Florida NO title - Titling of vintage motorcycles 25 years or older

Niels B

Niels B

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I have been trying to find out for a while how to get Fl title to a couple of motorcycles I have with only bill of sales, a ‘77 Honda 750 F2 and a ‘75 Yamaha xs650. Both need full restoration or to be sold as parts / project if below doesn’t work. I just couldn’t get myself to start all that work ( and money waste) and realize that I couldn’t either ride them or sell them . I’ll update when I have tried this out , may be others out there in FL that have the same problem.​

Below is copied from
https://www.reddit.com/r/bikebuilders/comments/17ztnet/florida_no_title_titling

Florida NO title - Titling​




As everyone knows the Vermont loophole has been closed. For those of you that are trying to title a non-vintage or non-antique bike, I'm sorry this doesn't help you.
But if you are in Florida and do you have a bike 25 years or older, with no title, there is hope. I just walked out of the DMV and the title Will be in my mailbox in 2 weeks or less. This saved me from doing a neck chop and swap which I was ready to do... But decided to give this a try.
All you need for your bike without a title, is a bill of sale, a hold harmless affidavit, and the vehicle VIN verification form. The hold harmless does not even have to be notarized if it has a perjury clause (literally one sentence), that states the statement is true. And mine wasn't notarized. Mine had the little perjury sentence in it.
A few weeks ago, I had emailed DMV, asking what could be done for a vintage vehicle without a title and they sent me their protocol which is clear as day. I already knew the protocol, but emailed them so that I would have the email handy when I physically went to the DMV because I knew they would have a problem, which they did. So of course I showed them the email. Haha
DMV employee had never done this before and had to get a manager involved. But in the end I walked out after paying my $92, with a title for a 1980 KZ750 twin Kickstart, which I will now commence to building into a badass apocalyptic scrambler.
I really hope this helps someone out there. Here is a link to the actual policy PDF for the entire state of Florida, which each individual DMV must abide by under law. https://www.flhsmv.gov/pdf/proc/tl/tl-72.pdf

. And here is another update as of November 2024 - I actually have the notice they sent to All DMV branches in the State of Florida telling them that they must accept the hold harmless affidavit, with a bill of sale for antique vehicles. You can do your own diligence and research this. The form is tl-72. Policy is policy regardless of the they are unaware of it​

 
GLJ said:
Marty do you know anybody that used vintage motor services?
Click to expand...
No, I do not. I found them on FB. With a quick search, I found discussion about them, but no reviews positive or negative. I suspect they're a new player in San Angelo, TX. @Niels B posted the question and I posted the link. A web site and Facebook presence is a move in the right direction.
You are asking in regard to Vintage Motor Titles?
 
gggGary said:
@GLJ
Wisconsin will do a bonded title, reg title fee M/L$160 plus sales tax and the bond insurance M/L$100
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IL does bonded titles. Cost is higher. I've read up on doing one and the paper work looks doable but a pain in the ass. I'm sure the first time would be the worst time.
willis said:
I’ve used Saints Title service before with very positive results. But it’s 400 per title, so it just depends if that is a number you are comfortable with.
Click to expand...
If I could get a IL title for $400 I would do it. Saints sends you a Tennessee title. To change it to a IL title so I could get a plate for it would be another $200.

https://vintagemotortitles.com/ say they send you a title, registration and plates in your name They don't say what state. I've e-mailed them to find out.
 
GLJ said:
IL does bonded titles. Cost is higher. I've read up on doing one and the paper work looks doable but a pain in the ass. I'm sure the first time would be the worst time.

If I could get a IL title for $400 I would do it. Saints sends you a Tennessee title. To change it to a IL title so I could get a plate for it would be another $200.

https://vintagemotortitles.com/ say they send you a title, registration and plates in your name They don't say what state. I've e-mailed them to find out.
Click to expand...

I’m currently in the process of getting a bonded title in Illinois. I plan to put together a YouTube video detailing the process once it actually goes thru at the S.O.S. Office and I at least get a confirmation or better yet a paper in my hand.

My 1st step: Visit the Secretary of State police ( usually next to the local DMV) and ask them for the bonded title paperwork.

Make sure you get the bond notarized and sign it!
The rest of the paperwork is fairly self explanatory.
Make photocopies of all your paperwork.
Mail via certified mail to the SOS(best option) or at minimum apply plenty of postage for the heavyweight envelope, good idea to take it to the post office and have them confirm that you have added enough postage.

The additional cost vs regular title was only $100 for the surety bond(might be slightly more if you have a HIGH value bike, as the bond needs to be for 1.5x appraisal value as I remember)
 
Last edited:
OK changed the title 42 process a few years ago, making it a bit harder. I've had luck on 3 bikes using a roundabout way. 1. Make sure to get a notarized bill of sale. 2. File a vehicle information request. If that comes back with no record you can apply for a title using the BOS as proof of ownership. The state will check if there is a record from out of state and 30 days later you can take the bike and paperwork to a tag office where they verify the VIN and you leave with plates.

If it comes back with an owner of record you have to change to a court ordered title. It's not a huge hassle, but there is a $150 court fee.

I'm kind of lazy, and the convoluted paperwork isn't something I like doing. There is a lady who runs a company called His Title Service that will do all the paperwork and stay on top of the state for a reasonable cost. She can only do court ordered titles if you are in Canadian county.

There are other companies that do the same thing, but I've used her service multiple times with no issue.
 
There are a lot of bikes without titles that turn up here in Tennessee due to Alabama not issuing titles on vehicles 25 years old or older. Luckily, Tennessee is a pretty easy dog to hunt with when it comes to titling a vehicle without one.

I always use the official DMV bill of sale for vehicles and if it comes up clean in the records I get a title back in less than a month.
 
Highpower said:
There are a lot of bikes without titles that turn up here in Tennessee due to Alabama not issuing titles on vehicles 25 years old or older. Luckily, Tennessee is a pretty easy dog to hunt with when it comes to titling a vehicle without one.

I always use the official DMV bill of sale for vehicles and if it comes up clean in the records I get a title back in less than a month.
Click to expand...
Do you need a Tennessee address to obtain a title in Tn ?
 

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