The California Certificate of Title in 2026

What the title shows

A California Certificate of Title is the official document that identifies the legal owner of a vehicle, per the DMV's titles page. The DMV lists what a title may include: the registered owner's name and address; the vehicle identification number, make, model and year; the odometer mileage; the registration date; the lienholder's name and information when money is owed on the vehicle; any title brands; and the value. A valid title proves ownership of a vehicle or vessel and is the document used to transfer, update or replace that ownership. The DMV's title transfers and changes page says any change in ownership or lienholder must be reported to the DMV within 10 days, and the title updated.

Transferring a title

The DMV's title transfers page lists the kinds of transfer and what each takes. Private sale or loan payoff: the seller or lienholder signs the title and the buyer submits it to the DMV. Family, estate, inheritance or gift: the title plus a Statement of Facts (REG 256) or an affidavit, with the transfer fee. Deceased owner: the heir may transfer with a death certificate and an Affidavit for Transfer without Probate (REG 5), with value limits; the deceased owner guide has the rest. Vessel transfers: the Certificate of Ownership, a bill of sale, the fees and use tax. Donation is listed as its own type. In every case the seller must also file a Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability within 5 days, which the selling a vehicle guide covers.

What you need: the California Certificate of Title (when it is missing, an Application for Replacement or Transfer of Title, REG 227, must be completed first), the buyer's and the seller's or lienholder's signatures, and payment of the transfer fee. Submit at a DMV office or by mail to DMV, PO Box 942869, Sacramento, CA 94269. The DMV publishes checklists for a standard transfer, a gift or inheritance transfer, an out-of-state title transfer and a vessel transfer, and says the fees vary by transfer type. The documents a buyer needs from a dealer or a private party, the odometer rule for vehicles under 10 years old and the smog rule at a sale are on the vehicle registration guide; the smog rule in detail is on the smog check guide. The DMV notes on the transfers page that requests submitted through its Virtual Office before September 20, 2025 are still being processed, with progress shown by email or case status.

Replacing or correcting a title

A lost, stolen or damaged title is replaced with the REG 227, in person or by mail, or through the DMV's online replacement title request, which asks for your driver's license or ID card, the last five digits of the VIN (or of the hull identification number for a vessel) and the plate number. A name change, including adding or removing an owner, takes the corrected title and a Statement of Facts (REG 256). A mistake on the title is corrected with a Statement to Record Ownership (REG 101). The DMV says titles usually arrive by mail within 15 to 30 days.

Three points from the DMV's own questions on the transfers page. Section 5 of the REG 227 needs notarization only when the registration shows a legal owner or lienholder. A registration card that reads Nontransferable/No California Title Issued cannot be cured with a REG 227: the title must come from the state where the vehicle was last titled, with that state's documentation if it cannot issue one, and a motor vehicle bond may be required. When the lienholder named on a title has gone out of business, merged, changed its name or been acquired, the DMV keeps a listing of banks, credit unions and lending institutions to help locate the legal owner; a Lien Satisfied/Title Holder Release (REG 166) is the form that clears a paid-off lien.

The forms the DMV names

The title transfers page lists the forms a transfer may require: the Application for Replacement or Transfer of Title (REG 227); the Vehicle/Vessel Transfer and Reassignment (REG 262), which is printed on security paper and cannot be downloaded, so the DMV says to call its automated line at 1-800-777-0133 to have one mailed or to pick one up at an office; the Statement of Facts (REG 256); the Lien Satisfied/Title Holder Release (REG 166); the Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability (REG 138); a smog certification or a Vehicle Emission System Statement (REG 139); the Declaration of Gross Vehicle Weight/Combined Gross Vehicle Weight (REG 4008) for a commercial vehicle; the Affidavit for Transfer without Probate (REG 5); the Bill of Sale (REG 135); and the Verification of Vehicle (REG 31).

Title fees

Source: the DMV's registration fees page. Use tax on a purchase, the registration fees that come with an original registration, and the late penalties are on the California DMV fees page. The DMV's dealer purchase page says transfer fees must be paid within 10 days of a sale and the penalty applies after 30 days; the vehicle registration guide has that rule in context.

Branded titles

A brand is added to a title or registration card to note certain conditions or events in a vehicle's history, per the DMV's branded titles page. Most states brand titles, with wording that varies; the common brands the DMV lists are damaged, dismantled, gray market, junk, lemon law buyback, prior police, prior taxi, rebuilt, reconditioned, remanufactured, replica, revived junk, revived salvage, salvage, scrap vehicle, totaled, warranty returned and water damage. The brands California prints on its own titles and records: Salvaged, for a vehicle that was in an accident or took considerable damage from another source such as a flood or vandalism, including previously dismantled (junk) vehicles; Original Taxi (prior taxi) and Original Police (prior police), vehicles formerly used for hire or by law enforcement, which usually have high mileage; Non-USA (grey market), vehicles manufactured for sale outside the United States and converted to federal and California standards; Warranty Return (lemon law buyback), vehicles returned to the manufacturer under California's Lemon Law; Remanufactured, vehicles built by a licensed remanufacturer from reconditioned or used parts, which may be sold under a distinctive trade name; and Park Trailer, a recreational trailer of 400 square feet or less that may travel on public highways only with a Caltrans permit under Vehicle Code section 35780. The brand appears in a red box titled VEHICLE HISTORY near the upper right corner of the latest revisions of the Certificate of Title and the Salvage Certificate.

Buying a revived salvage vehicle

The DMV singles out the salvage brand as the one to watch for: a salvage vehicle was wrecked or damaged so badly that repair was considered too expensive, and a revived salvage is one that was repaired and reregistered. The DMV says many are expertly repaired, and that some are not properly repaired or tested and may be dangerous, or were repaired with stolen parts; if the CHP or the DMV determines the vehicle or its parts were stolen, it cannot be registered and the vehicle or parts are seized. To identify one, inspect the title for the Salvaged brand, the mileage when the vehicle was last sold and the owner. Sellers, including dealers, are legally required to disclose a salvage title and history, which the DMV says is difficult to enforce for vehicles from another state. California licensed dealers must obtain a National Motor Vehicle Title Information System report before a used vehicle is offered or displayed for sale, and must post a disclosure statement on a vehicle whose report shows junk or salvage history or whose title carries a brand; the exceptions are a vehicle NMVTIS has no record of, and motorcycles, recreational vehicles and off-highway vehicles.

The physical clues the DMV lists for an undisclosed salvage history: signs of major repairs on the inner fender structures; mud, mold or rust under the trunk carpet; a VIN plate attached with anything other than rivets; a safety restraint light that stays on; airbag covers that are resealed or improperly installed; and missing National Highway Traffic Safety Administration labels, which usually appear on the doors, inside the hood, and on the tailgate and hatchback. Its protections for a buyer: be sure the seller is the owner, since a person who is neither the owner nor an authorized agent is not entitled to sell and you are not entitled to transfer the vehicle into your name; if the seller's name is not on the title, there must be a bill of sale, a dealer report of sale or a power of attorney authorizing the sale; check the vehicle history; check the database of vehicles and watercraft affected by Hurricanes Katrina, Rita and Sandy and the search for storm damaged vehicles; check the smog test history and verify a repair dealer's license; and get a copy of the vehicle record, which the driving and vehicle record guide explains. The DMV's rules for registering a salvage, junk or revived vehicle are on its total loss salvage page.

Questions about California vehicle titles

Does the REG 227 have to be notarized?

Only section 5, and only when the registration shows a legal owner or lienholder, according to the DMV. When the record shows no lienholder, no notarization is needed.

How long does a new title take to arrive?

The DMV says titles usually arrive by mail within 15 to 30 days.

My registration card says Nontransferable, No California Title Issued. Can I file a REG 227?

No. The DMV says you must get a title from the state where the vehicle was last titled; if that state cannot issue one, provide its documentation saying so, and a motor vehicle bond may be required.

How soon must a change of owner or lienholder reach the DMV?

Within 10 days, by updating the title, per the DMV's title transfers page: a signed title and the transfer fee for a sale, a Statement of Facts (REG 256) for a gift or family transfer, and a Lien Satisfied/Title Holder Release (REG 166) when a loan is paid off.

What does a title cost?

On the DMV's registration fee schedule a title only and a replacement title are $28 each, a transfer is $15 with a $15 penalty when it is late, a transfer on death beneficiary designation is $10, and a certificate of prior history (a brand such as junk, salvage or taxi) is $2.

Where is the brand printed on a California title?

In a red box titled VEHICLE HISTORY near the upper right corner of the Certificate of Title and of the Salvage Certificate, per the DMV's branded titles page.