This Is What Happens When You Lose the Title to Your Motorcycle

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You absolutely need a title

You have a motorcycle that you haven’t used for a while.  You’ve given it some love, and it is ready for the open road.  You want to make sure that you are street legal to avoid any unpleasant run-ins with local law, but the title is missing.  Where to begin?

Or you’re ready to buy that next motorcycle.  You have to sell your current ride to free up some funds, and you’ve lined up a buyer.  What documentation do you need on your end to make the sale happen? Do you need to replace that lost title yourself or can the next owner do it?

Whether you are ready to ride a motorcycle, sell it, or do just about anything else with it, you are going to need the paper title for that bike.  You know that the bike is titled in your name and that you once had that title, but you are a little concerned because you can’t lay hands on the title at the moment.  Not to worry!  A lost motorcycle title is a solvable problem; read on for information and solution.

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To be clear: this article will discuss various ways to recover a title that is already in your name.  If you bought a motorcycle without a title or lost your bike’s title before transferring it into your name, check out this article by another one of our team members.  The linked article is primarily about why you shouldn’t buy a car without a title, but the information about title recovery pertains to your situation.

Summary:

• Why a title is key for riding and legally documenting your motorcycle

• Your local motor vehicle agency’s role in your bike’s title

• Ways to solve the problem of a lost motorcycle title

Why a motorcycle’s title is important

A legal, unaltered title, issued by a state motor vehicle agency, is the only real proof that you own a motorcycle.

Most motorcycle sales include what’s called a “bill of sale.”  The bill of sale lists the seller and buyer's name and address, a complete description of the bike, the vehicle's identification number, conditions, date, amount paid, previous owner, method of payment and any other agreements between the buyer and seller.

A bill of sale can help show ownership of a motorcycle and can help get a title.  But a bill of sale alone isn’t enough for a motor vehicle agency to issue you a registration document or a license plate.  You’re going to need to replace that lost title instead of letting the next owner deal with it.

Here at Dirt Legal, we often help people get from having a bill of sale to having a title in a convenient way with our Motorcycle Titling Service.

You can’t register a motorcycle or get a license plate without a title.  Every state, territory, etc. requires you to show proof of ownership before the state will issue you a registration document and a license plate.  (By the way, most states require proof of insurance too.  You don’t need a title to get this - just call an insurance company with the VIN or use insurance companies’ online services.)

Getting pulled over without a registration document can cause serious problems, from a ticket and fine in some states, to the automatic impounding of the motorcycle in other states.  Don’t try and get around this by just putting an old license plate that you have onto your bike.  This causes more problems than it solves.  See this article here if you’d like to learn more about misuse of license plates.

It is much harder to sell your motorcycle with a lost title.  People sometimes manage to do so, but ethically and legally, we don’t recommend it. Again - here’s more info on vehicle sales without titles if you are curious.  The final step in taking ownership of a motorcycle, after you sign a bill of sale and hand over funds, is transferring the title from the previous owner’s name into your name.  

If you financed your motorcycle and haven’t paid it off yet, then you have a lien attached to it, and you don’t own the bike all the way until you’ve paid off the bank or whoever you borrowed from.  Motorcycles that were once financed often have the former lien information attached to the title.  Like literally stapled there.  If you still owe money on this motorcycle, then the debt will complicate the process of recovering the title.  But don’t worry - your problem may still be solvable in this case as well.

We’ve even heard of people forgetting that their lender still has the title.  It’s uncommon that a lender would physically keep the title for a vehicle, but it has happened in some circumstances.  People forget their sunglasses on their head, so it’s certainly possible to lose a title by forgetting who has it.

We don’t have to tell you that your motorcycle is valuable.  If your bike is paid off, you can use it as collateral for a loan from a bank or other credit agency… as long as you can prove the bike is yours by producing a title in your name.

You have to go through the motor vehicle agency to recover a title

Your bike’s last title came from the motor vehicle agency in whatever state the bike was last registered.  The only way to get another copy of the title is to go through this agency or your state’s motor vehicle agency.  And because of our state-by-state governmental system, there are quite literally 56 different procedures and sets of paperwork for doing this, one for every state, territory, and district in the good old USA.  

For recovering a lost motorcycle title that is already in your own name and just lost, a good place to start is by Googling “duplicate motorcycle title” and the name of your state.  You will probably find a pdf of a document that you need to fill out and send, along with a check or money order, to the state motor vehicle agency.  Some states have smoother online systems than others, and wait times vary by state.  If your bike isn’t paid off, i.e. still has a lien on it, then this will affect whether the state allows you to get a replacement title.  Some states won’t issue you a title at all unless your bike is paid off, while others will first check with the person that you owe the debt to.  Even in the most organized and well-run states, the process is going to involve paperwork, time, and potentially some phone calls and follow-up questions.  A trip to the motor vehicle agency can tax even the most patient of us, and this is where you might find our services useful.

Let us do the paperwork for you

By now you probably understand the crucial role that a title plays when doing anything with your motorcycle beyond admiring it in the garage.  You might be thinking of your state specifically and how efficient you have found motor vehicle or other state services in the past.  You might be thinking of how much free time you have or want to invest, because, even in the most well-run states, the process is going to take time.  Keep this in mind: you are far from the first person to have found themselves in this situation, and most people manage to get this situation resolved.  

You might decide that Dirt Legal is the most convenient way to solve your problem.

At Dirt Legal, we register and title any vehicle without the headaches.  Our services make it possible for riders to avoid the DMV and receive the documentation that they need to get back out on the road, or whatever else they want to do with their bikes.  All you need is your motorcycle’s VIN and a bill of sale.  We’ll take care of the rest.  We’ll walk you through the process and be there to answer any questions that pop up along the way.  No disrespect, but we’re way easier to get a hold of than someone at the DMV!

If you’re dealing with a lost motorcycle title, check out our Motorcycle Titling Service to get a new title with the help of Dirt Legal.

Happy riding!

Matthias, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons