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Page Quick Links
· Contact Us
· Frequently Asked Questions
·
Application for Certificate of Title to a Motor Vehicle
·
Application for Certificate of Title to a Watercraft or Outboard Motor
·
Affidavit - Change of Motor Vehicle Title
·
Affidavit for Titling a Motor Home with a Commercial Tractor Chassis
·
Applicant's Affidavit - Odometer Reading Disclosure Statement
·
ATV or Off-Highway Motorcycle Affidavit of Ownership
·
Certification of Name
·
Power of Attorney
·
Record Request Form
·
Seller's Affidavit - Odometer reading Disclosure Statement
·
Surviving Spouse Affidavit
·
Watercraft or Outboard Motor Affidavit of Ownership
·
Application for Assignment for "E" Dealers
For additional information, please go to the State of Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles website.
This link provides access to a variety of BMV forms and other information on rules, regulations, requirements and other general information.
Please visit our frequently asked questions page for introductory answers to frequently asked questions we receive at the Wood County Clerk of Courts title office.
All motor vehicles used upon Ohio highways
including manufactured homes, recreation vehicles, trailers and semi-trailers weighing over 4,000
pounds, motorcycles, and all purpose vehicles [APV] are titled in Ohio.
Return to TOP of Page A title no longer must be obtained in the county of residence of
the buyer.
Wood County residents may conveniently contact us or obtain their titles at: A title must be issued in the buyer's name within thirty days of
the date of the
assignment of the seller, or a $5.00 penalty is assessed.
General Tips
Never make any alterations or erasures on a certificate
of title. If this is done,
the title becomes null and void, and an application for a replacement title will be necessary.
It is imperative that the assignment section of the title
(on back) is not
filled in, unless it is completed in the presence of a notary public, or other duly authorized
officers with the power to administer oaths. All signatures must be witnessed by the notary or
other duly authorized officer.
Loans on Vehicles
If one is applying for a loan using the vehicle as
collateral, always insist on
applying for a memorandum certificate of title (white copy), this memorandum enables the vehicle
owner to conveniently obtain license plates; however, ownership of the vehicle cannot be
transferred on a memorandum title.
When the loan has been satisfied, the financial
institution holding the lien
against the vehicle used as collateral, will discharge the lien on the original certificate of title and
return the title to the owner.
Penalty
To avoid a penalty fee of $5.00, the title must be
issued in the owner's name
within 30 days of the date of the assignment by the seller on the assignment section
of the title.
When purchasing a vehicle from a licensed Ohio dealer, the
dealer is required
to obtain a title for the purchaser.
BUYING MANUFACTURED HOMES AND
TRAVEL TRAILERS
All house and travel trailers (including tent and
fold-down campers) must have
a certificate of title. Never purchase a vehicle of this type without the seller's assignment on the
proper title.
SELLING A CAR
Never execute the assignment section on the reverse
side of the certificate of
title until a bona fide sale has been completed. Make certain that the buyer's name, address and
mileage (actual at the time of sale) is inserted before signing the assignment. Always,
sign in the presence of a notary public. The notary will then attest to the signature on the title.
TRANSFERRING AN OUT-OF-STATE TITLE TO AN OHIO TITLE
An out-of-state vehicle must be inspected (see
Out-Of-State Inspection Certificate). The inspection certificate must be presented to the Clerk of
Courts Title Office within thirty days of the inspection or it becomes invalid and a new inspection
certificate will have to be obtained before the title can be transferred.
DUPLICATE TITLE
When a title is lost, stolen, or destroyed, a duplicate
title must be applied for
and issued in the county where the original title has been issued. The application for duplicate
title must be completed and notarized. All persons listed as original owners on the original title
must sign for the duplicate title and show their current address.
If the original title has an open lien, the lienholder must apply
for the duplicate
title. The person making the application for the duplicate title should write the institution's name,
followed by their name and their position with the institution.
If the lost or stolen title is an interstate or "Non-Resident" title,
the Clerk of
Courts office must confirm from the owner's state that no title or registration has been issued on
the vehicle in question.
If, after issuance of the duplicate titel, the original title is
recovered, the original title must be returned to the Clerk of Courts title office that issued the title.
REPLACEMENT TITLE
A replacement title is issued when an error has been
made on either the face of
the title or on the assignment portion of the back of the title.
Possible reasons that cause a replacement title: When issuing a replacement title, the original title
must be presented
at the title office.
If the error was made by the seller or purchaser, a
$5.00 fee is charged for the
new title. If the error was made by the deputy clerk, the title will be issued free.
TRANSFERS TO AND FROM A MINOR
Any person under the age of 18 is considered a minor
in the State of Ohio. In
order for a minor to sell or purchase a vehicle in Ohio, their parent or legal guardian must sign a
"Minor Consent Form" and appear in person with the minor at the title office. The parent or legal
guardian will be asked to produce picture/signature type identification.
The minor's date of birth will appear after the minor's
last name on the title.
A married minor is considered emancipated, but will be
asked to show proof of
the marriate to avoid having a parent sign for the minor.
BODY CHANGE TRANSPERS
When the owner of a motor vhicle changes the body
style (i.e. van to a station
wagon or motor home, etc.) the title must be changed to conincide with the change. There is a
body change affidavit that rtequires information on the change, and the owner's signature, whcih
is notarized. Also, a new application for title must be completed and notarized. The original title
must be puresented and a new title will be issued noting the new body type and the phrase "Body
Change" will be inserted on the new title.
RAFFLES
When an Ohio resident wins a motor vehicle in a raffle,
the agency that held
the raffle must provide a correctly assigned Ohio title. No sales tax is charged to the winner of a
vehicle won in a bona fide raffle.
OUT-OF-STATE INSPECTION
CERTIFICATE
A) Vehicles that Must be Inspected
All motor vehicles last previously registered in another
state or foreign country
are subject to this inspection. This includes automobiles, trucks, motorcycles, manufactured
homes, travel trailers, and trailers when weight exceeds 4,000 pounds.
The inspection also applies to an Ohio title that has
been assigned to an out-of-
state dealer, and then reassigned back into Ohio. Vehicles with a Government title must also be
inspected.
B) Serial Plate-Missing, Defaced or Mutilated
In the event the person making the inspection
discovers that a serial plate is missing, defaced, mutilated, or shows signs of alteration, they are to
immediately notify the nearest Ohio State Highway Patrol Post for instructions. The inspection
certificate should not be completed.
If a serial plate is missing, the individual must go to
the State Highway Patrol for verification of the serial number. The individual must then take the
Highway Patrol Inspection Form and the out-of-state title back to the Deputy Registrar or
inspection station who will take the information off the Highway Patrol Inspection Form and fill
out the Ohio Inspection Form. Both forms, along with the title, must be presented to the Clerk of
Courts title office in order to obtain an Ohio Certificate of Title. The individual will then have to
apply through the Bureau of Motor Vehicles for a "duplicate serial plate."
C) The Inspection Certificate
The inspection certificaates are assigned to specific
stations and should never
be
given to other stations. The diffierent stations cannot use forms that are assigned to the Clerk of
Courts offices either.
Erasures or corrections on the inspection
certificate invalidates
the form and it is to be voided. The applicant receives the first (white) copy and the
Inspection Stateion retains the pink copy for the monthly reporting purposes.
Applicants shoulld be advised that the completed
certificate becomes invalid if
not processed through the Clerk of Courts within 30 days from the date of inspection.
Inspection forms need to be legible!
Power of Attorney
A power of attorney is a legal document giving specific
authority to another
person to act as an agent or attorney for the person giving this authority.
Signture and Notarization of Power of Attorney
The signature on any power of attorney should be the
same as the signature on
all other papers erquired in the transaction. The forms are completed with the necessary
information and are notarized.
Power of Attorney Used by a Dealer
Ordinarily, the person trading in the vehicle would
simply sign the reverse side
of the title as the seller-assignor. When a customer trades in a avehicle for which the title is not
immediately available, a power of attorney is signed by the seller which allows the dealer to sign
for the seller when the title becomes availabe.
When a dealer sells a used vehicle retail for which the
title is not immediately
available, the buyer will sign this form to allow the dealer to get the title in the buyer's name when
the title becomes available.
A dealer may not use a power of attorney to
sign the federal
odometer statement for their customer.
Power of Attorney Used by an Individual
1) Limited Power of Attorney -- There are occasions when an
individual cannot be available at the time of a sale or purchase. That individual can give a specific
person power of attorney to sign on their behalf. A specific person, not a dealership, is an
appointed attorney-in-fact to sign for the customer.
The power of attorney, when needed to supplement a
customers' paperwork,
becomes part of the transaction and accompanies the title to the Clerk of Courts office for filing.
This power of attorney can only be used for one specific transaction.
2) General Power of Attorney -- A gaeneral power of attorney may
also be used to atransfer a title. It specifies a certain person who can sign. We can accept a
certified copy (from Recorders' Office) of this power of attorney.
Odometer Statements
Federal Odometer Statement The Federal Odometer Statement is required on all
cars, trucks (with weight
under 16,000 pounds), and motorcycles less than ten years old.
On the computer generated tittles (ATPS -- brown and beige),
the Federal
Odometer Statement is on the back of the title. For all other titles a separate Federal Odometer
Statement is used.
A dealer cannot use a Power of Attorney to execute a
Federal Odometer
Statement on the behalf of a customer, or on the behalf of another dealer.
If signing for a company, the individual signing for the
company must sign and
print their name on the statement. The company name and the title (job position) of the signer is
required.
The following is required to be filled-in on the seller's
affidavit: Applicant's Affidavit
The applicant's affidavit is used when mileage is
reqauired in order to obtain
title and the Federal Odometer Statement would be inappropriate (i.e.: repossession titles, self-
assembled vehicles, unclaimed affidavits, and vehicles coming to Ohio from out-of-state without
ownership change.) This form must be notarized.
The following is required to be filled-in on the applicant's
affidavit: Notary Public Information
As a Notary Public, you are reuired to see that all blank areas
above the notary
are completed byh the person whose signature you are notarizing prior to your
completing the notarization. The assignments and applications are affidavits that the person is
swearing or affirming to in your presence. You could unkowningly become an accomplice in
aiding and abetting title fraud, tax fraud and/or odometer fraud by notarizing an inclompleate
affidavit. If you have any questions about notarizing a title and are unsure of waht to do, please
call the title office before you proceed.
Most of the time, the notary is trying to help someone and not
tryhing to do
anything fraudulent. By using common sense and taking these precautions the notary can
minimize the risk of exposure.
Notarizing documents after our commission has expired could
result in a
$500.00 fine and ineligibility for reappointment as a notary. Penalties for failing to notarize
documents properly includes fines up to $500.00 and/or imprisonment of up to thirty (30) days, as
well as becoming ineligible for reappointment to a notary commission for three (3) years.
The Wood County Clerk of Courts Auto Title office processes titles
for motor vehicles, including automobiles, motorcycles, mobile homes, travel trailers, campers, motor homes, boats, and boat motors,
all-terrain vehicles (ATV), off-highway motorcycles, waverunners, and jet skis. It also issues duplicates for lost and stolen titles if originally issued in the state of Ohio and accepts passports applications.
The fee for most requests of an original, duplicate, replacement, repossession, and lien notation
certificate of title (with or without memorandum) will be a flat rate of $15.00. Below is a fee structure,
which clarifies certain title transactions:
Original (excludes dealer resale titles) $15.00 Replacement (excludes dealer resale replacements) $15.00 Lien Notation (with or without memo) $15.00 Duplicate (includes dealer resale duplicates) $15.00 Lien Notation (with or without memo) $15.00 Repossession (dealership or financial institution repossession $15.00 Leasing Dealer $15.00 Daily Rental, Company and Vendor $15.00 Salvage with Lien (with or without memo) $15.00 Salvage (fee remains the same) $ 4.00 Salvage Replacement (fee remains the same) $ 4.00 Memorandum (fee remains the same) $ 5.00 Dealer Resale (fee remains the same, includes watercraft dealers with OH#) $ 5.00 Dealer Resale with lien $15.00 Dealer Replacement (fee remains the same) $ 5.00 Dealer Replacement with Lien $15.00 Late Fee (fee remains the same) $15.00 Archive Fee (fee remains the same) $ 5.00 Inspection Fee (fee remains the same) $ 1.50
Wood County Clerk of Courts Title Office 1616 E. Wooster St., Unit 16 Bowling Green, Ohio Phone number: (419) 354- 9180 Fax number: (419) 354-1322 e-mail:
Clerk of Courts 8:30-4:30 M-T-W-TH-F 9:00-12:00 Saturday
Click here for a Location
Map
1 Misspelled name 2 Incorrect lienholder 3 Altered purchase price, etc.
1 the description of the vehicle;
2 the buyer's name; 3 the actual odometer reading; 4 the date of the statement; 5 the seller's signature.
1 the description of the vehicle;
2 the buyer's name; 3 the actual odometer reading; 4 the date of the statement; 5 the applicant's signature. 6 the reason for using this form.
What needs to be completed on a title before signing as a Notary (for a
purchaser):
1 Selling price, 2 Odometer reading, and 3 Name and address of Purchaser.
The person filling out the title needs to sign the title in the presence of the
notary as a witness that the information on the title is correct.