Title Transfer Process:So how do you change a vehicle title from one person to another like put a vehicle title into your name is this something you want to do yourself if it is you’re going to need a transfer form from the prior owner of the vehicle if they have that title and they sign it to you you can usually present that to the DMV in many states that have to be notarized take a look at that title document to see if there’s a notary stamp required under the seller signature also if there’s a lien on the vehicle even if it’s paid off at the bank there has to be a lien release authorizing that title to be transferred if you have that documentation ready to get to the DMV double check to make sure it’s proper because if it’s sent to them and there’s an error in addition to fixing that error many times the DMV will then require a vehicle inspection which you may not want to do so make sure it’s right the first time so it doesn’t trigger you to have an inspection.
Sales Tax Considerations:Also what might be triggered as sales tax in some states sales tax is established by the transfer of a vehicle it’s a sales and use tax if the vehicle has jumped title or skipped title there may be more than one sales tax due on the car.
Options for Title Transfer:If you are looking to get the title transfer to your name first determine if you have the prior owners assistance if you do it’s gonna make it much much easier if not look at your options maybe bonded title maybe title recovery maybe even something like a power of attorney might help you get that vehicle title into your name.
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Purchasing from Carmax Auto AuctionSo what happens if you purchase a vehicle from a Carmax auto auction, a wholesale auction, and then you lose the title?
Nature of Carmax AuctionsWell typically Carmack’s will sell vehicles that they don’t want to keep for their retail inventory. May be too old, too many miles, maybe the conditions are not that great, and they’ll sell it at a wholesale auction, usually only to licensed dealers but sometimes to individuals.
Title IssuesMaybe you bought that car from the auction, maybe you bought it from the dealer who bought it from the auction, and they either gave you a title and you lost it, or maybe you never got one to begin with. The problem is usually these cars are not titled under the name of Carmax. They’re usually titled under the last retail owner’s name. That person may have no connection with the vehicle, and legally they’re still the owner until it has a new title issued in your name. In many cases, these cars will also have a lien holder who also needs to sign off on transferring that title to you or whoever you designate it.
Carmax AssistanceCarmax is better than most auctions in being able to track down a title if you lose it. They may charge you a fee because they’re gonna have to spend some man-hours and leg work to track that down, but better than most auctions, they have people in a title department that can maybe help you out with that. The timeframe is pretty long; we see an average of three to four months to get a title for a Carmax auction vehicle that’s been lost.
Receiving the TitleNow this isn’t a title that when you buy it from them they hand it to you. Usually, they give that to you at the time that you purchase it, maybe within a week. This is one that you lost after buying the car from Carmax
Contacting Carmack’sSo if you lost the title, first contacts contact the Carmax title department. They may be able to help you out. Be aware that it may take some time and they may charge your fee to track down that title for you.
Fraud in Kart Idling:Fraud in kart idling is an increasing problem from many aspects. A vehicle title is a document designed to prove ownership. It requires that official representations are made in applying for that document. These are government forms because the title is only issued by government agency.
Government Documents:You can’t buy one from a private company. It’s a government document like a birth certificate or a passport. It protects the rightful owners of the vehicle, the heirs, the lenders, anybody who has a claim against that car. If a vehicle title is issued without retaining those claims, meaning that you erase a lien holder, you transfer it from an owner or an heir does not get their proper representation, that’s theft by deception.
Theft by Deception:So if you’re making a statement on an application that’s not true, you’re stealing somebody’s claim without the proper representation. You never know who has claims on a vehicle. So if you don’t have that prior title and you don’t know the whole story, have to be very careful to make sure that as you’re representing that application for a new title in your name, that you do it correctly.
Importance of Proper Representation:Because without that prior title, you don’t know how your representations match the history of that vehicle.
Revolutionizing Vehicle TitlesOkay love the idea or hate it the days of paper car titles is coming to an end if you’ve struggled to get yourself a paper C title because of missing documents or having to deal with government bureaucracy having to deal with all kind of forms and having to sign paper with ink instead of the way you do everything else in life with electronic signatures your wishes are coming true.
The E-Art Coalition: Modernizing Vehicle TitlesThe E-Art Coalition is a group of likeminded private sector companies that are coming together to try to modernize vehicle titles. What does this mean? Well government agencies that issue titles are at the state level Department of Motor Vehicles Department of Transportation Bureau Motor Vehicles every state has one and they have very bureaucratic rules as you know you’ve probably seen the DMV featured on sitcoms as a punch line they make it a joke about how hard it is to deal with the DMV and it’s because they’re one of the only agencies that still is in the dinosaur age with paper and Pen rather than Electronics so we’re coming together as a group to try to make vehicle titles become more in the modern area and you can see us here car titles look at some of the other uh other members DocuSign we’re one of the founding members along with NADA National Automotive Dealers Association meum auctions uh many other um high-profile Automotive stakeholders to work on getting vehicle titles into the Modern Age.
Objectives of the E-Art CoalitionThe objectives are to get electronic signatures on title documents just like DocuSign electronic title and registration processing so you don’t have to wait in line at DMV you can do it all online and the transfers and title transfers this is going to revolutionize vehicle titles now it may take a couple years it’s not going to happen overnight but finally the struggles that we’ve dealt with with clients for almost 20 years now dealing with titles is starting to have some light at the end of the tunnel and we’re an advocate we’re rooting for you as a consumer to not have to deal with these problems anymore we’re taking the lead with these other companies to revolutionize vehicle titles.
Investment in ModernizationAnd to try to support that we’re putting a lot of money into programming and uh technology that will make the title processing uh easier as a company so once all the government agencies are on board we can just plug in our um it department and the titles can be done um right off the bat sometimes instantly you don’t have to wait anymore so keep an eye on this channel keep an eye on our website and we’ll see see how fast we can get government agencies to adopt this more modern and proper process of doing titles.
Challenges of ModernizationAnd it’s not really their fault they’re stuck in the dinosaur age because many of their computers are old school Cobalt or uh Cobalt or forant computers that aren’t able to interface with more modern technology so let us know what you think in the comments if this is a good idea and if it’s a long time coming and overdue.
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.
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