The short answer
To sell a car in Pennsylvania you normally need the title, and the seller's signature on it has to be notarized or verified by a PennDOT agent (a notary, tag service, or dealer). Registration cards and insurance cards don't prove ownership.
If you don't have the title, the fix depends on why you don't have it. Find your situation below.
Find your situation
1. The title is in your name, but it's lost or damaged
Apply for a duplicate with PennDOT Form MV-38O (Application for Duplicate Certificate of Title by Owner). You mail it to the PennDOT address on the form with a check or money order made out to the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. The current fee is on PennDOT's fee schedule, Form MV-70S.
- Mail-in duplicates can take several weeks, so start now if you plan to sell.
- If the title is torn, washed, or written over, PennDOT treats it as defaced and you need a duplicate anyway.
- If there was ever a loan on the car, have the lender's name handy. The form asks about liens.
2. You still owe money on the car
Then you probably never had the title. Pennsylvania lenders hold most titles electronically until the loan is paid off. See selling a car with a loan in PA for how payoff and title release work.
3. The title is in the name of someone who passed away
Pennsylvania has a specific process. If no executor has been appointed, the family usually uses Form MV-39 (Notification of Assignment/Correction of Vehicle Title Upon Death of Owner) with an original death certificate. Heirs sign, and the signatures are notarized. If an executor was appointed, the executor signs the title and attaches a short certificate from the county Register of Wills.
This is the situation where a local tag service earns its fee. Bring the title (if you have it), the death certificate, and ID for everyone who needs to sign.
4. You bought it, but the title was never signed over to you
Legally the car still belongs to the person on the title. The cleanest fix is to get that person to sign the title over in front of a notary or tag service. If they lost it, they apply for the duplicate, not you.
5. The car is junk and only worth scrap
Some licensed salvage and scrap buyers in Pennsylvania can accept a vehicle without a title in limited cases, using paperwork they file with PennDOT. Not every buyer does this, and it usually applies to cars headed for scrap, not resale. Expect to show photo ID and whatever you have, such as the registration card.
What to have ready before you call
- The VIN (driver's side dashboard or door jamb)
- Your photo ID
- The registration card, if you have it
- Whose name is on the title, and whether that person can sign
- Whether there was ever a loan on the car
How we can help
Tell us up front that you don't have the title and which situation above fits. You'll be told what paperwork works for your car before anyone schedules a pickup, so nobody wastes a trip.