Editing How to title a hot rod

{{Youcanedit}} ==What is this page?== The purpose of this page is to collectively answer the question: ''"How can I properly title my hot rod?"'' This page is created using a group-editing process known as "wiki". '''You can edit this page right now'''. Simply click the "edit" tab at the top of this page, or any of the "edit" links on the right-hand side of the page. For more information on editing, see [[Help:Editing]]. You don't need to register or login to edit this page, although, if you want, you can create an account on the [[Special:Userlogin]] page. Creating an account will give you certain privileges that unregistered users don't have. ===Background Information=== The question: "How can I properly title my hot rod" is frequently asked on hot rod and custom car bulletin boards. This page was created in response to a specific request to formally cover this issue, in [http://www.hotrodders.com/forum/title-how-knowledge-base-91052.html a discussion on the Hotrodders Bulletin Board]. ==Summary== The steps necessary to obtain a valid title for a hot rod vary greatly from country to country, and between states, provinces, and other sub-national entities. Current local legislation, model year of vehicle, vehicle construction, and many other factors also come into play. As the written letter of the law varies from one region to another, so does the way it is handled on a day-to-day basis. Thus, an understanding of the local legal code must be coupled with knowledge of the experiences of local hotrodders. To fully answer this question, we'll need to include the relevant legal code from each state, province, region, or country, as well as information from local hotrodders on the vagaries of enforcement at the local level. Bear in mind that, ultimately, individual hotrodders will have to deal with their local DMV, which abides by the written regulations, rather than what's available on the internet. One thing to keep in mind when trying to register and title streetrods is......and this is probably the most important thing of all......Attitude is everything......keep a good attitude and be polite.......if things are not going your way don't get pushy, it will only work against you. Keep in mind the folks at the DMV deal with some real nuts and they could be in a bad mood when you get there....just play it cool....diplomacy and tact goes a long way. It would wise to consider that some states qualify a that a vehicle modified beyond a point from the original car is no longer the original car. If you, for example, you register your 1930 Model A that was basically a body placed on a whole new modern chassis with the original 1930 title you are violating the laws on titling. Then you register this vehicle with this title, the car is now illegally registered. The insurance you get will require the car to be legally registered and now they have an out for not having to pay off if you have an accident. ===Where can information be obtained?=== Here's a collection of ideas on where information on properly titling hot rods can potentially be obtained: *Local government and law enforcement agencies **police, Department of Motor Vehicles *Websites of local Departments of Motor Vehicles, Departments of Transportation, or their regional equivalents. *Local citizens or automotive clubs *Businesses that obtain titles for people ===You Can Edit the List Below=== Below is a listing of 50 US states, as well as several additional countries. To add information about titling a hot rod, simply click the "edit" link to the right-hand side of any state or country name. ==50 US States== ===Alabama=== ===Alaska=== ===Arizona=== ===Arkansas=== ===California=== I have an old chevy and couldn't find the numbers anywhere. To avoid all the problems that come with registration, I simply stamped the number off of my engine on the frame.... Called a policeman I knew and had him varify the number. Took it to DMV '''Bold text'''and the registration went right through. ===Colorado=== ===Connecticut=== ===Delaware=== ===Florida=== ===Georgia=== In Georgia you can contact the DMV or go to their web page get a form then request that a DMV officer come out to your location and inspect the vehicle. At that time they will issue you a vin number and tag the car with that vin embosed on a metal tag. With that and the insurance go to the tag office. The form needed is T-22B I believe the cost is 50 beans ===Hawaii=== ===Idaho=== ===Illinois=== ===Indiana=== ===Iowa=== ===Kansas=== ===Kentucky=== ===Louisiana=== ===Maine=== ===Maryland=== ===Massachusetts=== ===Michigan=== Michigan has a process for titleing an owner built vehicle, which is what many hot rods are. You are required to have reciepts from major components of the vehicle (body, frame, engine, etc.) and get the application from the Secretary of State office. The vehicle will be inspected by an officer of the law (you can pick which police agency you go to) and must comply with a standard set of rules such as lights, turn signals, etc. Emission certification is not required. However, many choose to go with an original title for the modified car. This is much simpler as no inspection is required. Historic license plates are available from the state with 10 year renewal cycle. ===Minnesota=== ===Mississippi=== ===Missouri=== ===Montana=== ===Nebraska=== ===Nevada=== ===New Hampshire=== ===New Jersey=== Call the title department of the NJ MVS. Any car significantly modified beyond original must be titled as a new car. There a special rules to make titling easy for custom vehicals and you must get a safety inspection. Bear in mind titling your significantly modified vehicle with year of manufacture and putting historic plates on the car is illegal. If your car is illegally registered then you may find you are high and dry with insurance. You will find a clause in you insurance requiring legal registration. They can decide not to pay if you get into an accident if you are not legally registered. Keep in mind the insurance companies are always looking for ways to not have to pay. Sorry I can not report more, I was inquiring about getting a legal title for a historic vehicle and got sidetracked. ===New Mexico=== ===New York=== Titiling here is fairly simple. as there are no titles for motor vehicles 1972 and prior, rules are less strict than other states, but the basics of basics. if you have a reproduction body and it came with an MSO, you can stamp the MSO vin onto the frame, then get a trace of the new vin, take it to the motor vehicle with a couple of forms that they can give you, have sombody else fill them out and sign them, fill the bill of sale out as tho they sold the vehicle to you, and after all is said and done, you will get a 30 day non transferrable registration that after 30 days, turns into a transferrable. there is no police verification nessary. pretty simple actully. there are more correct ways of titiling as a home built vehicle but this way is quicker. the same prosess goes for 1972 and prior motor vehicles that have a lost registration, only use the vehicles vin number. ===North Carolina=== If you have a VIN, but no title, you can get a Surety Bond from some insurance agencies and then apply for a title. This states that if there is no challenge to that title for a year, it is yours. This is used for abandoned vehicles. There is also a form for lost titles, that can be signed and submitted, but if the title has not been active for ten years or so, you have to call NCDMV in Raleigh and have them manually put the VIN back into the computer. There is also a form for hand made vehicles that will require you to show reciepts for every component, and keep a log showing your work. This will allow you to apply for a new title. I have not done that. They don't seem to be very strict about modifications, and titles and licences are handled by private subcontractors, who have no incentive to obstruct you. If you change the number of doors or something, you will have to modify the title. I dont know the proceedure on that. There is no space for color, for example, and even school busses and campers are registered and insured as trucks. Real RV's may be different. ===North Dakota=== ===Ohio=== Okay, I'll start this one off. Here is the official info from the Ohio State Patrol's website. I'm sure there will many who will comment on their experiences with the following, and what they have done besides. Here is a link to the guidelines for what Ohio terms "Salvage and Self-Assembled Vehicles" http://www.statepatrol.ohio.gov/forms/salvage.pdf By the way, the patrol officer at the Seville post who handles inspections seems quite knowledgable and enthusiastic about the hobby. Although there is an inspection of the completed car, they seem to concentrate more on the paperwork and documentation ensuring that parts are from a documented source. And don't be even a minute late for your inspection. I have been told by the OSP via phone conversations the car is required to have fenders, windshield wipers with washers, seat belts, tail lights, headlights, turn signals, horn, and mufflers. The OSP officer states that fenders are many times removed by owners after inspection without comment from the OSP. ===Oklahoma=== ===Oregon=== ===Pennsylvania=== ===Rhode Island=== ===South Carolina=== ===South Dakota=== ===Tennessee=== ===Texas=== Texas Bonded Title Info I may miss a step or 2 but the process goes something like this if it hasn't been titled in the last 16 years,, which is how far back the state's records are kept. You'll need a bill of sale and the following forms from the state. VTR-275 Request for Texas Motor Vehicle Information You'll need a bill of sale, and will probably need the following forms: VTR-275 Request for Texas Motor Vehicle Information VTR-301 Request for Pencil Tracing of Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) VTR-34-F Certified Copy of Title Fact Sheet VTR-130-SOF Statement of Fact VTR-131 Request to Issue Negotiable Certificate of Title Without Registration (Title Only) VTR-275, Fill this one out and mail it in with the fee of $2.30. This starts the title search with the state, if it hasn't been titled in the last 16 years you will receive a rejection letter. In the meantime you have to take the vehicle to 2 auto dealers for a written appraisal of it's value. At this time you'll need to complete VTR-301 Be sure to have your bill of sale available. Call any dealership near your locale; the appraisal in most cases is a free service to the public. Accompaning the rejection letter from the Texas Dept. of Transportation is an Insurance company list where you will go to and purchase a surety bond. The fee is 1.5% of the value of the vehicle. Fill out form 130, Statement of Fact, then along with all the other paperwork gathered from the above sequence, take it to your county tax office, and in turn they provide you with the bonded title. The bonded title is for 3 years; at the end of the 3rd year you can exchange the bonded title for a permanent one. Texas Vehicle Title and Registration FAQs And Popular Related Links Texas Vehicle Title and Registration Forms: http://www.dot.state.tx.us/vtr/vtrreginfo.htm?pg=form1 Lawrence Auto Title: Commercial Bonded Title Business http://www.lawrenceautotitle.com/continue.htm ===Utah=== ===Vermont=== ===Virginia=== ===Washington=== ===West Virginia=== ===Wisconsin=== ====Summary==== Wisconsin's hot rod community was the first in the nation to successfully pressure their state government for regulations governing modified or homemade vehicles. These regulations have gone on to become a template for SEMA's model legislation and the regulations adopted in many other states across the nation. Wisconsin's "Hobby Plate" celebrated its 30th anniversary in 2006 and the regulations have been improved and updated numerous times since they were first passed in 1976. (See Street Rodder, Primedia Specialty Group Inc., August 2006, pp 66-68). While Wisconson is something of a success story in terms of its laws, that does not mean the state is without its problems. Many rodders still encounter difficulty with their local or state DMV offices, primarily because state employees are not properly trained and informed of the Hobby Plate. In additon, the Wisconsin State Patrol has been found to be improperly trained and knowledgable about the state's own regulations. Wisconsin offers lifetime, non-expiring, non-personalized hobbyist license plates to ''replicas'', ''street-modified'' vehicles, and ''reconstructed'' vehicles, all of which must be at least 20 years old, or replicas of a vehicle that is at least 20 years old. These regulations are different from ''collector'' registrations, which are available for vehicles that haven't been altered or modified. Different regulations apply to different classifications of vehicles. Generally, a ''street modified'' vehicle would be what is typically known as a hot rod or street rod, and it's specified as a vehicle that "can still be recognized as the original year and make". A ''reconstructed'' vehicle is one that is "no longer recognizable as the original vehicle". Registration for ''reconstructed'' vehicles requires bills of sale for all major parts used in the vehicle, as well as an inspection by a Wisconsin State Patrol Officer. A fourth, less common specification, ''motorized homemade vehicle'', is designated as a vehicle that "must have been constructed from new or used parts not originating from or resembling a previously manufactured motor vehicle". ''Motorized homemade vehicles'' also require inspection by a Wisconsin State Patrol Officer prior to registration. ==== Specific Details ==== ===== Hobby vehicles which already have a VIN ===== Wisconsin offers lifetime, non-expiring, non-personalized hobbyist license plates in the following categories: a)Reconstructed Vehicle b)Motorized homemade vehicle c)Street Modified Vehicle d)Replica Vehicle A) RECONSTRUCTED VEHICLES are defined as follows: * Vehicle must be constructed from a vehicle at least 20 years old. * Vehicle must no longer be recognizable as the original vehicle. * Vehicle must be inspected by a Wisconsin State Patrol Officer. * Application materials must include bills of sale for all major parts Reconstructed vehicles normally refer to a salvage (junked) vehicle which has been reconstructed but the original title was declared "salvaged". These vehicles must meet the safety standards which applied in the year the vehicle was originally built. Because of their unique nature (having a "salvaged title") most hot rods will NOT be titled under this category. Some rodders also avoid this category because of the required state safety inspection. B) MOTORIZED HOMEMADE VEHICLES are defined as follows: * Homemade motor vehicles, other than motorcycles, qualify for Hobbyist plates. * Vehicle must have been constructed from new or used parts not originating from or resembling a previously manufactured motor vehicle. * Homemade motorcycles that replicate a cycle at least 20 years old. * Vehicle must be inspected by a Wisconsin State Patrol Officer. The Homemade Vehicle category is the most difficult of all the categories because it requires that the vehicle pass the safety requirements for the year the vehicle was COMPLETED - not the year it might replicate or mimic. For example, if the car was completed in 2006, it would have to meet the exact same safety and pollution standards as a 2006 Lexus. Most rodders avoid this category like the plague. C) STREET MODIFIED VEHICLES are defined as follows: * Vehicle must be at least 20 years old. * Vehicle may be modified from the original manufacturer's specifications. * Vehicle can still be recognized as the original year and make. * Vehicles are typically known as "hot rods" or "street rods." By its very definition, this is the category most hot rods fit into. In order to title a vehicle in this category the owner must file [http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/drivers/forms/mv2855.pdf form MV2855]. This is a surprisingly simple PDF form which designates the VIN, year, model and weight of the car along with your name and address. Most notably this form also serves as a "self affirmation" that the vehicle meets all applicable state safety requirements. In the case of Street Modified and Replica vehicles, the applicable safety requirements are those that were in effect IN THE YEAR THE VEHICLE WAS ORIGINALLY CONSTRUCTED. Thus, if you have a 1932 Ford, you must meet the safety requires that were in effect in 1932. There is no state safety inspection required for vehicles in this category. It should be noted, however, that state or local police CAN cite you for safety violations if they should stop you and determine you are not in compliance. In the event this happens, the owner needs to be intimately familiar with the state code governing these vehicles. In order to title the vehicle the owner should take the original title for the vehicle along with a completed form MV2855 to the local DMV office where they will also fill out form MV-1 which is the standard "Title/License Plate Application". Street Modified vehicles qualify for either a normal licence plate (personalized plates, etc.) or a Hobbyist Plate. The advantage of a hobby plate is that you pay a one time fee, approximately $160, but then the plate is good for your lifetime. It can also be transferred to another car should you sell the existing car and purchase another which also qualifies for the Hobby plate. If you purchase additional qualified vechilces, the plate cost for each is reduced to $110. In the event the owner does not have a title (but the vehicle has an original VIN) you must apply for a replacement title using state form MV-1. The WDOT may require that the VIN be inspected and certified by a law enforcement officer (state or local police) and then their certification forwarded to the WDOT. D) REPLICA VEHICLES are defined as follows: * Vehicle is a reproduction of a vehicle originally made by another manufacturer. * Vehicle must replicate a vehicle at least 20 years old. * "Kit cars" may be replicas. * May need to have MV2855 PDF completed. The Replica Vehicle category is quite similar to the Street Modified category but applies when the builder has purchased the major components (body, chassis, etc) new from an after market manufacturer rather than assembling older parts from original vehicles. In many cases these manufacturers will supply a certification of construction along with a bill of sale. In most cases, however, these vehicles will not have a VIN and the owner will have to follow the process for obtaining a VIN as described below. Replica Vehicles do not require a state safety inspection. Instead, the owner will complete [http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/drivers/forms/mv2855.pdf form MV2855] to "self certify" that the vehicle meets all required safety standards. As with Street Modified vehicles, the applicable safety standards are those for the year the car replicates. For example, if you have 1932 Ford kit car, it must meet the safety requirements in place during 1932. ===== Hobby vehicles without a VIN ===== In the event your vehicle does not have a VIN you will need to have the state assign one. Unfortunately, there are no directions on the WDOT web site to do this and very little in the state regulations. However, Curt Rymkus, who sat on the state legislative committee which wrote the original Hobby Plate legislation, as well as all of the updates to those regulations, offers a solution. In a 2006 interview, he said that the process for obtaining a VIN for a street rod or hot rod is as follows: a) Fill out and submit [http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/drivers/forms/mv2855.pdf form MV2855] to the state DOT office. Include a written notation that the vehicle requires a new VIN. b) The State office of DOT "should" respond with a request for copies of your receipts for all major components of the vehicle (engine, trans, body, frame etc.). This information is to insure that applicable sales taxes have been paid for all of your components. Copy and submit these receipts. c) Once the receipts are submitted, the state DOT "should" respond by sending you a state assigned VIN already stamped on a metal plate. d) The owner must attach the VIN to the vehicle as instructed by WDOT. e) The owner must then schedule an appointment with a state or local police officer to inspect and certify the installation of the VIN. The officer will provide you with the form which he will complete. f) Submit the inspection form to WDOT g) Then continue the normal title/plate application process using form MV-1 Note the "shoulds" in the above description. Some local and state DOT employees as well as some State Police Officers have not been trained in this process and do NOT know how these applications are handled. So the applicant may need to make some follow up inquiries and/or phone calls if the state DOT does not seem to be responding properly. ===== Antique and collector cars ===== Please note that antique and collector cars, cars which are stock, restored or minimally modified, are titled and licensed under different regulations than hot rods. For more information, see [http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/drivers/vehicles/personal/special/collecto.htm Wisconsin Antique and Collector Cars Regulations]. 4) Full details are available at the [http://www.dot.state.wi.us/drivers/vehicles/personal/special/hobbyist.htm Hobbyist License Plates section] of the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. *To register a hobbyist vehicle, you must have at least one other vehicle currently registered in Wisconsin under the same name. *To operate a hobbyist vehicle during the month of January, you must purchase a temporary plate for $30. *An emission test is required for the following counties: Kenosha, Milwaukee, Ozaukee, Racine, Sheboygan, Waukesha, and Washington. *For most cars and trucks, the cost is about $150-$175, depending on weight. A $50 discount is offered if this is your second and subsequent plate, or if it's being transferred from a vehicle you already own. *You can get a temporary plate while your hobbyist order is being processed. You can only operate a vehicle without a plate for two business days within your date of purchase. ===== Application Process on WDOT Website ===== #Complete and sign the [http://www.dot.state.wi.us/drivers/forms/mv2388.pdf Hobbyist Registration Application form MV2388] #If the vehicle is already titled in your name and: ##Is currently registered and designated with one of the Hobbyist vehicle types, send a copy of your Certificate of Registration. ##Is NOT currently registered, or is NOT designated with one of the Hobbyist vehicle types, send the actual Certificate of Title - not a photocopy. #If the vehicle is NOT titled in your name, send a completed Title Application form MV1 or MV11 and fees, including Hobbyist registration fees determined from [http://www.dot.state.wi.us/drivers/vehicles/personal/special/hobbyist.htm fee table]. #Make check or money order payable to: Registration Fee Trust #Mail to Wisconsin Department of Transportation (address below). ====Contact Details==== '''Wisconsin Department of Transportation''' *E-mail: special-plates.dmv@dot.state.wi.us *Phone: (608) 266-3041 between 8 a.m. and 4:15 p.m. Monday through Friday. *Fax: (608) 267-5106 *physical address: Wisconsin Department of Transportation, Special Plates Unit, P.O. Box 7911, Madison WI 53707-7911 ====Additional Resources==== Rodders going through the title process should familiarize themselves with the applicable state codes and regulations. These regulations can be found in the following links. *[http://www.dot.wisconsin.gov/drivers/lawbook.htm Wisconsin Motor Vehicle Laws] *[http://www.legis.state.wi.us/rsb/code/trans/trans305.pdf Wisconsin Standards for Vehicle Equipment] *[http://www.legis.state.wi.us/Statutes/Stat0347.pdf Wisconsin Equipment Regulations] *[http://www.legis.state.wi.us/Statutes/Stat0341.pdf Wisconsin Vehicle Registration] ===Wyoming=== ==Countries== ===Australia=== ===Canada=== ===Germany=== ===UK=== {{youcanedit}}

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