A few steps to make title process easier.

[mr48chev]

For the umpteenth time or umpteenth hundredth time we have someone show up asking how to get a title in XXXXX state for their AD truck.


I don't claim to be any sort of expert but do have a few suggestions that should make the process go smoother. This is to do it legally and above board in the state you live in. You really aren't interested in how it is done in ___________ because you are not in ___________ or ____________.


1. Go to your states DMV website and study what they have. you have to do some searches that usually don't take too long.
In the past I have searched for things like: (fill in your state)

________________ motor vehicle code.
________________ Assembled vehicles
_________________ motor vehicle rcw's (washington state)
________________ vehicle title/registration

Hunt through and find what applies to what you intend to do.

If you go to a dmv office it is usually pertinent to go to the highest level of office that deals with car titles. Walking into Jane's title and registration shop down at the mini mall usually won't be productive and sometimes a visit to the courthouse isn't productive.

If your state has state run vehicle inspection stations that is a good place to ask what you need to do to have your ducks in a row.


When you buy a body, engine or frame or ?? major component get a legit bill of sale or sales slip. You might even want to go to the office supply and get a receipt book to carry with you for sellers to sign if you aren't buying from a business. It's a lot easier to tell the inspector that "I get individuals who don't have businesses to fill out a receipt for me to show who I bought it from" than to have a blank stare when asked where you got the _____________ major component.

If you buy a donor car or truck for a major component such as an S-10 for the frame and it comes with a title, make a copy of the title and then put the weight slip or ticket the junk yard or scrap yard gave you when you hauled the hulk in if you gave them the title with it. That leaves no doubt that you owned the donor and where the remains went.

Keep a "build book" Just a 3 ring binder that you put some plastic page savers in and then stick each receipt or document for a major component in. If you can't deal with your significant other finding out what you spent you are in the wrong hobby and or maybe the wrong relationship.
Along with the receipt or paperwork put a print of the photo you took of said part when you bought it or found it. That proves the condition it was in when purchased (may be needed for tax arguments) And for an assembled rig shows that you actually did get a part here and a part there and put everything together and come out with a truck in the process. It doesn't hurt to have it well organized with a section for the cab, a section for the frame and a section for the engine. Again, ducks in a nice little organized row and easy to understand support info for what you are doing.

I probably left out a lot but maybe this will help someone through the process.

[iowaboynca]

Very nice post. Great information.

[63 & 64 Bowties]

Good info. Thanks for sharing all that. Every time I see a title: "How do I get a title" I think, oh no here we go again.
Maybe as info gets added here it will make a good link to reply with on the next "How do I get a title" thread.

[fine69]

The best idea is to NOT buy a truck that you plan to fix without having one up front. OR if you must buy it use it as a "parts" truck while you look for one with a clear title. Save some of these guys a lot of hassle if they look at it like this.

[Old Crow]

Good info on the title process.

If I'm building something for myself, I have to watch pennies/hide dollars. If I'm building it for my wife, she doesn't care how much I spend.
You guessed it, she's got the nicer looking vehicles, I've got the hot rods. Money put into the motor only shows when you press the loud pedal.

[mr48chev]

Originally Posted by fine69

The best idea is to NOT buy a truck that you plan to fix without having one up front. OR if you must buy it use it as a "parts" truck while you look for one with a clear title. Save some of these guys a lot of hassle if they look at it like this.

In the past I have bought some really ragged AD trucks because they had good titles with good vin plates. One took six trips to haul it home piece by piece including the frame that I had to cut in half with a hack saw.

[1project2many]

It also helps treee-mendously to get first hand information from guys in your area that have been through the process. For example, in this state, when you assemble a vehicle from parts from many trucks, you are supposed to get a safety check and have a VIN assigned. You will fail the check if you have improperly welded rails or have not used the proper sectioning / joining methods. That's the kind of information that's good to have before the truck is assembled. Go to a few swap meets or car shows and talk to guys. Chances are you'll find someone who's been down the road and can tell you what does or doesn't work.

[iowaboynca]

Bump...
Seeing a couple of builds/questions where this info may be needed

[HUSSEY]

I think I'll pass this along to all those CL adds I see where the Owner says "I don't have a title but they are real easy to get, so you shouldn't have any trouble getting one".

[OrrieG]

If it's easy they should have done it. There is a guy locally on CL actively looking for an AD title for the truck he pulled out of a field. Already advised him that there is a process for doing what he wants and if they get wind that the title did not originally come with the truck his life just got more interesting since the state info specifically addresses why that is a no-no. Last thing anyone needs is to get on the DMV bad actor list...

[beanyard]

For my 53 gmc Burb I paid for a vin search.... They told me who the last titled owner was. I found his obituary with Google. His obituary listed his wife's name. She lives less than a mile from my house. We did a duplicate transfer and now it is in my name.
Posted via Mobile Device

[55dude]

this is how washington state does vehicles with no titles these days as i just went through it with a buddy. you make appointment with state patrol and get a recording and they call you back. costs $70 for inspection and it can be 90 days out. you better have all your receipts including bill of sale for vehicle. they want the receipts from licenced businesses not your buddy on notebook paper. If you meet their requests then they will issue you a "bonded title" application which means if the last registered legal owner has 3 years to lay claim to vehicle. with this title you can get tabs to drive it or vehicle can be sold but buyer has to finish the 3 years before state gives you CLEAN title. your rolling the dice. any vehicle to me these days is worth $1000 bucks more with clean title because it really sucks if your lacking it!

[Big Daddy Bear]

Another way in Washington (which I just went through), is a fairly simple process for parts trucks that by themselves are only considered junk vehicles, but to a gearhead can be gold mines of parts.

This is the form they use:

http://www.dol.wa.gov/forms/420549.pdf

Depending on where you live, it may be a deputy sheriff, city police officer, or in some places a nuisance abatement person.

They come out and look to verify it meets the requirements of junk, they look at license & VIN plates, if any. Then they do a search for any owner of record still on file.

I had two for him to do, so one came back with no owner on file, so it can be disposed of. Nothing left there to salvage, it really is junk now...

The second and more important one with a good, short box frame, came back with a previous owner name. I had to mail a copy of the form to the last known address in a certified letter. I also included a Release of Interest form if the person was willing to just sign off it and call it good.

http://www.dol.wa.gov/forms/420040.pdf

At this point it becomes a waiting game, with one of four results (simplified versions),

1. The owner gets the letter and claims the vehicle back.

2. The owner gets the letter and sends the Release form back.

3. The owner gets the letter and does nothing for at least 15 days after they sign for it.

4. The letter returns marked as not deliverable.

#1 & #2 are pretty self explanatory.

#3 - After the 15 day wait for a response, take the letter receipt and the original Junk form down to a license place and you can apply for a title.

#4 - Take the UNOPENED, returned letter and the original form down to a license place and you can apply for a title.

Now depending on which county or city you live in, getting the person out here may take some time, then depending on how they do their process, you may have a completed form when they leave or, like in Thurston Co, it may take several weeks before you get your paper back.

Once you title it, if you later want put that particular vehicle back on the road, it will need a State Patrol inspection to verify it is road worthy, but in my case any way, I just need the frame, I already have another, properly titled cab, it just had a junk frame.

By having the title, it will help me sell or scrap the extra cab if I don't keep it.

[iowaboynca]

bump...sticky?