Buying a new car comes with important requirements to ensure your vehicle avoids harassment from law enforcement. Registration, license tags, and titles are all separate but work together making a vehicle legal to operate on roadways in the United States.

In short, it goes like this:

Title: A title is an official document issued by the state government to prove legal vehicle ownership for cars, trucks, boats, ATVs, UTVs, dirt bikes, and more.
Registration: Registration is the identifying document of the vehicle and its owner, it also provides the vehicle use description required to drive a vehicle on roadways.
Tag: A tag, also known as a license plate, is the exterior identification for a vehicle being used on roadways. The “Tag” allows police to see the same information as the registration paperwork, plus, it shows the status of insurance on the vehicle.

Two of the three documents should be kept with you at all times, but one of them is recommended to keep safely away from your vehicle or held by the lien holder until the vehicle is paid off. Keep the title somewhere safe; as for the registration and license plate – it’s important to have them with the vehicle anytime it’s being operated on the street.

When Should I Title vs. Register My Vehicle?

Everyone's circumstances differ – it could be something as simple as renewing registration or a more intensive service to fully replace the title. This causes varying expectations depending on what paperwork you have, or lack thereof. Oddly enough, there’s a multitude of vehicles that either don’t have a title, or the owner misplaced the title and wants to avoid the headache and stress of a full house cavity search.

Obviously, no title at all is much more common in older vehicles, but the occasional new car or truck has a special situation requiring a replacement title. There are also some states where titles are not issued at all in certain circumstances, such as for vehicles over a certain age.

If your title is lost or missing, there are certain conditions to complete retitling in the smoothest way possible. Some requirements are only specific to certain aged vehicles, but most standards are customary across the board. If the vehicle has salvage history, it would be best to check on the state you’re titling in before beginning the process. You can find the requirements based on your vehicle year by clicking the button below.

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To recover a lost car title, you generally need:

Form of identification (driver's license, passport, ID) can be a copy
Sales tax, or proof of tax paid
Bill of sale
Photo of VIN/Serial Number
VIN inspection (if 14 years old or newer)
Copy of VIN inspectors business card or badge (if 14 years old or newer)
Photo of entire vehicle (if 14 years old or newer)
Photo of odometer (if 10 years old or newer)

Registering a vehicle is a much simpler process that doesn’t require nearly as much in-depth work. The key to this is having a title either in your name, or signed over to you by the titled owner. If you have a title that’s been signed multiple times, you’ll need to go through a titling service or use a bill of sale instead.

What’s required to register a vehicle? This is a bit of a loaded question since there are a couple of factors that play into the process. If your vehicle is paid off, your title is all that’s needed. If the car is financed, it really depends on the vehicle year:

Copy of some form of I.D. (1900-present)
Bill of sale (1900-present)
Sales tax, or proof of tax paid (if 2015+ or bought from dealer with no tax paid)
Copy of social security number (2015+)
Tax Verification form signed and notarized by dealer (financed vehicles 2015+)

How Do I Get License Plates?

Going off of information already mentioned, the process likely seems overwhelming with a list of questions already funneling through your head. It’s possible to title and register, sure, but what about my license plate, nothing has been mentioned about how to plate my car.

Typically, when a vehicle is titled and registered, it also comes with a license plate if it’s registered for use on roadways. This standard can vary depending on which state you reside in, and whether your vehicle qualifies for a license plate. Some states issue a title, license plate, and registration with little to no standards for a vehicle to receive those documents. In other states, you have to go through a plethora of inspections and emissions checks to verify the vehicle is worthy of the privilege to operate on your state's roads.

Depending on the state, vehicles can be mandated to have license plates on the front and rear bumpers of each car. Dual plates are only necessary if the vehicle is registered in a state that requires it. If you’re simply driving through a neighboring state that requires front and rear plates, there’s no need to worry about only having a rear license plate since you aren’t registered in that state.

What Cars Are Unable to Receive Any Documentation?

Beware. No matter how selective you try to be – chances are that you’ll still come across a vehicle that can never be titled or registered again. What vehicle would be banned to this sad existence, you ask? Any car or truck that has been branded for junk, parts only, or destruction.

In some cases, cars with “the brand of death” look immaculate – not a scratch or dent on the vehicle. They may appear beautiful on the outside, but the deeper you look at the frame, brake systems, electrical harnesses, and other vital safety features, the more you notice how many potential issues are waiting to occur.

Titling Qualifications

A variety of elements come into play when titling a vehicle using the bill of sale as the sole proof of ownership. Salvage history, owner history, stolen reports, VIN/serial number discrepancies, etc. can all play a role in your state denying or accepting a vehicle to be issued a title without one present.

Depending on which state you’re in, they might not even let you title and register the vehicle without the title document from the previous owner. You could be stuck with a perfect car that can’t be driven since there’s no title document.

That's where we come in. At Dirt Legal, we can get you a title and/or registration from another state, getting you on the road and getting you one step closer to getting a title in whatever state you want.

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Registration Requirements

In comparison, registration is much easier to complete because the title is already accessible without the need to create one. If the vehicle is paid off the only document needed is the title, or certificate of origin, depending whether the vehicle is freshly purchased from the dealer or not.

Sometimes it makes more sense to finance, and that’s okay, but there is more required to register financed vehicles. When you work with Dirt Legal, for any vehicle newer than 2015, you’ll have to pay sales tax or provide proof it was already paid by having the dealer you bought from sign and notarize a tax verification form.

Additionally, you’ll also have to provide copies of your bill of sale, I.D., and social security number, along with the lienholder form signed. This allows the registration process to go smoothly without facing any hindrances.

Plate Planning

Most, if not all, states have a grace period allowing time for your insurance to begin coverage, and your license plate & registration to ship out. If you’re registering the vehicle within the allowed period it’s likely you won’t have any issues operating the vehicle on roadways before license plates arrive.

Of course, it’s important to have insurance even while waiting on your plates to come. In the off chance of being involved in an accident, it’s always best to be prepared for the worst. Plus, some police forces will write a ticket for operating a vehicle without insurance, even inside the “grace period”.

Registering a Vehicle With a Title Is Easier Than Using Just a Bill of Sale

Many variants affect the process of registering a vehicle. A few examples include – if it’s been purchased from a dealer new, bought used from a private party, financed, paid in full, the vehicle year, the title is signed over improperly to the buyer, the title is already in the buyer's name, and a host of other variables.

Title Signed Over to You

Buying vehicles from a private party almost always involves them signing the title over to you on the back. Make sure when you’re buying the vehicle, that the person's name signed as the seller on the back is the name of the titled owner on the front. If the name on the front of the title doesn’t match the name of the seller on the back this will void the document making it impossible to use that title. If this occurs, it’s best to wash your hands of the purchase and find a vehicle with a clear, issue-free title.

A second note would be to make sure the only signatures on the back of the title are yours (as the buyer) and the person you’re buying from (as the seller). It’s vital that the seller signing is the titled owner on the front. Additionally, if there are multiple signatures on the title, that will also void the title since any person that signs as a buyer on a title would need to register the vehicle into their name in order to sell it in compliance. Signing a title and then never registering the vehicle before selling it again is called title jumping, and it's illegal, so if you encounter this be sure to steer clear.

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Bill of Sale Only

This document shows proof of sale from one owner to the next but doesn’t necessarily prove ownership of a vehicle, depending on where you live. Having a bill of sale is good, but there’s always the possibility of a reported theft.

There’s a long list of states that will look at you crazy if you go to the DMV with just a bill of sale trying to obtain a title and registration. Only a select few states allow a vehicle to be titled and registered using just the bill of sale. Even states that let you complete this process only issue a transferable registration for older vehicles, and bonded title for newer vehicles.

Montana will title and register pretty much any car, truck, motorcycle, or offroad vehicle with just the bill of sale. The only stipulation is that the vehicle can’t have any salvage history. Well, it can, but Montana wouldn’t register or plate the vehicle, they would only provide a salvage bonded title that can’t be transferred for 3 years unless your state allows bonded titles to be transferred.

Other states work differently. For example, it wouldn’t make a difference if the VIN on a vehicle over 15 years old was branded as salvage or not if it were to be registered in Vermont. The biggest difference between Vermont and other states is that they issue a transferable registration in place of a title for vehicles 15 years old or older. The transferable registration is the same thing as a title, just the title and registration on the same document. When selling a vehicle with a transferable registration, it’s the same process as with a title, sign for the seller and the buyer signs their name to transfer ownership.

Title in Your Name

Having a title in your name, or signed over to you by the owner on the front, is the easiest way to transfer ownership to your name. A bill of sale can always be written in conjunction with the title, but isn’t required to transfer ownership.

When the title is already in your name, it’s likely that taxes have already been paid, allowing you to transfer the title to any state you like without paying taxes a second time. Some states require verification of taxes paid, but this is only necessary for a select few states like South Dakota.

Title Branded for Salvage, Destruction, or Parts Only

Car wrecks, natural disasters, and vehicle thefts can all result in one form of VIN branding or another. The specific branding depends on the severity of each situation. Salvage is the only one of the 3 that can be rebuilt into a roadworthy vehicle, but not until it passes inspections and has been repaired with quality parts.

In the unfortunate circumstance that an automobile is cursed with the destruction or parts only brand – the best course of action is to try and recoup as much money as possible by selling it for scrap or parting out. What specifically could cause a vehicle to receive junk, destruction, or parts-only branding? Here are a few incidents that could ban a vehicle from on-road use indefinitely:

Airbags deployed in a crash
Flooding damaged the electrical system
Insurance doesn’t want to risk future liability
Frame damage lowering vehicle integrity
Multiple safety systems faced impairment

Sometimes a vehicle will only have minor damage visible, but as you look deeper, a list of issues becomes apparent. In certain situations with minor damage, the vehicle will be salvaged, leaving the opportunity to obtain a rebuilt title as long as it passes all inspections. Oftentimes, even when a vehicle is rebuilt, it never comes back to the full potential it had before the incident.

Not only does a rebuilt vehicle often drive differently than one with a clear title, but the value decreases significantly, 20-30% depending on the severity of the damage done. Salvaged vehicles with correctable damage can still be titled and registered, but there’s only one state we’re aware of that will give a title, license plate, and registration without successfully passing an official rebuilt inspection. All you need is a title in your name, or signed over to you, in order to get the proper documents to drive the car. Dirt Legal can do the rest, just be sure that you have an actual title and not a salvage certificate before beginning the registration process.

Financed in Someone Else’s Name

This is more common than you’d think. Sure, financing a car isn’t a problem, but the issue arises when the seller fails to pay off their lien, leaving the new buyer with a vehicle that can’t be registered in their name due to an active lien with someone else as the account holder of the lien.

If buying a currently financed car is the only option, it’s best to meet the seller at their bank to ensure the loan is paid off before following through with the transaction. This protects you from any shady sellers, and if the seller doesn’t want to meet at the financial institution for the sale, that’s a red flag best taken as a sign to avoid buying this car. There’s always the chance of a fully dishonest seller, especially if they claim there’s no title, so in any situation, it’s always best to run a VIN check to see the vehicle history and check whether or not the vehicle is financed.

What Can I Do to Make Titling and Registration Easier?

No matter what task needs to be achieved – there’s always an easy way and a hard way to complete it. Titling and registering your car are no different. Finding a way to register your car can prove unnecessarily difficult if there’s no title; especially if your state has strict regulations.

Even if you have a clean & clear title, many states require vehicle inspections and emissions testing. If your vehicle is modified, older, or has a pesky check engine light, odds are you’ll get denied registration unless you’re buddies with the inspector.

The best way to simplify titling with only a bill of sale is to find a state that will give you a title for a vehicle without one. It sounds simple, but states that allow titling and registration with a bill of sale typically require you to be a resident or have an address in their state.

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