So what has been going on with EStart and digital vehicle titles? As you know, we’ve been a member of the EStart Coalition along with many other professionals like DocuSign, TrueCar, Adessa Auto Auctions, Carvana, and many other automotive and digital platform participants. And so far this year, in 2024, we’ve had a lot of success in getting certain states to transition to electronic titles.
Legislative RecapHere’s a breakdown of what EStart has done so far and we’ll look at some of the specific documents as well. Legislative recap: modernization. Still a few states with legislatures in session. Most of the states have already concluded for the year. Here is a recap of the legislation and the outcome that impacted from the EART Coalition.
Colorado and ConnecticutColorado adds lease vehicles to electronic titles. Before, they had electronic titles but only for purchase vehicles. Connecticut, impacting existing electronic document processing, authorizes making electronic notifications for title records. So that’s good news.
Mississippi and South DakotaMississippi requires electronic notification of lien satisfaction. This is great because lien releases are notoriously a problem and having that done electronically is good. South Dakota allows remote notaries. That’s a really good advancement, so that way you don’t have to go in person to a notary.
Tennessee and UtahTennessee requires, the keyword is requires, electronic lien and title system by June of 2026. So this is a full transition to electronic titles. Utah, again, remote online notaries, establish electronic title system by the end of next year. This is crucial.
VirginiaVirginia secure power attorney. This is something that’s not a big deal, but it’s helpful.
Human Consultation ReminderYou will be back to reading in just a few seconds. In the meantime, remember that ActualHuman.com offers you live one-on-one private video consultation with an expert in this exact subject. We want to listen to your story, hear your questions, give you expert advisement of your options, and tell you what we know about your particular situation. Now, back to your reading.
Massachusetts and New JerseyStill in process: Massachusetts has a very good e-signature bill that’s in process. It’ll probably get passed. New Jersey, to establish electronic lien and title, and that’s pretty much a done deal that just has to get signed off on.
North CarolinaNorth Carolina establishes a print-on-demand temporary tag system. So that’s a big deal; you can print your own tags, license plates, temporary tags.
National PoliciesFor EStart, a few other policies that are in the works: you have the National Highway Transportation Safety Administration (NHTSA) which has an interpretation. Massachusetts’ electronic signature and lien was one of the ones that was initially done, one of the first test cases. As you can see in this one, we’re a signature car titles, one of the main signatories of it along with Carvana, Adessa, and a lot of other providers of these technologies.
GeorgiaAnother big one was in the state of Georgia for online notaries. Again, we signed off on this one. Car titles right here along with DocuSign. DocuSign was a big promoter of this because it’s online notaries. It was a right to the governor of Georgia in Atlanta to allow remote online notaries. This is a big deal. This is one that will set the stage for a lot of progress on online titles.
The Future of Electronic TitlesThe more these rules and regulations start to be promulgated in the various states, the more it will catch on like wildfire. It only takes a few states to get it done, and then the other states will see it, and we can use it as a model to transition to electronic titles. Gone are the days where you have to sign papers, wait for bulky titles to come in the mail. Lien releases and all the different types of title and registration processes will be a lot more streamlined, cheaper, and easier to do, and you won’t have to wait as long.
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So if you’re looking to buy a used car, in addition to making sure the title’s good and all the paperwork’s good, you also want to make sure the condition of the vehicle is good. Here’s a great way to do that.
Lemon Squad Vehicle InspectionsThis is Lemon Squad. They’re a nationwide company that does inspections on vehicles, and they are able to look at cars almost everywhere. It’s pretty reasonable too if you look at it; you know they charge between, you know, $220 to $300, maybe $286 for a car. And it’s not too bad to have an inspection on a vehicle. You can also add on a consultation for $50
Live Consultation ServicesYou will be back in your video in just a few seconds. In the meantime, remember that actualhuman.com offers you live one-on-one private video consultation with an expert in this exact subject. We want to listen to your story, we want to hear your questions, we want to give you expert advisement of your options and tell you what we know about your particular situation.
Carfax ReportNow back to your video. On the phone, you can do a Carfax for $35. So if you’re looking to buy a used car, this is a great way to make sure that what you’re buying is not going to break down on you and that you have a professional inspect it to make sure it’s all good.
RecommendationSo, I would recommend looking at this as an option or really any legitimate inspection company. But this is one that, that’s all they do. They’re not like a garage that fixes stuff. They are a company that specializes in inspection.
DisclaimerSo, Lemon Squad, something we don’t—we’re not associated with them. We don’t get paid by them. We’re not affiliated with them or sponsored by them. But they are a company that might be helpful to some of our clients looking at buying a used vehicle.
Expert ConsultationsThank you for watching. Remember you can access live one-on-one personal consultations with a licensed private investigator, a licensed commercial insurance broker, licensed certified real estate title examiner, also a certified civil court mediator. So if you have a need to talk to an expert in any of these fields or even a licensed building general contractor, you can click the link below actualhuman.com and arrange a live one-on-one undivided attention with a licensed expert where you can ask any questions, get information about your situation, and we’d be glad to help.
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Getting a Title for a TrailerSo can you get a title for a trailer as a vehicle title? Well, yes you can, but the tricky part to a trailer is making sure that the trailer actually has a valid VIN number or serial number. Many times the problem with a trailer is there wasn’t a proper serial number created for that trailer. If it was a homemade trailer or kind of a backyard trailer, it may not have a VD number. Or, if it was originally manufactured with the VIN number, sometimes that serial number disappears because it’s attached to the frame or attached to the tongue or the hitch and it either gets rusted or falls off or it was a sticker and it falls off altogether.
Ensuring a VIN NumberSo the first thing to do if you have a trailer is to make sure you have a VIN number. If you have a VIN number, you’re in good shape. The only problem could be some states don’t… Your video will be back in 8 seconds. In the meantime, remember you have access to live one-on-one consultation with the undivided attention of a licensed certified expert in this subject and many others. We want to listen to your story, we want to hear your questions, and give you expert advisement of your options. We want to tell you what we know about your situation and what options you have. Now, back to your video.
Title Requirements by StateTitle trailers below a certain weight; they consider it to be more like equipment than actually a vehicle. So make sure your state titles trailers of that year, size, and weight. If they do, then you can go through the title recovery process. Also, if your particular state jurisdiction does not give titles for trailers if it’s too small, they might be able to still give you a license plate or registration which allows you to drive it without having a title. So check into title requirements in your state. You can use the link below to see what information you might be able to get.
Importance of VIN or Serial NumberTrailers are just like any other type of road vehicle. It’s not a motor vehicle; it’s a tow vehicle. If it has a serial number or VIN number, you’ll be in good shape. Thank you for watching. Remember you can access live one-on-one personal consultations with a licensed private investigator, a licensed commercial insurance broker, a licensed certified real estate title examiner, and also a certified civil court mediator. So if you have a need to talk to an expert in any of these fields, or even a licensed building general contractor, you can click the link below actualhuman.com and arrange a live one-on-one session with a licensed expert where you can ask any questions, get information about your situation, and we’d be glad to help.
So what are loopholes you can use to get a title for a motor vehicle when you don’t have the right paperwork? See, here’s a title on the screen. This is what you want. This is kind of the magic document that you would like to have. Something like this, a certificate for your car, truck, trailer, motorcycle, camper, RV, whatever it is, even boats. Until you have that certificate in your hand, you have nothing. You’re not an owner. You’re just somebody who may have a bill of sale, maybe have a receipt, but none of that means anything until you get a legal title certificate in your hands.
The Challenge: Dealing with the DMVYou probably already found this out. You’ve probably been to the DMV. They told you, “Get out of here with your bill of sale. We don’t do bill of sales. Unless you have the document from the title, you’re out of luck.” So, the first word that comes to mind is, “What’s the loophole? What can I do?”
Defining a LoopholeWell, what is a loophole? And we’ll talk about what you can do. According to Wikipedia, a loophole is an ambiguity or inadequacy in a law which can be used to circumvent or avoid the purpose of the system. Circumvent or avoid. Remember those two words, because what you’re trying to do is avoid the proper procedure to get a title because you don’t like that procedure. It’s too hard, or you can’t do it, or it’s impossible, or you just don’t feel like it.
Common Loopholes and Their IssuesOne of the most common loopholes used in the past was the Vermont loophole. Everybody wanted to do Vermont. You could send their bill of sale to Vermont, you get a registration, then you get that, then you bring it to your state, tell them, “Hey, I moved from Vermont, give me a title.” It worked for a while, but it got shut down. Why? Because it was circumventing and avoiding the purpose of the system, right? The purpose of the system isn’t just to hand out titles to anybody who asks for one, anybody who has some random bill of sale on an envelope. Because if that was the case, then no car would be safe. Your car could be taken any time by somebody using a loophole. So that’s the bad news. Don’t worry about that. That’s the bad news.
The Good News: Legitimate Methods to Obtain a TitleWhat’s the good news? Is there are methods you could use to get a title. Want to call it a loophole? Fine. You can call it a loophole. It’s a legitimate method to get a title. It’s probably going to be harder than you want, because what you want to have happen is just call somebody up, type on a computer, do something with your VIN number, get me a title, and then magically in your mailbox it shows up. That’s what you want. Again, if it was that easy, no car would be safe. Your vehicle could be taken by anybody. Go on vacation for two weeks, you come back, somebody used a loophole to get a title, make up a fake bill of sale, right?
Why Easy Titles Would Be ProblematicSo you don’t want that. You think you do because you want to get a title as fast as you can in your hands, but you don’t want it because then the title would be worthless. It wouldn’t mean anything if you could get one easily. Then anybody could get a title for any car they wanted, and you’d be out of luck. So what do you do? Enough of me rambling, no. What do you do? Well, this is the process. Some states you can do a bonded title. We’ll talk about that in another video. This is the most powerful one. This is called a court order title, declaratory judgment in some states they call it, some counties they call it a magistrate title.
Court Order Title: A Powerful MethodAnd here’s what it says: assist you in obtaining a title for a vehicle which you own but for which you did not receive a title at the time of purchase. Does that sound like you? You own it but you did not receive a title for it at the time of purchase. That sounds exactly like you. This is exactly the process that is created for you to get a title.
Using the System Instead of Avoiding ItNow let’s go back to loophole page, right? Loophole says circumvent or avoid the system. This is the system. You don’t have to avoid anything. You can go right into the system. Because here’s the problem: if you avoid the system that’s giving you your title, eventually it’s going to be a problem. If you avoid requirements and somehow try to get a title, either A, it’s not going to work, or B, even if it does work, it’ll get revoked, or you get in trouble because you avoided the purpose of the system.
Steps to Obtain a Court Order TitleSo that being said, what do you got to do for this? Now this is one county. This is Hernando County in Florida. There are 3,611 different counties in the country. They all do it differently, but it’s almost always the same. The features are basically the same thing. First, let’s read what Hernando County says because most counties don’t even tell you what to do. Most counties you can’t walk in and say, “Hey, I want to do a court order title.” They’re going to say, “What are you talking about? Get out of here. We don’t know about court order title,” because courts don’t do titles. Courts do judgments. See what it says right here? Declaratory judgment. They don’t do titles. They do judgments.
Common Court Judgments and Rare Title JudgmentsAnd most of the time they’re doing judgments about other things. Somebody’s fence is too high in their neighbor’s yard, the dog’s barking too much, they got to get a judgment of eviction. They’re not doing judgment for titles. It’s very rare. So most counties never see this. Fortunately, there’s a handful of them across the country, five or six, that have a very specific description of a court order title.
Process of Getting a Court Order TitleSo what happens? The court may issue an order directing the Department of Motor Vehicles to issue a certificate of title. See what it says? Directing them. Not asking them, not begging them, not saying pretty please with sugar on top. It’s directing them. If the court issues an order, the DMV has to do it. You walk into the DMV with that order, slap it on the counter, they have to give you a title. End of story, right? The court is their boss. It’s like going over their head.
Initial Steps Before the Court Considers Your CaseSo what do you got to do? Before the court will consider it, you must take the following steps: diligent search to locate the former owner. There’s ways to do that. We’ll get into some of these in a minute, but let’s look at what they are. Provide a bill of sale. Oh, you have that, right? If the former owner has moved from the area, you should send a certified letter. We’ll talk about that. You must get a printout from the tag office which lists the last title number. Easy enough to do. You must get a motor vehicle identification number inspection sheet. So you have to go to your sheriff. Some states let you do it at a garage. You have to check the VIN to make sure it’s not stolen, right? You have to complete an affidavit saying, “How did you get the vehicle?” Right? Then once you have all that, that’s not real hard, right? Just a few things. You file it with the clerk of, in this case, Circuit Court. Some states, counties do it differently.
Filing and Court Review ProcessAfter, listen to this, this is important, after you file the paperwork, your case will be reviewed by court staff. Reviewed by court staff and forwarded to a county judge for consideration. In most instances, you will not have to appear in court. That’s the key. This is not like Law and Order, Jack McCoy, CSI, big court case. It’s an administrative process. It happens in the office. If the judge signs the order, you’ll be notified when the order is available. You go pick it up.
Timeframe and Cost ConsiderationsHow long does it take? It tells you right here. Process will take approximately three weeks. It’s not that long. That’s shorter than Vermont. People like that Vermont loophole, right? But it took longer than three weeks, and you had to pay more money because when you did Vermont, you had to pay Vermont what I call ransom. It was a sales tax, 8% on the book value of the vehicle. So this one, you don’t have to pay that.
Necessary DocumentationWhat do you need? Well, in this county, you need some forms. You have this affidavit. You have this complaint for declaratory judgment. You have all these documents. Most counties don’t give you this. They don’t already have this pre-done for you. You have to type all this up yourself, right? But there’s ways to make it easier. If you’re in Hernando County, you’re lucky. You can just get this form, print it out, fill it in, you’re good to go. The other 3,000 plus counties, you don’t have this luxury. You have to figure it out for yourself.
Resources and ConclusionFortunately, our website gives you a lot of this information. Go to cartitles.com and you can get all this information on how to do this. But this is the loophole. If you’re looking for a loophole for the DMV, this is it. The DMV can’t give you a title unless you have the old title, unless you got one of these magic golden tickets from the last owner signed over to you on the back. You’re done. You’re out of luck. This is your loophole.
Final Thoughts on Court Order TitlesAnd people hear, “Oh, court order title, I don’t want to do it.” Forget how hard it is. It’s easier than doing Vermont. It’s cheaper than doing Vermont. It’s easier than doing any of the other crazy mental gymnastics things that are out there. Going to other states, do a corporation, do this, do that. Forget about that. This is faster, cheaper, easier. People hear the word court and they get scared. Maybe it’s because you feel like you’re going to get arrested if you got a warrant. Then maybe you’re right. But if you are a legitimate person, got a legitimate car, not stolen, no liens, this is the way to go. It’s faster, cheaper, easier. You can do it all yourself for free. You don’t have to pay anybody for this, right? Of course, we have a title service. If you want assistance with it, we can help you, but this is your way to go.
New Jersey Vehicle Title Solutions So very often, one of the questions we get is, “Can you do a bonded title in the state of New Jersey?” And the answer is: sort of.
Improper Evidence of Ownership Procedure New Jersey has a process that’s basically the same as a bonded title in other states, but they don’t call it a bonded title. They call it, very curiously, “Improper Evidence of Ownership Procedure.” Kind of a complicated name, right?
No Surety Bond Required Why is it not a bonded title? Well, a bonded title requires that you purchase a surety bond from a bonding agency—just like bonding somebody out of jail. It’s like bonding your car title out of jail. But in New Jersey, you don’t have to buy a surety bond. You save that expense. New Jersey MVC doesn’t require you purchase a surety bond. You still have to go through the other steps that you would in other states that do a surety bond, but you don’t have to buy a bond—so that’s a good thing.
The 12-Step Process It’s a 12-step process:
It gives you all the steps, and it’s a process that you can go through. Fill out the forms, sign them, send out some notices, and once it’s all done, you notice that it says, “Do not mail any of the following steps until the entire process is complete.” That’s an important thing because all the steps have to be done before you send it into the Motor Vehicle Commission. It’s a process that has a little bit of red tape and a bunch of forms with it.
Title Service Options You could do it all yourself for free. We also have a title service where if you want us to do the paperwork and some of the steps for you, we can. But remember that in the state of New Jersey, you have an advantage over a bonded title in most states in that you don’t have to buy the bond.
Court Order Title Option You have another option in New Jersey: you could do a court order title. It’s about the same amount of paperwork. It might be a little slower, but you’re dealing with the court rather than the Motor Vehicle Commission, so there might be an advantage there.
Additional Resources and Consultation If you have questions about your options in the state of New Jersey for getting a title when you don’t have the right paperwork, you can visit cartitles.com. We also have available title consultation. You can book a live one-on-one conversation video call with a certified title agent, and they can:
Help determine the best way to get a title for your vehicle
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