Title Transfers

In Connecticut, you need to be at least 16 years old to own a vehicle. But you do not have to hold a valid driver's license to have the title in your name.

You are required to have a title to register any vehicle with a model year newer than 1980. If the vehicle was manufactured before 1981, all you will need is a standard bill of sale to register it. Otherwise, you will be asked to show one of the following:

• For a new vehicle purchased from a dealer, you need the manufacturer's certificate of origin and your bill of sale. If you purchase through a licensed dealer, they will probably take care of this process for you.

• For a used vehicle previously registered in Connecticut, you need the bill of sale and the previous owner's Connecticut title, signed over to you, with all liens on the title released.

• For a used vehicle previously registered out of state, you need the bill of sale and the previous owner's out-of-state title, signed over to you, with all liens on the title released.

Title transfers are handled as part of the registration process and must be completed at a Department of Motor Vehicles office. The Connecticut DMV will create a new title within 45 days of the vehicle's registration. If there is no lienholder, the title will be mailed to the owner listed on the title. If there is a lien on the vehicle, the lienholder gets the title until the lien is paid off.

Title Exemptions

The following vehicles are exempt from the titling process:

• A vehicle owned by the United States government, unless registered in Connecticut

• A demo or testing vehicle owned by a manufacturer or dealer and held for sale

• A vehicle owned by a nonresident of Connecticut that is registered in another state

• A vehicle used for interstate transportation and titled in another state

• A vehicle moved only by animal power

• Special mobile equipment

• A self-propelled wheelchair or invalid tricycle

• Any trailer weighing less than 3,000 lbs.

• A vehicle issued a temporary Connecticut registration for inspection or transit purposes

• A motor vehicle owned by the state or a municipality within the state

Replacements

If you lose your title, you need to fill out a request for a duplicate title application. The application will be mailed to you. Fill it out and send it back or return it in person along with a $25 check. There are a few special wrinkles to the replacement rule of which you should to be aware:

• If your title is numbered 20,000,000 or higher, you may take the application and fee to any full-service DMV office for replacement. Make sure your name is on the title and you have proper ID.

• If your title is numbered 20,000,000 or below, you must mail the title application and fee to:

• Department of Motor Vehicles

• Title Division

• 60 State St.

• Wethersfield, CT 06161

• If there ever was a lienholder on the title, you must provide a copy of the lien release in order to have the new title processed.

Adding, Dropping, or Changing a Name

Complete a Registration and Certificate of Title form.

Bring the form to a DMV field office, along with proof of insurance and the original certificate of title. The vehicle owner needs to sign the back of the title. Name additions, deletions, and changes also must be listed on the reverse side.

If a lender or lienholder holds the title, indicate that it is being released "for transfer purposes only."

Connecticut does not charge sales tax on vehicles transferred or sold to immediate family members, which are parents, children, and spouses. Fill out the reverse side of the title, which allows you to assign ownership to a third party. Your relative will need to go to the DMV with the title, proof of insurance, and application for registration and title. Your relative might qualify for a tax exemption if you owned the vehicle for more than 60 days. See our Registration FAQs page for information about how to transfer a car as a gift.

If you drop a spouse's name from the title after a divorce, you must pay sales tax on half the car's value. The state will waive the tax if you have a certified copy of your divorce decree stating you were awarded the vehicle.

If your car was made before 1981, you must complete a Supplemental Assignment of Ownership form for nontitled vehicles.

Title Transfer from a Deceased Person

The executor or estate administrator must transfer the title of a car that is sold after the owner dies. To register the vehicle, the buyer needs to bring a certified copy of the probate document identifying the executor.

The estate administrator does not need to transfer the title in cases where the court authorizes it during probate proceedings.

Title Searches

The Connecticut DMV will perform a title search to give the requestor the name and listed address of the current title holder of the vehicle, as well as an odometer reading and/or complete ownership history of the vehicle. Here's how to request a title search:

• Complete an online copy records request form and print out.

• Mail the form with a $20 check or money order to:

• Department of Motor Vehicles

• Copy Records Unit

• 60 State St.

• Wethersfield, CT 06161

Selling a Vehicle Without a Title

If you are selling a used vehicle previously registered and titled under your name in Connecticut, you can sell the vehicle to another Connecticut resident without having to replace the title. Follow this procedure:

• Go to a full-service DMV branch office with your Connecticut registration. Tell the DMV you plan to sell the vehicle to a Connecticut resident, but you lost the title. The DMV will research the title record for your vehicle.

• After the DMV clears the request, you may assign ownership to the buyer on the application for duplicate certificate of title, which you may request online. The application will be mailed to you. Fill it out and have it notarized―often a DMV representative can notarize it for you―then you will be able to complete the transaction without waiting for the actual duplicate title.

• If there ever was a lien listed on the original Connecticut title, you need to present a lien release with the application. The lien release must be on letterhead paper from the lienholder.

This will cost $25 in addition to other standard registration fees.