What is a Car Title?

Every car has a title, and the owner of the vehicle should be in possession of that title. That’s great, but what is a title, really? We’ll go over the essentials of car titles, what they can tell you and when and why you’ll need the title.

The Essentials of Car Titles

Let’s start with the basics. A car title is a legal document that formally recognizes the person on it as the owner of a vehicle. If you own a vehicle, you should have a title stating as much, and that title is what provides legal proof of ownership if such proof is ever necessary. Without that title, the state will not recognize your ownership of the vehicle.

There’s a little more to a title than just saying who owns a vehicle. It has a few pieces of critical information. As you would expect, part of that information includes the name (or names) of the owner(s). It’s also important that a title includes any active lien information. That ensures that lenders are paid if the car is sold.

The title includes the VIN number along with the make, model, color and year of the vehicle. It also includes the license plate number, which brings up an interesting point. If you register your vehicle in a new state, you have to get a new license plate number. This means your title also needs to be updated, even though the vehicle has not changed owners.

Lastly, the title will include technical information. This refers to the odometer reading (along with the date the reading was taken). In some states, the title might also include gross weight and other technical aspects of the vehicle.

Different Types of Titles

Despite all of the information on a title, that’s not the extent of what a title can tell you. Depending on the history of the vehicle, its title can be classified in a number of different ways.

For example, a clean title refers to a vehicle that has never been in a major accident. More specifically, a clean title means that the vehicle has never been deemed “totaled” by an insurer.

A clear title denotes that there is no active lien against the vehicle. A salvage title shows that the car was in fact totaled after an accident. Meanwhile, a rebuilt or reconstituted title shows that the vehicle was repaired, although it does not reflect on the quality or extent of repairs.

Other titles might show that the vehicle received water damage, was classified as a lemon in a sales dispute or any number of other factors regarding the vehicle.

All of these classifications are applied to the certification of the title.

When Do You Use a Car Title?

Now that you have a clear idea of what a title is and what it tells you, how do you use it? Does it just sit around in a filing cabinet or safe somewhere? For the most part, yes. You don’t often need the title in your daily life, but when the need does arise, the title is essential. The very most common time you need the title is to register the vehicle for the first time in a state. Aside from that, these are some of the most common cases where a title becomes important.

Buying and Selling Vehicles

This one is pretty obvious. Any time a vehicle is sold, a title transfer has to be completed. If you’re buying the car, you need the title to be transferred to you. If you’re selling the car, you’ll have to transfer the title to the buyer.

Vehicular Theft

If your car is stolen, it suddenly becomes difficult to prove to the police that you own the missing vehicle. Providing the title, or a copy of the title, can resolve that problem. It’s especially important for insurance claims and dealing with recovered stolen vehicles.

Impounding

Similarly, if your vehicle is impounded, you have to prove it’s yours before you can take it away from the facility. There are a few ways to do this, but providing a copy of the title is one of the most common.

Car-Related Crimes

In some cases, the registration can be used as sufficient proof that you own a vehicle, but there is one case where you definitely want the title, and that is when the vehicle is involved in a crime. There are many ways a car can be used in conjunction with a crime. If yours is involved in a crime that you didn’t commit, the title can prove your innocence. The title can show that you did not own the vehicle at the time of the crime, which is invaluable in such a circumstance.

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