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.
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So what is going on in the world of car titles? Well, there’s a lot of developments with technology, just like there is with any other industry.
Coalition for Electronic Secure Title Registration Transformation (eSTRT)And with vehicle titles, there’s a coalition of title industry and dealership customers and companies that are putting together a group that is going to look at technology as a way to streamline the title process. This is eSTRT stands for Electronic Secure Title Registration Transformation Coalition.
Notable Members and Their GoalsAnd if you look at the members, a lot of big names here, including car titles right here. You can see right on the list, right next to Carvana, Auto Data Direct, NADA Dealer Association, Meum Auctions. A lot of big-time players in this field are trying to make car titles easier.
Consumer Frustration with Current ProcessI’m sure that as a consumer, the reason you’re watching this video is because you have an opinion about how hard it is to get car titles. You’ve dealt with the bureaucracy of DMV, you’ve dealt with the paperwork issue where no other type of thing you work on has complicated paperwork like this, right? This is a car title. Everything else you work on is electronic: DocuSign, different types of automated technology, and car titles is kind of in the dinosaur days.
Goal of Modernizing Titles and RegistrationSo this group are people who are trying to get a shared conversation about modernizing title and registration, and we think this is a big opportunity. It’ll make the job easier for title companies, it’ll make the process easier for buyers and sellers of vehicles, but most importantly, it’ll take the antiquated process of getting titles and bring it to the modern era.
Current Technology and Future IntegrationWe already have a lot of automated systems and mail merge and AR artificial intelligence in our company that helps us process car titles easier, faster, more efficiently. But at some point, it has to be turned over to the government agency that issues the title, normally Department of Motor Vehicles.
Future Process EnhancementsThis process, and it may take several years, will now allow us to interface directly with the DMV to get titles issued using electronic signatures, using database lookups, using artificial intelligence. The objectives of this group is using electronic signatures on documents, electronic submission and processing.
Electronic vs. Paper ProcessWe now have to print paper documents, get them signed with ink, and get them to the DMV. This will make it a lot easier and also do a lot of these transfers electronically, where you don’t even need a piece of paper.
Keeping You UpdatedSo keep an eye on our channel. We’ll keep you up to date on the progress of this group, and if you notice, we talked about DocuSign. They’re one of the members because they want to be part of this as well, to get these vehicles done with modern-day technology, not ink on paper, which is old school. Keep an eye on our channel. We’ll keep you up to date on the progress, and at some point, getting a title is going to be much easier than it is today.
Here’s another good reason why you want to make sure that when you do a title transfer it’s done properly. Here’s a person who sold a vehicle many years before to a scrapyard and was getting $500 fines because the record wasn’t filed properly.
Ensuring Accurate Record-KeepingYou want to make sure that when you buy or sell a vehicle that all the records are properly recorded, properly signed, properly turned in. Because if you’re a prior owner and your car isn’t transferred to a new buyer, you might get fines for past due registrations, maybe storage fees if the car is impounded, and also you could be liable if anything happens with that car.
Contacting Prior OwnersSo one of the things that we do quite often is contact prior owners to get the car out of their name so you don’t have any liability if the car is used in a crime or gets in an accident and you don’t have any proof that you sold it.
Case Study: Arizona IncidentThis poor person sold their car many years before. This was in Arizona, I believe. Yeah, Phoenix, Arizona. They sold the car in 2017. Because the fact that it wasn’t filed properly, in 2023 they started getting notices that they owed $500 in abandoned vehicle charges because the car was dumped somewhere.
Importance of DocumentationSo you want to make sure that when you sell a car, you also get good documentation, just as if when you buy a car. If you have any questions about proper title transfers, you can reach us at our website at the link below.
So how do you get a duplicate title that’s been lost for your vehicle in the state of Michigan?
Online FormMichigan has an online form that you can fill out on the computer without having to print anything out. It’s sent to the Secretary of State, and the SOS (Secretary of State) Office will process it within a week or two.
Fee and Transfer OptionIt’s a fifteen dollar fee for that duplicate title. You can also transfer the vehicle on that document at the same time as you request a duplicate.
Notarization and VerificationNotarization is not required on that form as long as you’re the legal owner. And when you do it online, they’ll send you an e-mail verification to let you know that they’ve received it and they’re processing it.
This is Dave at Consumers Title. Today we’re going to talk about illegal car titles. When you fill out a form or present a form to the DMV for an application for a duplicate title or any other type of transfer, those forms are implied that the statements are correct. In some cases, it’s under oath either by a signature or by statute. That means that what you’re saying you’re guaranteed to be under oath, and there’s penalties for perjury. Sometimes it’s a criminal fine, sometimes they’re civil fines.
Consequences of Incorrect StatementsThe worst-case scenario is that a criminal fine could have long-standing impacts on your personal life. Best-case scenario is the invalid title that’s issued could be revoked if the statements are incorrect. The DMVs do regular audits of paperwork to match up patterns.
Common Examples of Fraudulent TitlesHere are the common examples of where titles are issued fraudulently or through incorrect representations. One is mechanic’s liens. Mechanic’s lien is a legitimate process for certain types of professional companies to get a title: towing companies, repair companies, body shops, storage companies. But in order to have that mechanically and be valid, there has to be a certain process where that vehicle got to the mechanic, had to be legitimately presented to that garage for repairs by the owner, and then the owner didn’t pay for them. If it’s just used for somebody who bought a car that lost the title to get a title, that’s an illegal title.
Skip TitlesThe next example is skip titles, where ownership has been jumped from one to another without proper documentation. Many states are cracking down and revoking titles and issuing tax penalties because of skipped or jumped titles where owners don’t recognize their name on the title.
Abandoned Car ProcessAbandoned car process is another one. Abandoned car title is a legitimate process in some states to get a title of a car that was legitimately abandoned. It’s not designed to get a title for somebody who lost their title, and if the representations are made otherwise, that could be an illegal title.
Salvage TitlesSalvage titles are where a prior repair or damage occurred, and it’s got a stamp on it. Sometimes an individual wants to undo that Salvage title or turn it into some other title brand. Even an attempt to do these things in some cases is a crime, whether you do it or a title agent does it on your behalf under a power of attorney.
ConclusionAn illegal title can have serious consequences for the person who applies for it or even the person who obtains the title at a later date.
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