# Lost Car Title Search

**URL:** <https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-car-title-search/114719>\
**Category:** In My Humble Opinion\
**Created:** [June 18, 2002, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-car-title-search/114719 "2002-06-18T18:23:40Z")\
**Posts on this page:** 4\
**Page:** 1

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**Author:** ![Tuckerfan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/eada6e/32.png) [@Tuckerfan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tuckerfan)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-car-title-search/114719/1 "2002-06-18T18:23:40Z")

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A friend of mine has a neighbor with a car for sale rather cheap, the only problem is, no title to the car. So, assuming the car isn’t stolen (highly unlikely considering the make and model of it), I can get a title by going to the DMV and doing a lost title search. Any Dopers have any experience with this as to how long it might take and what it might cost? (Yes, I’m gonna go by the DMV and ask about it, but I’m not going to have time to do that for a while and I wanted to here from others who might have done that first.) Thanks.

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**Author:** ![UncleBill](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/d26b3c/32.png) [@UncleBill](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UncleBill)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 6:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-car-title-search/114719/2 "2002-06-18T18:44:24Z")

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My ex, a Very Bad Person ™, defaulted on her car loan, the one she got while married to her THIRD hubby, but anyway, when we were splitting up goods, I took her car (300ZX) and she got the Bronco II. I was not going to take the Z without the title, of course. But since the bank still had the title after all those years, she just wrote the VA DMV, lied and told them it was a lost title, and she got a replacement one within about three weeks. Don’t know cost, she paid it.

Don’t know how TN works.

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**Author:** ![Horseflesh](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/horseflesh/32/7502_2.png) [@Horseflesh](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Horseflesh)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 6:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-car-title-search/114719/3 "2002-06-18T18:48:50Z")

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I just did this with my old car a year ago. All I needed was the car’s VIN and 7 dollars and maybe proof of ID (don’t recall) to get a duplicate title issued. That’s what _they_ called it anyway. 30 minutes and painless.

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**Author:** ![Violet](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/v/ebca7d/32.png) [@Violet](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Violet)\
**Post date:** [June 18, 2002, 8:58pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/lost-car-title-search/114719/4 "2002-06-18T20:58:45Z")

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This might help. If you can not get the link, just search for Tennessee DMV.

[http://www.state.tn.us/safety/T%26RFAQs.html](http://www.state.tn.us/safety/T%26RFAQs.html)