The Expert Podcast

What's a clear vehicle title? Well, a title, as you probably know, is a government document issued only by a government agency. It's actually a documented piece of paper. There are some efforts to try to make titles paperless, where it's digital, but that hasn't happened yet. So, for the time being, titles are all paper documents.

Make sure that if you're buying a vehicle, not only are you getting a piece of paper, but it's also a clear title. What does that mean? It means it doesn't have any liens on it, it's not stolen, it's not salvage or parts only, and there's no back taxes on it. If somebody doesn't hand you a piece of paper without any stamps or liens on it, you might be buying a vehicle that you could have a problem with later. You don't want to be in that position.

If you have a vehicle that you're purchasing and there's any kind of reference to a lien on the title or salvage, you could have problems switching the title to your name. A clear title is incredibly important to make sure that you're not buying something that you're not going to be able to own, or that the money is going away.

There are a series of things you can do to check on that. Don't try to do anything online, like an online VIN check, Carfax, VIN Checker, or VIN Audit. Those are not accurate at all. They may tell you some basic information, but they don't have anything about liens. The salvage information is questionable at best, and it's not going to tell you anything about prior owners or back taxes. The only way you can check is by getting the information directly from the government agencies, and you have to do that in person. They won't do it over the phone or by email. You may be able to mail them a paper document for them to mail you a printout, but you're not going to be able to do it in a way that you think is going to be convenient by calling them up or emailing them.

What you have to do is go to the Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) in the state where the car was last titled, not in your state. Wherever the car was last titled, ask them if there are any liens on the vehicle. For example, if a car came from Texas and you're in Alabama, the Alabama DMV won't have the information about Texas liens. So, you have to go to Texas.

The next thing you want to do is make sure it's not stolen. You might think, well, the DMV should know that, right? Well, they might not. The only people that know about that 100% are law enforcement. If you go to the local police department in the county or city where you live in person, they won't do it over the phone. You have to bring your photo ID so they can know who you are and bring the VIN number. They can run it through what's called NCIC (National Crime Information Computer), and they will be able to tell you if there's an open active stolen report on that vehicle. Online checks won't give you 100%, and the DMV won't give you 100%.

Then, you want to check the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS) to make sure it's not a salvage or parts-only vehicle. There may be a designation on a title that could make it impossible to ever get a new title if it's considered junk or a certificate of destruction. This designation has nothing to do with the condition; the car could be in great shape, perfectly new, but still have a junk title because of the insurance company's liability.

Lastly, you want to check for any back taxes in the state where it was last registered. If there are any back taxes owed or past-due fees, they could hold up the title unless those are cleared. Only a few states, like California and Illinois, among others, enforce this, but you also want to ensure that nothing else would prevent you from getting a title.

A clear title is important. That's how you'll find out. Don't take the easy way out by just running a $15 Carfax report. It's very likely to miss a lot of things that could prevent you from getting a title, and that's not going to be good if you've spent a lot of money on that vehicle.

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 licensed certified real estate title examiner, and 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 and arrange a live one-on-one session with a licensed expert, where you can ask any questions, get information about your situation, and we'd be glad to help.