trailer titling question

[scout man]

I recently bought a trailer, and I am a little unsure about what to do with this title (I got a HUGE discount buying it this way). The title was signed by the seller, and someone signed on the buyer line and filled out the title. However, they never titled the trailer in their name and then they sold it to me. So I have a title, signed by the people listed as "owner," but someone else is listed as buyer, not me. I do however have a hand-written and signed bill of sale from the person on the "purchaser" line stating that he is signing over all rights of the trailer to me. Do you think this will be accepted at the DMV? Also, this title is not notorized for any of the signatures, although this title (a missouri title) does not say anywhere that it need to be notorized. I have actually titled a truck before in very similar circumstances and got lucky and found a way to push the title through, but in all honesty I think it was just luck and not entirely legal perhaps. I think it was due to an oversite by both a notary and the clerk at the DMV, which I suspect is unlikely to occur again. Any advice?

[southpaws3]

mine kind of was the same thing (remember the tiny trailer ?)2 friends built the trailer one did a bill of sales to the other to "help" get it titled (beats the he!! out of me what they were doing) ..but anyway go to dmv w/title in pocket say it was home built let them do walk around make title and gooooooooo. if problems show title w/ billof sale say it was from an action gtg... still problems call me

[CS79bronco]

I bought a car trailer back in the summer. Guy bought it in Florida, hauled a car to CO, decided to sell rather than title. I had to do a bunch of paperwork, make an appointment with State Trooper for inspection, & they decided whether it was homemade or whatever. No real problem, just took some time. The trooper did her stuff & I took it to DMV, they gave me a new tag and a serial # plate to attach to the trailer frame.

[Patrolman]

If you got a bill of sale, I would probably just show them that, and state the title is MIA. Apply for a missing title and get the inspection, bonding, fees, etc. Otherwise they are going to make the person who signed the title as buyer put it in his/her name and then sign over to you.

No title, no need for the previous owners to be involved. Probably easier.

[scout man]

hmm, that was an option I had not thought of.

[Native ZJ]

The missing title works, I did it with a cj7 a few years back dude buys the jeep can't get it to pass emissions then sales it to me I took the bill of sale and title to the dmv they said I needed paperwork from the last person to title it. I didn't know how to get ahold of the guy so I went back a week later with just the bill of sale told them the guy who sold it to me didn't have a title. I applied for a title no problems.

[scout man]

interesting. Thanks for the info guys!

[Backcountryislife]

I've had a trailer that I got from my boss for free for 5 years that I've never driven (it's a big enclosed trailer I use for storage mostly) because I didn't know what to do...


I feel pretty stupid now, that sounds far too easy.

Btw, I was just given an RV with the same problem Steve has, owner never titled it, at least I know how to deal with it now.

[scout man]

Well, let me add some additional info to this since I went to the DMV yesterday. The only issue they had was that he had signed his name as purchaser. What this means is if I were to title it, that is "skip titling" which is a federal offense. She said I needed to send the title back to him, so he could title it in his name, then send me the new title. This of course would be a huge pain in the ass. Fortunately, when I called the kid he said "Oh, I realized after you left I gave you the wrong title. I found the correct title and will sign it over to you and mail it to you." so my problems are actually resolved.

[Rick]

so my problems are actually resolved.:thumb::thumb::thumb:

[Chris]

Damn, the easy issue is resolved! Too bad it's not the more troublesome of the two!

[scout man]

you can say that again.

[Patrolman]

Yeah, that was easy. The entire issue with the title is why I recommended not even presenting it to them. I have a title from a 1966 Nissan Patrol that I picked up 10 years ago. The guy I got it from never put it in his name, but did fill his name out on the back, so same issue. Problem is he was in Albuquerque and had signed the title in about 1985. It ended up being a parts vehicle anyways, but had I ever tried to register it, I would have claimed no title existed.

[scout man]

yea, i figured i would just give it a shot and see what they said. Worse case I went back again and tried a different route. (they wouldnt remember me). Seems like any other route included a lot of hoops to jump through.

[Patrolman]

So do you have to send back the title he gave you? I assume he owns more than one trailer? Just curious.

[scout man]

nope, not real sure what the true story behind it is, but apparently he doesnt own another trailer anyways and doesnt need the title back. I would beleive that if it was last titled 20 years ago, but he signed this title a month before I bought it, so who know what the story actaully is. Doesnt matter to me as long as I get a title I can use.

[Hypoid]

It sounds like he was ambitious enough to get a copy title before putting the trailer up for sale.

In Colorado, you can take your current registration to the DMV and get a copy title. When you do this, the original title becomes void.