Lost California DMV Vehicle Title

Request your title replacement in minutes

We are licensed by the CA DMV to request a replacement of your CA DMV Title at our office in minutes. You will need to bring the following, pay the required fees, and you will receive a replacement title in a few days:

Your most recent registration card for the vehicle.
A picture ID.
You will sign a Duplicate Title Application - REG 227. We will provide the form.

You lost your California DMV car title!

If you lost your CA title and there is no lienholder listed on the vehicle record, you can request a replacement using a Duplicate Title Application Form - REG 227 (in our DMV forms page). Once you get the replacement, you can sell the vehicle using the new title.

If there is a lienholder listed on your vehicle record, and the title the lienholder sent you after you paid the car loan has been lost, contact the lienholder directly and request a notarized lien release from them. They will usually send the notarized lien release to the person who had the loan through them in a few weeks. Once you receive the notarized lien release from the lienholder, you can attach it to the Duplicate Title Application - REG 227 to sell the vehicle or to request a duplicate title.

Lost title given to you by the seller of a vehicle

If you lost the title the seller gave you when you bought a vehicle, you have to contact the same seller and request they sign the Duplicate Title Application - REG 227. If there is a lienholder listed on the vehicle record, the seller will have to also request a lien release from the lienholder and provide it to you when they receive it.

You can start registering your newly purchased vehicle by providing a bill of sale, and the transaction will be pending a Duplicate Title Application - REG 227 or title and a lien release if there is still a lienholder listed on the vehicle record.

Lost title was from out of state

If the lost title was from out of state, the owner of the lost out of state title must contact the motor vehicle department which issued the title and request a replacement. The out of state title is required to register an out of state vehicle in California, and to receive a title from the California DMV. If the out of state vehicle is registered in your name, and you are to remain the owner of the vehicle, you can instead use your last registration card from out of state to register the vehicle in California. You will get the CA DMV registration card, plates and stickers, but no California title (this does not apply to out of state vessels). An out of state vehicle without a certificate of title cannot be transferred to a new owner in California, and the Duplicate Title Application - REG 227 cannot be used instead of the out of state title. This is because the vehicle is not registered by the California DMV and no record of it exists in California.