How To Get A Court Ordered Title For A Vehicle

Court Order Title as a Last Resort
So, if all else fails and you’re struggling to get a title for a vehicle, every state has a method you could use that’s called a court order title. Some states call it declaratory judgment, some states call it magistrate title. So, what happens is if the titling agency in your state, normally it’s called Department of Motor Vehicles or Department of Transportation, if they’re not able to give you a title because you don’t have the right paperwork, their laws and their rules don’t allow them to.

DMV Rules vs. Court Authority
Deviate from that, right? The person who works at the counter can’t make an exception for you just because, you know, you seem like you’re a good person. They have to go by what the rules are. However, the court in your county can override that and they have a procedure for this. This is an example of how that works—this is an affidavit and title application. Now, it’s normally not a pre-done form like this. It’s just one example, but you fill out four or five documents.

Required Documents and Court Judgment
An affidavit, a complaint for declaratory judgment. You have to fill in all these blanks. You have to fill in an affidavit of diligent search and inquiry. You have to go through all these steps. You’ll also have to get a judgment granting vehicle ownership. So, you have to go through this process along with some affidavit, declarations of interest, and some other documents.

Court Can Override the DMV
The good news is the court has more authority than the DMV. The court can override the DMV. So, if you’re struggling with getting the DMV to not give you the runaround and not give you a title, look, you want one of these, right? You want to get a title certificate in your name. And if the DMV can’t do it, you can bypass them, go over their head, file documents with the court, and you’ll be in good shape.

Filing Without Court Forms
Now, keep in mind that the court normally doesn’t have forms where you fill in the blanks like this. You have to type it up yourself. However, at least you know you have a resource and a backup option to get a title if the DMV will not cooperate with you in giving you a legal title certificate for your vehicle.

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