked for export. You can’t even export these cars because most countries don’t allow them to be imported, and the customs of even the U.S. sometimes doesn’t allow them to be put on the ship to go outside the country.
Curbstoning and Legal ActionsIf you’ve purchased it from what’s called a curbstoner, meaning somebody who’s not a dealer just buys and sells cars, you can get a refund by looking at whether or not they have a dealer’s license. If somebody sells cars for a living, it doesn’t matter how many they sell. If they sell two or three or five and they’re doing this for a living, they have to have a license. If they don’t have a license and they’re operating in the capacity of a dealer without a license, you can turn them in. Most DMVs and state police in the states want to know about this, so rather than have that happen, maybe that person who sold to you might want to give your money back and then maybe try to do something else with that car.
So if you have a car that you purchased and you either don’t have a title for or you’ve lost it and it’s not already titled in your name, how can you get that title for free without paying a lot of money? Well, there’s 50 different states; each state has five or six different processes. So, there’s two or three hundred different methods to get a title. One of them will work for your particular scenario, and you could do this yourself.
Vermont Registration Title MethodThe most common method is the Vermont registration title. You can look at our other videos on how that’s done, but the state of Vermont will issue a title to many vehicles with just a simple bill of sale, and that bill of sale does not have to be from the actual title owner; it can be from anybody that you bought the car from. That’s the easiest one.
Determining the Right ProcessDetermining what process will work for you is a little bit of legwork. Sometimes it requires a little bit of online research, but it’s something that, if the process exists, you can do it yourself. You don’t need to pay some money.
Duplicate Title ScenarioIf it’s a true duplicate, meaning that you have the title in your name already, you just lost that document, you could just go down to your DMV, tell them you lost your title, and they’ll give you another one for four or five dollars. It’s easy to do.
Contacting the Prior OwnerIf for some reason it wasn’t in your name, contacting the prior owner is the next best way to do it. But then you have to convince them to go down to DMV and get a title, which sometimes isn’t always the easiest thing to do.
DIY Title ProcessBe aware that any process that’s legal and available, you can do yourself. You don’t have to pay hundreds of dollars to a company to do this for you.
Tell us about your vehicle and we'll direct you to a title recovery method that matches your scenario.
"*" indicates required fields
Δ
