Certificate of Title - the ownership document of a US car and its types

Every car from the USA has one document that decides almost everything: whether it can leave America, whether you can register it in Poland and how much it will be worth when you sell it. It's the Certificate of Title, or simply the Title. We explain what's on the title, what types there are and what we look at before we start bidding.

What a Certificate of Title is

The USA has no single registration document for the whole country. Each state keeps its own vehicle register and issues a title, the document that confirms who owns the car. It's issued by the state's motor vehicle office, most often called the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles).

A title is not the same as a registration. Registration lets the car be driven on public roads and has to be renewed regularly. The title changes only when the car gets a new owner or a new status. When a car is sold, the previous owner signs the title over to the buyer and the office issues a new document. When we buy a car at a Copart or IAAI auction, the title passes through the auction house.

In Canada, a similar role is played by ownership documents issued by the provinces.

What you'll find on a title

Titles look different from state to state, but every one of them shows:

• the VIN, make, model and model year,
• the owner's details,
• the lien - a bank or leasing company, if the car is financed,
• the mileage on the day of sale and whether it's genuine,
• the title status (brand) - for example Salvage or Rebuilt.

Title types and what they mean for importing

The status is the most important information on a title. It tells you whether an insurer declared the car a total loss, whether the car was repaired and whether it is roadworthy at all.

Titles you can register in Poland

• Clean - a title with no brands. The car was not declared a total loss.
• Salvage - an insurer declared the car a total loss. You can register it in Poland after repair and a technical inspection. We cover this in detail in Salvage title - what does it mean and is such a car worth buying?
• Rebuilt (Reconstructed in some states) - a salvage car that was repaired in the USA and passed a state inspection.

Titles where the decision is yours

• Flood - a flood-damaged car. By default, we don't import such cars, only at your explicit request, because damage to the electronics can show up months later.
• Parts Only, Non-Repairable - a car meant for parts. We import it only at your explicit request.

Titles we don't import

• Junk, Certificate of Destruction - a car meant for scrapping. You won't register it in Poland.
• A title with a lien - a bank that hasn't been paid off is recorded on the title. A car with an unreleased lien can't leave the USA without that bank's written consent and may be subject to claims.

The full list of cars we don't import is on the Import cars from the USA and Canada page.

Mileage on the title

Every time the car changes hands, the seller declares the mileage and the office records it on the title with one of these notes:

• Actual - the mileage is genuine.
• Not Actual - the mileage is not genuine, for example because the odometer was replaced or rolled back. The real mileage can't be established from the title alone.
• Exceeds Mechanical Limits - the car has covered more than the odometer can show. This mostly applies to older cars with five-digit odometers.
• Exempt - the mileage didn't have to be declared. This happens with older cars that are exempt from the requirement.

Mileage from the USA is shown in miles, and from Canada usually in kilometres. When a title says Not Actual or Exempt, we check the mileage in the vehicle history report before we start bidding.

Why the title decides how long the import takes

Without a title, a car can't leave the USA. Before the car sails, the exporter has to present the original title and the car itself to US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), at least 72 hours before export.

Sometimes the auction house issues the title later than it releases the car. The car then waits at the port until the document arrives. The auction listing shows the document type and the state that issued it. If the title is still on its way or the document isn't a regular title, we tell you before the auction. You can read more about what affects the import time in How long does it take to import a car from the USA and Canada?

What happens to the title in Poland

You get the title together with the full set of registration documents, that is the Bill of Sale and the customs clearance documents. The vehicle registration office accepts the title together with a sworn translation, which we prepare for you. All registration steps are described in Registering a car from the USA in Poland step by step.

After registration, the car has a regular Polish registration certificate that doesn't show the American status. The US history doesn't disappear completely, though. The title status stays recorded against the VIN in Carfax and AutoCheck reports, so a future buyer or an insurer valuing comprehensive cover may see it.

How we check the title before bidding

Before we start bidding, we check:

• the title status and the issuing state in the auction listing,
• the title history in the Carfax or AutoCheck report - including earlier statuses from other states. Sometimes a damaged car is re-registered in another state so that its new title looks cleaner. The report shows the full history against the VIN,
• the mileage - whether the title and the report tell the same story,
• the lien - whether a bank is recorded on the title.

Remember too that a Clean title doesn't guarantee a car without damage. If the previous owner repaired the car without involving an insurer, the damage won't appear on the title. That's why we always look at the photos and the damage description from the auction. How to read the report itself is covered in How to read a Carfax and AutoCheck report.

Have a specific car in mind? Send us the auction link or the VIN through the Contact page. We'll check the title and the car's history and calculate the full delivered cost free of charge.