Does A Court Order Title Bypass the DMV Runaround?

What is a Court Order Title?
So what is a court order title and how does it help you get a title certificate for a vehicle?

The Court Order Title Process
A court order title process is a method where if you don’t have the right paperwork that your DMV or your title agency in your state is willing to accept, you go over their head.

Going to Court
You go over their authority to go to the court system in your county where you reside.

Proving Ownership
You basically tell the court that you are the legal owner. You have documentation, you have a bill of sale, receipts, and you want them to sign an order directing the DMV commissioner to give you a title that gives you power over the DMV.

Verification by the Court
Now the Court’s going to verify your story, whatever story you have about how you bought the vehicle.

Preparing Your Documentation
You’re going to have to put that in writing. It’s an Affidavit of facts, a declaration of non-interest, and a petition.

Filing with the Court
You prepare those three forms, filing with the court.

Conditions for Judgment
If everything checks out in the vehicle – it’s not stolen, no liens, no salvage, no back taxes – the court will generally give you a judgment of ownership based on their discretion.

Obtaining the Title
Once you get that Judgment of ownership, you bring it to the DMV, slap it on the counter, and they give you a title.

State-Specific Rules
Every state has different rules about that. Sometimes you have to get rejected first by the DMV before you go to the court.

Additional Court Requirements
Sometimes the court will do a background check on the vehicle. Sometimes they’ll want you to send out letters to the last owner.

Initial Steps
You will not know what you need to do until you file with the court, so the first step is to file with the court.

Preparation for Court
Now, you can’t just walk into the court and say I want to do a court order title. They’re not going to know what you’re talking about.

Importance of Preparation
You have to walk in with your petition, your affidavit, your letter of non-interest already prepared and file them with the court and let the magistrate take action on it.

Court Clerk’s Role
The court clerk can’t advise you. They’re not going to know what specifically a court order title is.

Being Ready
You have to come in already prepared. You can’t come in empty-handed because the court’s not allowed to give you assistance. They can’t give you legal advice.

Filing by Mail
So make sure you’re prepared when you walk into that courtroom. In fact, we don’t recommend walking into the court. We recommend filing it by mail because that way the clerk won’t make any misunderstandings about what you’re trying to do and reject it before it even gets to the magistrate.

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