“OId Vintage Motorcycle” by Joanna Dubaj licensed under CC 0 Public Domain
There was an abandoned Honda motorcycle in an empty lot on the street I grew up on. At best guess it was one of those CB models from the late 70’s or early 80’s. I remember the bike so clearly: those sweeping metal lines, rusted and half buried in sand and scrub brush. Every time a kid on the block came of age, they would take a turn at trying to salvage it, pull it home, and bring it back to life. It always ended up right back there in the empty lot, calling out to us and offering visions of freedom and the open road.
You need legal title in your name
Grown-up me thinks of things that my teenage buddies and I never considered, like how hard it would have been to get the bike to be street legal. It isn’t enough for a bike to run; a motorcycle needs a state-issued title in your name, so that you can register it, put plates on it, and insure it.
Please don’t take the easy way out and just put a license plate from another bike onto this motorcycle. If you are ever pulled over, then you won’t have registration or insurance documents to show the police, and this will earn you a large ticket to say the least. Some states even impound vehicles that get pulled over without proper documentation!
Situations where the title isn’t in your name
Maybe you are here because you bought a motorcycle without signing over a legal title into your name. Maybe you bought a bike without getting a title at all. Maybe you got a title when you bought your bike, but that title wasn’t signed by the person that you made the purchase from; the title was in someone else’s name altogether. (FYI this is called an open title, and open titles can be really problematic. See this article for all the bad things that can happen when you drive a vehicle with an open title. Hint hint - lots of the bad things end up costing you money!)
“Waiting at the Bronx DMV” by Beyond My Ken licensed under CC By-SA 4.0
Getting a title through your state’s DMV
Regardless of how you ended up having no title for your motorcycle, your problem is solvable, and many people have solved it before you. Read on for a variety of solutions!
If you want to try to figure this situation out on your own, then start with your state’s DMV. Do a little research using your state’s name and search terms like “bought vehicle without title.” The process varies by state but will probably include a state search for the vehicle title. Many states require pictures of the entire bike, and there is always a fee. Turnaround time varies based on what the title search finds and on the other steps in the process (like clearing a lien/debt).
If this search shows that you or someone else owes money (ie has a lien) on the motorcycle, then you have to contact whoever lent the money (bank, credit union, etc) and get written proof that the debt is no longer active or not in your name.
Example from Texas
To recover a lost title in Texas for example, the state needs to ascertain that the motorcycle was never involved in a crime. You then have to get a state ruling on the price of a bond you need to purchase based on the value of the bike, then purchase this bond from the DMV or a licensed third party agency. Finally you take your bond and all your documentation to the DMV within 30 days and purchase what is called a “Bonded Title.” See this Texas DMV website for all the info. This is just one blogger’s opinion, but the Texas process sounds like a huge pain! Maybe you will be lucky, and your state’s process will be easier - hopefully it won’t be harder!
Dirt Legal Might Be the Easiest Route to a Title
By now hopefully you understand:
The necessity of having a legal title to your motorcycle in your name
The role that your state’s DMV plays in recovering a lost motorcycle title
You are probably thinking about your tolerance for paperwork and bureaucracy, and of your previous experiences dealing with your state’s DMV. To be frank, recovering a lost vehicle title is one of the more complicated things that people have to do at the DMV, way more involved than renewing a license or insurance.
If you decide that you don’t have the time, energy, or patience to deal with the DMV yourself, then maybe Dirt Legal can help. Our Motorcycle Titling Service takes care of everything. You send us the required documentation (usually a Bill of Sale and the Vehicle Identification Number) in the postage-paid envelopes we send you along with our fee, and we take care of the rest. If you don’t know your motorcycle's Vehicle Identification Number (VIN), then we can help with that too!
A few weeks later, you receive a state-issued title and registration documents in your name, and you are good to go! We have dedicated agents that are just a phone call or email away to answer any questions that you have through the (much easier) process.
Meanwhile, I’m still dreaming about how awesome it would have been to restore that Honda CB from my childhood!
Jim Fiorile grew up in south Jersey and spent his youth strapping a pontoon boat to the top of his 5-speed Hyundai hatchback. He counts among his proudest accomplishments the fact that he has never financed a car or darkened the door of a dealership. When he isn’t writing or chasing his kids around, you can find him in the basement tinkering with his e-bike.