NC Title & Registration w/out of state car info...

I got a truck from GA. I live in NC. I thought I'd pass on some info I learned today. I called a DMV office in Kannapolis, NC asking what info was needed to register and title a vehicle from out of state, GA in my case. They told this was needed:

Notarized bill of sale from seller to buyer
Previous bill of sale showing ownership by the seller
Registration paperwork from seller (not a copy, and not absolutely neccessary but it would help)

This is supposed to get the vehicle registered and tagged. You then must make an appointement with the DMV for an inspector to take photos and make sure the VIN is on the up and up. If everything checks out, Raleigh will send you a title. Also, apparantly you have a one year time frame in which to get a title after registration. Also, you don't have to title the vehicle (and you can register a vehicle without one). The only reason you HAVE to have a title is to later sell the vehicle in NC (and maybe other states where they title old vehicles).

So, with this info in mind, I go to another DMV office in Harrisburg, NC as it was closer. They tell me I don't need the registration paperwork from GA. They also will not accept the previous bill of sale because they say it has to be notarized. I explain GA doesn't require notarization and how do I go about searching for an owner from a long time ago to try and get a 7 year old bill of sale notarized? They don't seem to care. Keep in mind, I asked the Kannapolis office about this very thing on the phone, and they said since the previous bill of sale was in GA it didn't have to be notarized because GA doesn't require it.

So, long story short, I'm going to the office I called and seeing the person I spoke to on the phone who will accept the information they told me was required. Be careful who you talk to and don't just take info over the phone as gospel. Obviously, information varies from DMV office to DMV office depending where you are in NC and who you talk to.

Also, I wish our laws were as lax as GA's. Apparantly in GA all you have to do is write out a bill of sale, no notary, no title, nothing else needed. Take the un-notarized bill of sale and get your vehicle registered. I can see this would make it easy to commit fraud, but it damn sure is easy to register an old car there. You GA boys are lucky. Count your blessings. I'll post up tomorrow with some results.

 

My 53 buick was a Georgia car with no title as well. At the Lincolnton DMV, I had to provide a bill of sale seller to buyer, and I also provided the bill of sale that my seller had as well. The seller had bought the car when he lived in georgia then moved to NC, but never registered the car. I also had to purchase a bond for the vehicle as well. A bond is basically an insurance policy that covers my investment for the car should someone produce proof of ownership within 3 years of my purchase date. The bond must be kept for those 3 years. After that I had to fill out several papers, application for title, etc, lots of red tape, rude DMV employees, etc, I received a title for the car. That has been my experience. I'm curious to see how your experience pans out. BTW I had to provide registration paperwork from previous owners as well.

 

thanks for the info terd ferguson will help me regs all mine,.

 

When did you go through all this? I think each and every person you talk to at the DMV will tell you something different.

 

Ok, I'm all papered up and legal like a beagle. Here's how I did it...

I called back the Kannapolis DMV this morning. By the way, I'm talking about the license plate office on Centergrove, not the main drivers license office. I called to confirm the info they gave me yesterday, which they did indeed confirm. All I needed is the notarized bill of sale from the seller to me and the previous GA bill of sale from the last owner to the seller. And no, it didn't have to be notarized. The DMV lady checked her manual to be certain. So I drive to the office, spend five minutes with the sweetest most helpful DMV lady you could imagine and walk out with registration and license plate.

Honestly, I never imagined it could've been this easy. I've had tougher times renewing plates on new vehicles. So, if your local office is giving you static on an out of state vehicle, it may be well worth your time to drive on down to K-town.

All I have to do now is get a title. That's supposed to be super easy, especially since I've got registration papers. I have to call the DMV inspector and he'll come out to the house and take some photos and examine the VIN (which I'v already decoded and found to be correct for the year and engine). Then, Raleigh will send me a title. Done and done.

I hope this helps out.

 

Yep, you got the easy part done. Depending on your DMV officer now. If the truck is pretty original and the DMV officer is knowledgeable it should be cake. Make sure the VIN is clearly identified wherever it's supposed to be on the truck. Some of them are peculiar about it being the correct engine as well. Good luck with it.

 

Thanks. The VIN is where it's supposed to be. I decoded it with the LMC catalog. The truck was built in the Atlanta plant and has what appears to be the original 235. The VIN also shows it's a 235 truck. It's likely the truck spent it's entire 55 years in GA until last weekend.

The local inspector is supposed to be a really good guy who's easy to get along with. This is from a small time car dealer I know in town. I don't think I'll have a problem except for actually getting in touch with the guy. He's only in the office Monday, Wednesday and Friday from 8-10. No answering machine due to the volume of calls. And I would imagine he spends most of the time he's at the office outside inspecting cars instead of answering the phone. It's probably best to go up there and wait during the time he's supposed to be there.

 

Went to a office in Charoltte and they gave me such a run around. So I decided tp go to a small town . I just did the same as you registerd 3 vehicles from out of state and had no problem! Went to a small office in N.C, i was out in 10 min or less! What a differense!

 

You could talk to 10 people in five different offices and get a different answer each time. It's crazy. I'm just glad I know where to go from now on for no problems.

 

SC is the same way! I am trying to title a 78 Cherokee Chief with no title from GA as well! BUT if you are in GA and try to title or tag a vehicle, it is a PAIN IN THE ASS for a military member. I think it is the the particular person you get....

 

it deff depends on the person you talk with at the office and usualy on that particular day. i've got a car here i've had for nearly 2 years and still haven't gotten titled. it came from alabama which is a non notary state. i meet the guy in atlanta to do the trade and had call ncdmv before to find what i needed. was told a non notarized(since alabama is a non notary state) bill of sale and the last reg from the former owner. i had both and the title where the car was bought out of tenn 2 years prior just as more proof(alabama let the last owner retain that for just such situations). i've been to both tag/title offices here multiple times. i get told something different every time. but most every time am told it has to be a notarized bill of sale. i nearly got arrested last time because i started yelling and knocked shit off the counter in a huge arguement with the lady. i had the DMV inspector on the phone telling her it DID NOT have to be notarized since it came from a non notary state and she still wouldn't do it. i'm selling the car so i'm waiting to see if it goes to a different state before i give nc any more of my money...ken...

 

Approx. April of 2007. Glad to see you have made it this far with no hitch. The DMV visit was the easy part for me and yes the person you deal with makes a HUGE difference.

 

Bought a 49 Ford in PA with a notorized title and notorized bill of sale. Was told by NCDMV that it was simple if I had both. But, when I went in to register and get plates, was told the car had to be inspected by State Theft Inspector because it was bought out of state. I got a 30 day temp registration instead. The Inspector came out to my home and we could not find a VIN plate to verify the number on the title. He told me that if I had no vin number on the car, I would have to get a bond $$$ and go thru a lot of hoops and costs at Raleigh. Later I looked for the vin plate which was covered with paint and hidden under the cowl, but with some paint remover, it matched the numbers on the title (fortunately). The inspector (who carried a gun) came back, looked at the vin plate and the title and quickly gave me a signed approval form. I took his approval form to the DMV and got a title and plates without further problems. Moral: When buying a car out of state, make sure the car has a vin number stamp or plate that matches the title. Otherwise, you're in for a hassell. Just because it has a "clear title" doesn't mean NC will give you plates or title. I was lucky; this could have been a real pain in the A**!

 

Yeah, they are turning it into a real pain in the ass to register a classic car/truck in our state. Last year I bought a 50 Chevy Truck, and it was titled from another state. They were ok with our bill of sale we did, which wasn't notarized, but they did verify the vin. The whole process took a few days to process the forms and for them to send me the slip I needed to take down to the DMV here in Raleigh.

It's only getting worse too. I've read on some other forums that the State is now looking at "real" classic car values in the market to determine how much you should be taxed on the vehicle.

 

A lot seems to really depend on which office you go to and which officer you get for the inspection.

 

ive bought a few cars in georgia with no title,and brough to ohio.

buy georgia tags in my name,bill of sale,vin inspection,and i was done

 

Guys, it's been a while since I started this thread. Since then, I haven't been able to get the DMV inspector on the phone to make an appointment to come out to the house to inspect my truck. He's supposed to be in my town's DMV office Monday, Wednesday, and Friday 8-10 a.m.. Most times I call, he's in another town in another office. When I finish rewiring my truck I'm just going to drive it down to the DMV office for the inspection. I guess the guy is busy. Something to think about if you're going through the same thing.

 

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I just moved back to NY from living 3 years in Charlotte. It appears that the DMV is operated as independent contractors. Even different offices for licenses and another for registrations. That could account for the different stories. I registered 2 vehicles from NY, then one I bought from Iowa..... It went pretty easy for me. Something that was new to me coming from NY is that they charge you sales tax on the vehicle every year. Good luck.

 

I figured I'd update this with recent info. I finally got a hold of the inspector and drove to the Kannapolis DMV office to let him inspect it (it's address is Concord, but it's right over the line in Kannapolis). It was easy and straight forward. He asked if it was stock (it is) and copied my registration and took pictures of the VIN plate. He didn't look under the hood or frame or anywhere else, just the VIN plate. He told me I should get a title in the mail in about two weeks. I really don't think it could get any easier, besides actually talking to the inspector (he's hard to get on the phone).

I'll update again when the title comes.

 

You guys do know that most of the title offices in NC are contract offices run by a private firm. Glad you got that mess straightened out that quick. I had that same problem a couple of years ago. The next time I went back I got the lady that had been there the longest time. It really made things work smoother.

 

Ive been told that if you have a friend with a garage, you can have them place a mechanics lien on the vehicle, at which point they recieve a title which they can then sign over to you. Has any one tried this? Of course youd have to be good friends with the garage owner. Just wondering as i dont have a title for my 33 Plymouth.

 

I had some problem w/ Model A. That had a NC title but the dealer sign the title as buyer but never transfer title. At that time the dealer could sign title as buyer then resale the car to new owner and new owner sign below the dealer. The idea was save money for the dealer. 15 years pass after dealer sign title. The dmw would not take the title. The dealer was living but in bad health. The dmv was wanting me to go thur bond and get to car operable then they might give a title. I got it fix!!!!!!!!!!!

States should do more to embrace the hobby. Make easyer to title some of the older cars and kit cars. They could befit from hobby other taxes and fees. This would keep people from having to break the laws.

 

Just got my new 50 Pontiac legal and I must say it was the easiest car I ever did. It was last registered in NY and the NY registration expired 9/09 so fairly recent. I walked into the DMV and told the girl what I wanted to do. She got a book and said all I needed was the signed registration. I gave her a Bill of Sale anyway just incase and then I signed my life away and paid the fees and 10 mins later I walked out with tags and a registration car and the title will be mailed to me.

So anyone having issues with registering a car here in NC... Get someone to register it in NY then transfer it to here. easy breezy....

 

I have a friend who got me a title that way and it was a pain in the ass because the DMV. We also tried to get a title using the Abandoned Vehicle way of doing it and that took 6 months. There are much easier ways but those 2 ways are the cheapest ways because the DMV onlcy charges like $10-35 for those ways to title something.

 

mr cagle was it?

 

Tag offices in NC are operated by independent contractors. These contracts get passed out to people who have political connections. They then hire the cheapest help they can find, most of whom are too dumb and lazy to push a broom at wal-mart. The owners then go home, sit on their lazy asses, and collect the money because the public has no alternative but to deal with them and suffer thru whatever morons happen to be on the counter. There's 2 offices here, with probably a dozen clerks between the two, and about 2 out of that dozen are knowledgable and helpful. The rest are just exactly what you'd expect, given the situation of how these offices operate.

The actual DMV employees who do the inspections and such are much more knowledgable and better to deal with in general.

 

Yes, Inspector Cagle. He was a super nice guy, very knowledgeable. There was another inspector with him. I got the feeling he was training the other guy. So maybe they're getting some more help. I know it was really difficult to get them on them phone at first. I was told it was just Inspector Cagle for a pretty big area.

 

The REASON ...

North Carolina and other states have been tightening title laws is folks trying to register and title vehicles they had no papers on. Most ... of the fiberglass rods registered ... are on FAKE non-legal numbers and paperwork.

Titles and registrations being sold ... openly
has sped up the process ... of being difficult.

Some BOZO ( up in high-places with the NC DMV in Raliegh ) ... bent the rules and got a friend of his a title for a car that was not legal and got caught . NOW the inspectors come and look at most new title requests on old stuff. I have a friend who has a small early Ford collection ( 8/10 vehicles ) and a NC state inspector came to his house to check out all his vehicles ... uninvited ... My friend had not bought anything in months. He had all his titles and paperwork. He was checked ... " just because of the high number of old car titles in his name ". Thankfully all his vehicles were correct ( he has no repro/fiberglass vehicles ) ... and he had gotten legal paperwork on evry thing he had bought.

Thank all the dishonest folks for the MESS

I will not buy a vehicle without a good valid, numbers matching title

 

Have heard of that sales tax stuff before. You park a car and not register it for more than a few years, you may as well sell it or junk it, or they'll try to collect all the back sales tax, apparently no non-op like in CA, unless you let it sit so long it gets deleted from the computers.

Now when I buy a car in New York, and register it, they keep my reciept. I assume it goes in a file somewhere and is kept for X number of years. I wonder how NC deals with that one? I can't give you my reciept for it, because I don't have it... now if I lost the registration in the meantine, you really have a problem.

But it is nice to live in a state that doesn't make a big deal out of these things. I can have plates on a car same day with the right info and forms even if it hasn't been on the road since 1950 and the registration or title was lost 50 years ago.

 

Just sold a 51 Merc to Wellsville on here. He is from Sweden. The car had no title, but he had to have one to ship it overseas. The inspecter came out and said the car had to be running to get a title. I asked about a different kind of title, or one just to get it overseas, like a salvage title etc. , but no dice. Wellsville got a California title registration and tag from a guy on here from California...chevyrich@hotmail.com . It all looks legit and was easy to do. Cost $260.00. This might be a way out after you try everything else. Also, stick all that long hair up into your hat, they will treat you nicer!