Titling a Canadian car in US

I have a relative who bought a 1960's Ford Custom in Canada and brought it to the US. He did this 15-20 years ago. He never registered the car in the US, he parked it in a shed. He has since moved and lost any of the paperwork he filled out to get the car to the U.S. Does anyone know what he would have to do to get a U.S. title so he can license and drive it?
 
(quoted from post at 20:43:03 02/25/21) I have a relative who bought a 1960's Ford Custom in Canada and brought it to the US. He did this 15-20 years ago. He never registered the car in the US, he parked it in a shed. He has since moved and lost any of the paperwork he filled out to get the car to the U.S. Does anyone know what he would have to do to get a U.S. title so he can license and drive it?

"what he would have to do to get a U.S. title"

NO such thing as a "US title", each state has it's own motor vehicle title rules.

NO way someone could possibly give you definitive help with the scant info you posted.

I wish him LUCK, he's gonna need it, based on what you posted.
 
Titles are regulated by the states.

He needs to go to the title and registration department of the county where it will be registered and ask there. They may only be taking phone calls because of the virus.

Some states are cooperative, some are not. The age may work in his favor since it can be considered a classic or antique.

If the titled owner has died, that can put a whole 'nuther damper on the deal.
 
I suppose his location may help. He lives
near Omaha Nebraska. He somehow got it
into the US by driving it through the
border so hopefully there is some way he
can get it licensed.
 
I can tell you that it was bad enough titling a car we bought in Canada that had been imported with all the paperwork; I cant imagine what it might be like without it.

Here in New York, they dont even have titles for anything built before 1975-just registration.

Maybe just a lost title application will do it. Start with your County DMV.
 
> I suppose his location may help. He lives near Omaha Nebraska. He somehow got it into the US by driving it through the border so hopefully there is some way he can get it licensed.

So in other words it was illegally imported. It may be necessary to haul it back into Canada, then re-import it.
 
Contact your local BMV and ask. The process for titling a car with a lost title that was never in the current owners name varies by state. It varies from easy to not gonna happen, from cheap to more than the car is worth. I got a title from a bill of sale for a Willys pickup I bought in Wisconsin. I was lucky that in my state of Indiana, all it took was a large chunk of my time and $150 by the time I had a title in hand. Some states require a title brokerage to do the leg work, when I researched that, that process started at $2K and went up from there. When I did my research, what Indiana wanted was someone to blame if a legit title showed up down the road. I found if I was willing to appear in court, my county would take that responsibility.
 
I don't know how it is there but in Tn. you get the paperwork from the county court clerks office. The way I understand it this is the process to apply for a lost title. Once you fill out the simple paperwork you get a law official [usually a deputy here] to come out and visually inspect the car and check the vin number. If the vin number doesn't come up as stolen the deputy signs off on it and you send off the paperwork and get the title. If I were him I wouldn't mention Canada. I have found in the past if you mention anything "different" to some people it blows their mind and stops the process. This would the same process if you bought an old car here in the U S and the title had been lost.
 
> This would the same process if you bought an old car here in the U S and the title had been lost.

No, because in that case the vehicle's last owner would show up on a title search.
 
Not always true. NY dumps the data after a period of time. I was trying to get the title to a rabbit pickup that was local, always NY documented. When I checked at dmv, they said record was no longer on file. Owner long deceased, hadn't been registered in 15 years. Makes vehicle worthless. Long ago in Calif,one way to get title was to put a mechanic's lien on it. I think they tightened that method as it was abused. Learned loooong ago, good paper is what makes old vehicles worth something.
 
(quoted from post at 00:43:03 02/26/21) I have a relative who bought a 1960's Ford Custom in Canada and brought it to the US. He did this 15-20 years ago. He never registered the car in the US, he parked it in a shed. He has since moved and lost any of the paperwork he filled out to get the car to the U.S. Does anyone know what he would have to do to get a U.S. title so he can license and drive it?


There's absolutely no sense in asking here. You need to contact your state DMV and talk to them. As others have said, each state is different. What goes in Mi. may be entirely illegal or unworkable in NH.
 
Bad idea... Too many laws violated, state and likely Federal. Also, if vehicle is sold some day and future buyers see altered or missing vin, smart money says no deal, as it could be stolen. Lot of that is going on--see it in car ads in Hemmings even, nice looking car, price in low 5 figures and vin plate says it is 2 door sedan and the car is a hardtop. Would you invest 12grand in that?
 

There are several different ways here I would start out calling your local DMV inspector. He will come out look it over and do the search for ya : )
If all goes well you state DMV will issue a title of some kind you will have to have it bonded. It has taken me a year to go thru this process.

The other is a mechanics lean it use to be cheap but now the courts have got to have their extorsion money : ( It use to be less than $100 I could do the deal its gotten over $500 now so usually I just part them out.
 
What worked years and decades ago may not work today. Too many hurricane and flood damaged cars made their way to unsuspecting buyers the MidWest as "clean southern cars". Now states have cracked down on issuing vehicle titles, similar to getting an enhanced driver's license now compared to years ago.

When I moved to Nebraska in 2015, the Sarpy county sheriff had an officer at the Sarpy DMV who inspected out of state vehicles before issuing the new Nebraska title. Iowa might be easier. A salvage title might be easiest to get, but could also badly hurt the resale value of the car.

Is this a show car or a rusty four door sedan in need of major work?
 
Before VA changed their vehicle title law TN was the go to place to get a title for a vehicle without a title.Used to be only the state records would be searched.
Way back with British cars the ID plate was under the hood only attached with 2 screws those were swapped regularly,think I still have a couple Triumph titles with ID plates I got from a salvage yard.
 
See Attached from State of Nebraska

https://dmv.nebraska.gov/sites/dmv.nebraska.gov/files/doc/dvr/forms/Affidavit.Application%20Classic%20Motor%20Vehicle.pdf
 
Thanks for the link. At the bottom it says to turn in the complete form with a notarized bill of sale. Assuming that he doesn't have one from when he got it, can he "sell" it to me with a notarized bill of sale and then I could go get a title and "sell" it back to him?
 
You could try that but I'm guessing they will just ask you to post a bond which is not really a big deal for your insurance agent to arrange for you.
 
(quoted from post at 10:09:13 02/26/21) Nothing illegal about a salvage yard getting a title,DMV man comes by check the car out,they issue a title if no claims.

Why pay the salvage yard to do what you can do yourself for less.?
 
(quoted from post at 20:46:17 02/26/21)
License it again in Canada . Then walk into your local DMV office .

How is he gonna do that without proof of Canadian residency?
And it would have to pass safety to get registered as well.
 
(quoted from post at 17:24:57 02/26/21) Thanks for the link. At the bottom it says to turn in the complete form with a notarized bill of sale. Assuming that he doesn't have one from when he got it, can he "sell" it to me with a notarized bill of sale and then I could go get a title and "sell" it back to him?

Does he have any paperwork at all??
Although he never registered (licensed) it, did he get a stateside title for it in his name?

If no, he might have to do some extra with customs.
Might have to get with their office in Omaha.
Before he gets with Nebraska DMV.
 
I don't think he ever got a title for it
in his name, I am almost certain that he
has lost any of the paperwork he filled
out to import it and buy it.
 
(quoted from post at 21:19:51 02/26/21) I don't think he ever got a title for it
in his name, I am almost certain that he
has lost any of the paperwork he filled
out to import it and buy it.

Okay so earlier you stated that he drove it across the border.
Since he did it after 2002 under tighter scrutiny after 9/11/2001 he must have had good paperwork to drive it across.

That paperwork might be electronically retrievable from Customs and Border Protection.
 
I kind of wish it was a rusty junker because then it would be an easy decision to part it. It is a pretty straight original with very little surface rust, even the battery tray is still in good condition.
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(quoted from post at 20:02:40 02/26/21)
(quoted from post at 20:46:17 02/26/21)
License it again in Canada . Then walk into your local DMV office .

How is he gonna do that without proof of Canadian residency?
And it would have to pass safety to get registered as well.

Province license office dont care . The car is for summer use at the cottage when you are up from the states . Show them your US License .
 

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