How To Get a Replacement Car Title

Replacement Car Titles
So how do you get a replacement car title? A true duplicate car title is one where you own the car, it’s in your name, and all you need is another copy of that document. You’re not trying to change the name, you’re not trying to do anything different, it’s just a replacement duplicate copy. Only the legal title owner can do this, but it’s very, very cheap. In most states, it’s ten dollars or less. There are a couple of states that are two dollars.

Obtaining a Duplicate Title
The duplicate title has to be obtained from the correct state, meaning that if that title was last issued by, let’s say, the state of Texas, you would have to go to the state of Texas or apply there by mail to get that title. If you move to another state, you can’t go to the other state to get a duplicate; you have to get it from where it originally came from.

Lien Clearance
Make sure there’s no lien on the vehicle. Even if you had a lien on the car and paid it off, in many cases, that lien record will still be showing with the DMV, so that’ll have to be cleared from the title. The reason why is because normally when you pay off a lien, what happens is the bank just signs the title and then mails it to you. That lien is never cleared from the DMV records, so you might have to get a lien release from the bank.

Correct Application Information
Make sure also that the name that you’re applying for the duplicate is correct. So if there’s two names on the title or one name (husband-wife), you have the correct application name format when you go to the DMV.

Application Process
It’s okay to do this by mail; you don’t have to go in person to the DMV. You can download the form from their website, print it out, and send it in. In some cases, if you do it by mail, you’ll have to get it notarized because they want to verify the signature and make sure the owner is correct.

Online Applications
In most cases, you can’t do this online. The reason why is because the DMV wants to make sure that the person requesting that duplicate is actually authorized to have the title; it’s actually the owner. You wouldn’t want your title just being sent to anybody on the internet that applies for your duplicate title, so they’re protecting your interest by keeping the applications from being submitted through the internet.

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