The car wants to be mine, but...

January 22, 2007 6:17 AM

How do I register my vehicle in a new state without a title or a bill of sale?

I was fortunate enough to inherit my uncle's less-than-new/ better-than-scrap-metal car when he moved overseas earlier this year. My problem is that I've relocated to a different state and now need to register said junk heap. I don't have the title or even a bill of sale and I'm seriously doubting my uncle saved either when he left the country. So how do I go about obtaining a new title for the car in order to transfer it to my name and register it in a new state? The car is insured in my name, but in the previous state and on a 6 month pre-paid term. I'm hoping to insure it with a different company once the 6 month term is up, but again, I'm guessing things like a title and bill of sale will be needed. What are my options?

posted by Smarson to law & government (6 comments total)

Depends a lot on the states involved. Ask the DMV, perhaps?
posted by mkb at 6:24 AM on January 22, 2007

It depends on the state you live in. Some states have laws were nothing more than a bill of sale is needed to get a registration if the car is old enough. Other states may require a notarized bill of sale along with a police authorization of the VIN. Also, if you go to a DMV/RMV where they don't really care, you might get lucky as long as you act like you have no questions about the legitimacy of your paperwork and pretend that you have no doubt that they should give you a registration. (There are simple methods of getting a bill of sale, but I am keeping my mouth shut on this one.)

The more costly, but simplest method is International Title Service. I've used them a few times over the years to get registrations for old Vespa and Lambretta scooters that had no paperwork.
posted by toddst at 6:47 AM on January 22, 2007

There are fifty different ways of dealing with the problem. Without knowing which state you're in, it's hard to help. For example, Connecticut (and, from my experience, Michigan) allows you to request a duplicate of the title for a fee. Minnesota has a different paperwork procedure.

Your best first move is to contact your state's DMV and ask. This is an issue they deal with daily.
posted by ardgedee at 7:17 AM on January 22, 2007

@ Toddst: Thanks for the link to ITS.

The State that the car is currently registered in is OR and I have relocated to WA. Washingtonians love to buy cars in OR for no sales tax and then drive them around with OR plates which has led to a big crack down on non-WA-registered vehicles in the area. Hence my need to get this done the sooner the better. So assuming I can get a Title, how would I go about obtaining a bill of sale? My uncle honestly just gave me the car (more accurately: begged me to take the pile-o-junk off his hands), but I'm sure I could say he just sold it to me for a $1, which would avoid me having to pay some overdue use tax that WA likes to hit formerly OR owned cars with. Should I just type of up some official looking document, or is there some govt. form involved here?
posted by Smarson at 7:22 AM on January 22, 2007

You really should just call the DMV. Explain the situation and ask them what forms you need. If you're worried about some kind of legal issues, simply don't mention your name. Though, honestly, they don't care.
posted by odinsdream at 7:30 AM on January 22, 2007

A bill of sale is really just a scrap of paper with a date and a signature and a dollar amount. If I were you, in this specific situation, I'd write one myself. Keep in mind that there may be different tax consequences if you put down that the car was a gift versus that the car was "sold" to you for a dollar so I'd get those straight before you move forward in this.

Since you're in Seattle, I'd call one of the sleepy DMV outposts, the ones that do registrations and not driver's tests (my favorite was the Ballard one) and just ask all your questions there. They do answer the phone and if you catch them on a good day they are really super helpful.
posted by jessamyn at 9:15 AM on January 22, 2007