Car titles are not one-size-fits-all. Though all titles will include critical information about the vehicle, the format and type of title can differ depending on the vehicle and its circumstances. Here are the most common title types you’ll encounter, and those that you might never have occasion to come across during your automotive journey.
MORE: Car Title Guide: Everything You Need to Know
Common Title Types
The average automobile owners might see any or all of these title types throughout their car ownership.
- Clear/clean: A clear title indicates that you own the car completely and owe no money to a lender for it. A clean title means the car has never been declared a total loss, and that the car has no active liens.
- Branded: A title brand is a permanent designation on the vehicle’s registration indicating a major event. There are many types of brands, but “salvage” and “rebuilt” are among the ones you might see.
- Electronic: Your DMV may hold a digital version of a car’s title for efficiency. It is the same type as its paper version, which you can request when needed. These titles hold equal legal status to physical paper ones, but rules and requirements still vary by state.
- Lienholder: If you financed your car, the lender holds legal claim to the vehicle until you have fully repaid your loan. Once you own the car outright, you can request a clear/clean title.
Less Common Title Types
There are many types of car titles that, as a private-party car owner, you’ll probably never come in contact with. But, for the curious, these include:
- Affidavit: A provisional title issued by the state when some documentation is missing.
- Bonded: An expensive means of establishing ownership when no clear ownership exists. It involves putting up a cash bond equal to the vehicle’s estimated value. The title is issued, but the bond will pay off an aggrieved party if an ownership dispute arises.
- Certificate of Destruction: This title is issued for a vehicle that an insurance company will destroy once a claim is settled.
- Certificate of Origin: The original ownership document transferring a vehicle from the manufacturer to the dealer.
- Export: A title for getting customs clearance in another country.
- Import: The designation for the first title issued by the United States for a vehicle not manufactured or sold in the U.S.
- Junk: The designation of a title issued for a vehicle to be scrapped or sold for parts.
- Lemon: The title designation for a vehicle with a mechanical problem that can’t be fixed.
- Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin: This serves the same function as the Certificate of Origin.
- Odometer Rollback: This applies to a title when someone has tampered with the odometer, preventing an exact mileage count.
- Parts Only: A title for a vehicle that will only be used for parts.
- Rebuilt and Reconstructed: These titles mean the same thing, but wording may vary by state. Rebuilt is the title brand for vehicles that have been rebuilt for road use. Collision centers, body shops, insurance companies, and licensed rebuilders can have a vehicle retitled as Rebuilt.
- Salvage: This type is used by insurance companies when they “total” a vehicle. A salvage title is rarely changed, but allows the owner to continue driving the vehicle.
If you want to learn more about every aspect of your vehicle’s documentation beyond titles, visit our Car Paperwork Information Center.
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