The Expert Podcast

If you have a vehicle that seems like it's blocked from getting a title, what do you do? Can you even get a title? Well, if you purchased a vehicle from IAA, Copart, or even from a private seller that has one of these types of titles—Certificate of Destruction, Non-Repairable, Junk Title, Parts Only Title, or maybe even a Bill of Sale from Washington State—that means that at some point, an insurance company has designated this vehicle to be destined for scrap and parts only.

That means that in its current condition, in its current status, you cannot get a title. But can it be undone? Can you do it? Well, here's the thing—you might be able to, or you might not be able to. It depends on whether the Certificate of Destruction or Parts Only designation has been hardcoded or soft coded. And that's something you're not going to be able to tell from the paperwork you have or from the documentation.

The way you're going to have to determine this is one of two ways. It's cheaper if you do it yourself—if you go down to the Department of Motor Vehicles office in person. You have to go in person; they won’t do it over the phone, by fax, text, email, or online. If you go in person with your certificate or ID, you can fill out a form, sign it, and show your ID. They will put it in their system and mail you back a report in a week or two to let you know if it's a hard code or a soft code.

In the meantime, remember that you have access to live one-on-one consultation with the undivided attention of a licensed, certified expert in this subject and many others. We want to listen to your story, hear your questions, and give you expert advisement on your options. We want to tell you what we know about your situation and what steps you can take.

Now, back to your video. Can it be undone? Can you get a title for it? You can also book a consultation with us through our website at cartitles.com. That will give you a consultation with a certified title agent, usually myself. We can pull up that VIN number and look in the records to see if there’s any method that could be used to reconstruct the vehicle into a salvage title, a rebuilt title, or an assembled vehicle (kit car). That would give you the opportunity to maybe get it back on the road.

Many of these cars can't be retitled, but at least you can find out if it’s possible before you junk the car, throw it away, or waste the money you spent on it. You want to make sure that before making a drastic decision, you check if you can put it back on the road. Sometimes, Certificate of Destruction cars are not really that bad in terms of damage. It could have been a flood vehicle, a recovered theft, or had very minor damage but still got classified as Parts Only.

To find out your options, you can either go to the DMV and spend five or ten bucks or book a consultation with our website. A title agent will hear your story, look at your VIN number, and see what options you might have for getting a new title with your name on it—whether that’s a rebuilt title or possibly even a salvage title.

Thank you for watching. Remember, you can access live one-on-one personal consultations with a licensed private investigator, a licensed commercial insurance broker, a certified real estate title examiner, and even a certified civil court mediator. If you need to talk to an expert in any of these fields, or even a licensed building general contractor, you can click the link below at actualhuman.com. There, you can arrange a live, one-on-one consultation with a licensed expert, where you can ask any questions and get information about your situation. We'd be glad to help.