1. How do I get a duplicate certificate of title?
Application is made, in person, at any county title office. There is a $15.00 fee. A picture ID is required, as well as your registration or any other documents that verify the vehicle identification number.
If the original title is lost, stolen, or destroyed, you may obtain a duplicate. If after issuance of the duplicate the original is recovered, it must be returned to the county Title Department for cancellation.
2. I just moved to Ohio. How do I get an Ohio title for my vehicle?
If you have your jurisdictions title in your name, take that and a completed Out of State Inspection form to the Clerk of Courts Title office in any county. A copy of the inspection form can be obtained at the Erie County Title Department. You can also obtain the form at most new or used car dealerships in Ohio. You are applying for a conversion title from your state to Ohio. If you do not have your title because it is being held by the lien holder or leasing company, please come into the Title office and fill out the information to request the title from the lien holder. Title from Lien holder will take up to 30 days.
3. My title does not reflect the correct vehicle identification number, how do I correct this?
Contact the closest Highway Patrol Inspection station. Ask to schedule a time for a trooper do a vehicle verification check on the car. Mail a copy of the completed verification form, a copy of the front of the title and a brief letter, as to what the problem is with the title, include your contact information and mail it to the Ohio BMV, Title Division, PO Box 16520, Columbus, Ohio, 43216-6520. You will receive a correction letter that you can take to your county clerk's office for a corrected title.
4. My insurance company has salvaged my vehicle. I am keeping it and repairing it for my use. What steps do I need to follow?
First, apply for a salvage title in your name, changing the status of your title from regular to salvage. (NOTE: The vehicle cannot be operated on the highway while evidenced on a salvage title). Upon completion of the repairs, contact the closest Highway Patrol Inspection Station and make an appointment to have a salvage inspection done. Take any receipts for repairs and new parts with you to the inspection. After the vehicle has successfully completed the inspection, take Form HP106 and your salvage title, and proceed to any title office and apply for a rebuilt salvage title. After all of these steps have been completed, the vehicle is now operable for highway use.
5. How do I transfer ownership of my vehicle to another person?
On the back of your current title, at the top, complete the new buyers name and address, plus the purchase price. Complete the odometer certification area stating the mileage, as it appears on the odometer. Right under the mileage area is the seller's notary section. This area must be completed and notarized. Next, the buyer must acknowledge the mileage, as stated by the seller, by filling in his signature and then printing his name.
6. How do I transfer an assigned title into my name?
After receiving an assigned title, the new buyer can proceed to Erie County Title Department or Deputy Registrar's Office with the assigned title and purchase a 30-day tag. Within 30 days, proceed to the Clerk of Courts Title office (in order to avoid a $5.00 late charge) in any county and apply for title in your name. You will also have to pay sales & use tax on the purchase price of the vehicle. The rate varies from county to county so phone ahead for your rate. If you have a lien holder, you will need a certified copy of your security agreement for the lien to be noted.
7. How do I record a lien on a motor vehicle?
The Clerk of Courts Title office will require either a certified copy or the original security agreement along with the current title. The title office will produce a new title for this transaction. This is a lien replacement and will cost $15.00.
8. I need to get a title history done on a vehicle. How is this done?
Write or stop into the Ohio BMV, Title Division, PO Box 16520, Columbus, Ohio 43266-0020 or 1970 West Broad Street, Columbus, Ohio 43223 and complete a title request form. You will need to supply the vehicle identification number and the year and make of the vehicle. Each title history costs $5.00. This history will reveal all previous owner information, if you meet the requirements, according to the Driver's Privacy Protection Act (DPPA). Otherwise, you will only receive vehicle information.
9. There is an abandoned vehicle on my property. How do I handle this situation?
First, contact your local law enforcement office, as each area has different rules on this. Some law enforcement agencies will come to your property and remove the vehicle, others will say it's on your property and you will have to find out who the owner is and contact them. If local law enforcement will not remove the vehicle, you would need legal advice and possibly a court ordered title, to be put in your name. For additional information on abandoned vehicles please read the "Garage Owner Affidavit" pamphlet (PDF, 83KB).
10. How do I title a vehicle purchased out of state?
If you purchase a car out of the state from a private party, it is necessary the seller assign his title to you and have it notarized, if applicable in that state.
A physical inspection is required by an official state inspection station, before title can be issued on the out of state vehicle. Contact your title office for the location of the inspection station closest to you.
11. I have an assigned title for the vehicle I am driving, but it was assigned a year ago, what do I do?
Proceed to any county title office and apply for title. You will be charged a $5 late fee, in addition to other applicable fees.
12. Do I have to go through probate to title a vehicle after my spouse is deceased?
A surviving spouse may obtain an unlimited amount of vehicles from the decedent's name, so long as the combined approximate value of the automobiles does not exceed $65,000.00. This can also include watercrafts. Titles need not be probated. A motorcycle qualifies as a vehicle. This surviving spouse law does not include vehicles such as atvs, mobile homes, motor homes or travel trailers.
Upon receipt of the title, surviving spouse affidavit and a copy of the death certificate, the clerk will transfer the title to the surviving spouse. Mileage is not required, but will be put on the title, if known. If there is an open lien on the deceased's title to be carried forward, the original Security Agreement from the lien holder is required.
13. Can a vehicle be titled in the name of a minor?
The following is taken directly out of the Ohio Revised Code, Section 4505.031
- No minor under eighteen years of age shall sell or otherwise dispose of a motor vehicle or purchase or otherwise acquire a motor vehicle unless the application for a certificate of title is accompanied by a form prescribed by the registrar of motor vehicles and signed by one of the minor’s parents, his guardian, or other person having custody of the minor authorizing the sale, disposition, purchase, or acquisition of the motor vehicle.
- At the time the application for certificate of title is submitted, the adult who signed the form authorizing the sale, disposition, purchase, or acquisition of the motor vehicle by the minor shall be present and shall provide identification establishing that he is the individual whose signature appears on the form. The registrar shall prescribe, by rule the types of identification that are acceptable for the purposes of this section. If the adult who signed the form does not provide identification as required by this section, the application shall be refused.
- No right, title, claim to or interest in a motor vehicle shall be acquired by or from a minor unless the application for a certificate of title is accompanied by the form required by this section.
- No clerk of a court of common pleas shall be held liable in any civil action that arises under the laws of this state for injury or loss to persons or property caused when a person has obtained a certificate of title in violation of this section, unless the clerk failed to use reasonable diligence in ascertaining the age of the minor or the identity of the adult who signed the form authorizing the sale, disposition, purchase, or acquisition of the motor vehicle by the minor.
14. What if I need more information?
Please contact the Erie County Title Department at (419) 627-7626 or write to: Ohio BMV, Title Division, P.O. Box 16520, Columbus, Ohio 43216-6520. Forms can also be downloaded from the Ohio BMV website.
15. How do I title a documented watercraft?
If the current documented owner wishes to discontinue documentation and obtain an Ohio title to their watercraft, they must present to the county a copy of their documentation and a letter from the Coast Guard, confirming that documentation has been deleted.
If a current documented owner is selling their watercraft to an individual that does not wish to maintain documentation, the seller provides the buyer with a copy of his documentation, a bill of sale and the letter from the Coast Guard, confirming that the boat has been deleted from documentation. The buyer presents these items to his county title office to obtain title.
16. Do I need a title for my jet ski?
Effective January 1, 2000, watercraft less than 14 feet in length with a permanent affixed mechanical means of propulsion will be required to be titled. This includes personal watercraft. Example: wave runners, jet skis, etc.
Exception: A watercraft less than 14 feet in length, with a permanently fixed means of propulsion of less than 10 horsepower as determined by the manufacturers rating, is not required to be titled.
If the above-mentioned watercraft was owned prior to January 1, 2000, no title is required until it is mortgaged, sold or otherwise disposed of (Ohio Revised Code, Section 1548.21). If a title has not been previously issued in Ohio, the owner may present a manufacturer’s statement of origin (MSO) or a sworn statement of ownership. For out of state watercraft, the owner may present a certificate of title, bill of sale, or other evidence of ownership required by the law of another state from which the watercraft came.
Questions? Please call the Ohio Division of Watercraft at (614) 265-6480