Selling A Car Without A Title: Is it Possible?

Selling your car can be confusing and fraught with DMV red tape, including official documentation. One key document you’ll need is your car’s title. You may not even know that your car has a title, or you might not know where it is. Either way, you’ll need to track it down because you can’t sell your vehicle without a title except in certain special circumstances.

What Is A Car Title?

A car title is a document issued by a state agency, usually the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) or Department of Transportation (DOT) in the state where the car was first sold. Every car’s title is unique in that it’s tied to a specific vehicle identification number (VIN).

Your car title not only proves your ownership of the vehicle but also has important information about your car, including:

• Owner. Name and address of the current owner, as well as any past owners or lienholders.
• Vehicle identification number. A unique 17-digit number assigned to the vehicle at manufacturing. This number can be badged or stamped in one or more places on the car.
• Odometer reading. Shows the number of miles on the car at the time of last purchase. When you sell the car, this number will be updated to the present date.
• Weight class. Vehicles are grouped into classes by weight, which can affect the cost of registration.
• Lienholder. If you have a car loan through a bank, credit union or financing
  company, your car title will have your lender’s contact information. Your lender is considered the lienholder.

A car title is an important legal document. Without a vehicle title, you have no way to prove you’ve obtained the vehicle legally and have a right to sell it. Whenever a vehicle is sold, each buyer must fill out and sign the title properly to prove ownership. For this reason it’s said that a car’s title “stays with the vehicle” for its lifespan.

Buying or selling a vehicle without proof of ownership is illegal in most places and situations.

Can You Sell A Car Without A Title?

If you want to sell your car but you’ve lost the title, you may be wondering, “Can I sell my car without a title?” The short answer is yes. However, selling a car without a title is often complicated, and it’s only possible in certain situations.

One of the primary reasons you need an up-to-date title to sell a car is that it verifies the car’s mileage over the life of the vehicle. This gives the buyer assurance that the vehicle has a clearly defined line of possession and the odometer reading is accurate. In the past, it was common for vehicle odometers to be recalibrated downward before sale to make them more marketable.

Congress’s 1972 Federal Odometer Act (FOA) mandated that the seller provide written documentation of the mileage of the vehicle on the date of transfer. The seller is also required to disclose if an older car’s mileage has exceeded its mechanical limit of 99,999 miles (rolled over, since older cars had odometers limited to five digits), or if he or she knows that the mileage on the odometer is incorrect due to odometer malfunction, manipulation, replacement, etc.

Common Reasons Your Title May Be Missing

Here are some of the most common reasons a car owner is no longer in possession of the vehicle’s title:

• It’s been lost or stolen.
• It wasn’t properly signed over at the previous sale
• The vehicle is actually a stolen car
• It’s been damaged.
• A lender holds the lien.
• The car is so old it precedes a state’s title requirement law.

How To Sell A Car Without A Title

Except in some extreme situations (the car was not legally obtained by the seller, for example) there are several avenues to being able to sell your car even without possession of the title. Each requires a different type of legwork and/or research on your part depending on the reason for the lack of title.

1. Determine If Your Vehicle Is Exempt From Needing A Title

If your car is considered old or a collectible, it could be exempt from needing a title. And what is considered “old” is probably younger than you think. In many states, the miles are exempt on nearly every vehicle that has been sold or transferred after its 10th “birthday.” This means the state won’t issue a title for the vehicle and the only proof of ownership required to register it is a bill of sale. 

It’s also possible that your state will allow you to sell your car without a title, so long as you begin the retitling process and legally transfer ownership to the new buyer, who would be issued a temporary permit. This could allow you to sell sooner, though the buyer would take on the burden of completing the retitling process. Since titling varies by state, your best bet is to research sales exempt requirements in your jurisdiction.

2. Get A Replacement Car Title

All states have their unique titling and registration laws which are administered under a bureaucracy named something like Department of Motor Vehicles, Department of Transportation, Secretary of State, etc. If you need to replace your vehicle title for whatever reason, you can make a trip to the local office or, if you’re fortunate and it’s an available service, avoid the lines and do everything online.

What you’ll be required to do may be different depending on the circumstances of your lost title:

• The title is under a lien: If you’re still paying off your new or used car loan, the title is actually owned by your lender. Contact them directly and tell them you want to sell your vehicle. They’ll give you instructions on how to sell your car with a lien on it and get the title released to you.
• The title is lost or damaged: Apply for a duplicate title with your DMV. The DMV will guide you through the steps to complete this process. You will likely need a bill of sale on the purchase, and ID information for both yourself and the seller.
• The car was stolen: If you think that the reason your car has no title is because it was a stolen vehicle when you bought it — which is definitely illegal — your best bet is to go to the police. You will likely lose the car and the money you spent on it, but you can probably avoid being arrested. It will help if you have a bill of sale. To avoid this nightmare, you should always run a VIN check and a Carfax report on any used car you’re buying, whether from a private seller or even a trusted dealer.
• You moved out of state: It’s time to learn the titling laws in your new state. If both states use an Electronic Lien Title (ELT) program, you can likely complete the process of retitling the vehicle in your new state entirely online. If not, the process may involve a trip to the DMV.

3. Create A Bill Of Sale

For states where you need a bill of sale for a motor vehicle as proof of purchase, you may have to use the official state Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) vehicle bill of sale form, often available online if they offer one. Some states let you draft a bill of sale yourself, and others give you the option of using an official form.

If you're going to create a bill of sale form, check with your DMV to see what they require on the form. Here's a list of the most common items that may appear on the bill of sale form:

• Date of the sale
• Purchase price
• Payment details (paid in full; or paid in installments)
• Odometer reading at the time of sale
• Model year, car color and make and model of the car
• Year of manufacture
• VIN
• Type of body
• Number of engine cylinders
• A detailed description of the vehicle
• Warranties (is the car being sold "as is" or with any other terms and conditions)
• Names, signatures, and legal addresses of buyer and seller

While some states allow the buyer and seller to complete a bill of sale by themselves, other states require that both parties sign before a notary public, who will charge a nominal fee. However, your bank will likely notarize a bill of sale for free, and your local library may have a notary public on staff who can provide the service for free to cardholders in good standing.

4. Trade In Your Car

Generally, you must have the title ready and available for the dealership when you go to trade in your car. In fact, it’s illegal to sell or trade-in a vehicle without a title in most states. It’s still possible to do a trade in, however, but it will require some work on your part, including:

• Verify ownership. Since the title isn’t available, you could provide other documents to prove ownership, including a notarized copy of the bill of sale or an active state vehicle registration. Research what your state will accept before heading to the dealership.
• Find the lienholder. One reason why the title is missing may be that there is a lien on the vehicle and the lender holds the title. If that’s the case, you can reach out to the lender and iron out the transfer details. Keep in mind that you will need to pay the remaining balance on the client's loan for the lender to release the title. 
• Apply for a replacement/duplicate title. If the vehicle is not financed and the title is not available, you can go your local DMV office or Secretary of State to get a duplicate or replacement title. This will likely take at least several days and up to several weeks before you actually receive the title. 

5. Get A Bonded Title

Depending on where you live, if your vehicle’s title is missing, the state may compel you to get a bonded title, also known as a certificate of title surety bond. This document establishes that you own the car. It can be used instead of a traditional car title to register a vehicle with the DMV, get insurance for the vehicle, or sell the vehicle. 

You’ll have to pay for the bond, a relatively small amount based on the value of the vehicle. In most cases, title bonds can be acquired in a matter of minutes online or over the phone. Once your payment has been completed, your certificate of title bond will be issued.

The Bottom Line

There are lots of ways you can still sell your car even if you do not possess the title, but you’ll have to jump through some annoying hoops to do so. The best policy, whether you purchase a car from a dealer or a private sale, is to make sure you take possession of the legal title at sale and keep it somewhere safe. When you have an updated title, most vehicle sales go forward smoothly.

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