Jumped Vehicle Title

So if you have a title for a vehicle and it’s not assigned directly from the owner, you have what’s called a jumped title.

Definition and Impact of a Jumped Title
And what is the jump title or skip title due for ownership? It means that there are in-between owners from you to the last person who was issued a title by a government agency that have not been documented. So Joe Schmoe has a title, they sell it to Sally Smith, they sell it to somebody else, and then it never gets titled in their names. And then finally you have this title handed to you that’s signed over to you. Maybe those people are reflected, maybe they’re not, but now you have a jump title. This creates gaps in the chain of title so that people who have owned that vehicle but in possession of that vehicle have never established themselves as legal title owners.

Consequences of a Jumped Title
How does that affect you? Well, the one thing that can happen is some of those owners can come forward with claims of ownership of the vehicle, especially if there are lien holders. If one of those owners pawned the title or borrowed money against the car, that lien holder may come back and try to claim the car.

Legal and Financial Implications
Now, there’s also legal issues. The DMV requires that if a title is transferred or a vehicle is transferred, that the title be changed within a certain period of time. It could be 15, could be 30 days. There may also be taxes due on any sale of a vehicle or registration fees. This is often the reason why titles are jumped, to try to eliminate taxes or evade taxes.

Risks with Unlicensed Dealers
There’s also curb owners who are unlicensed dealers who buy and sell cars and don’t want to put the car in their name because it can trigger records at the DMV to identify them as a dealer, and they don’t have a license. So be aware that there may be people besides you who have a copy of that title that’s signed over to them or that’s not signed that could affect your ownership if you have a jumped title or skip title.

Getting Help
If you have questions about getting a title for your vehicle, you can reach the other website at cartitles.com.

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