Start here: which one are you?
- You are the owner of record and the title is lostThe state issued a title in your name and the paper is gone, destroyed or illegible. You need a replacement of the title that already exists. How to get a duplicate title →
- You are not the owner of record, or no title was ever issuedYou hold the truck but the state’s record does not name you — a bill of sale and nothing else, a seller who never signed, an abandonment, or an estate. There is no title to replace, so one has to be created against a bond. How a title bond works →
- You have the title and you are sellingThe title is in your name and in your hand. What is left is the signing, the odometer disclosure and the lien, if there is one. What a title transfer requires →
- The title is branded, or the truck was totalledSalvage, rebuilt, prior salvage, non-repairable — the words and the thresholds are different in every state, and in several the salvage chapter does not reach a commercial truck at all. Salvage and rebuilt titles →
The state issues the title. The federal rules sit on top of it.
Titling is a state function, and the differences between states are real rather than cosmetic: the same paperwork problem takes a different route, a different form and a different amount of money depending on which side of a state line the truck is sitting on.
A small number of federal rules apply everywhere, and two of them stop at a weight that most commercial trucks are above — which is the single most useful thing on this page for someone selling a Class 7 or Class 8 truck.
- Odometer disclosure — and the 16,000 lb lineFederal odometer disclosure does not apply to a vehicle rated above 16,000 lb GVWR. 49 CFR Part 580 →
- Odometer tampering and fraudTampering is prohibited whatever the vehicle weighs, and a defrauded buyer has a private action. 49 U.S.C. 32703–32711 →
- NMVTIS — and it also stops short of a heavy truckThe national title and salvage database is built around “automobiles”, a term the rule defines by weight. 28 CFR Part 25 →
- The GVWR label and the VINWhere the 16,000 lb answer is actually read from, and what a 17-character VIN is required to be. 49 CFR 567 and 565 →
- Cash reporting on a saleA business receiving more than $10,000 in cash files Form 8300 — and the regulation’s own example turns on whether the vehicle is a consumer durable. 26 U.S.C. 6050I →
By state
Every state is different and none of them can be guessed from a neighbour. Two states are published so far, each researched from its own statute, regulation and motor vehicle agency:
The remaining 49 jurisdictions are being researched one at a time rather than filled in from a template. Until a state is published here, its official motor vehicle agency is the source to use.
What we require, and what we do not
These are this company’s own terms, quoted from the pages that carry them:
- A clear title is the requirement“A clear title is the only hard requirement to sell your truck to Big Ugly Truck.” It must be in your name or your company’s name. — FAQ
- Branded titles are bought“Salvage, rebuilt and bonded titles are accepted.” — Terms of Service
- Say so at the start“Tell us the title is branded when you first get in touch” — not at pickup. — Terms of Service
- A lien has to be resolved“The title cannot have an unresolved lien unless the lien is paid off at or before closing.” A simultaneous payoff at closing is one of the routes. — FAQ
- The title is the paperwork“There’s no transfer packet to fill out — the title is the paperwork.” The plates stay with you and do not transfer. — FAQ
A branded or bonded title is not a reason not to call. An unresolved lien is the one thing that genuinely has to be sorted out before a truck can change hands.
Current as of 14 September 2026. This page describes rules, not your situation, and it is information rather than legal advice. Rules change; the linked official source is always the current one.