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BMV > Titles > Titling A Vehicle Titling A Vehicle

Many auto dealers around Indiana are partnering with the BMV to offer title and registeration services with a vehicle purchase. Additionally, you may now complete a number of transactions online including registering a new vehicle, ordering duplicate titles, and updating personal information, by establishing a personal myBMV account.

Titling A Vehicle From Indiana

If you buy a vehicle with an Indiana title, or receive as a gift a vehicle with an Indiana title, you must title it in your own name within 31 days of purchasing or receiving it.

If you buy a vehicle from a dealership which partners with the BMV you may title and register your vehicle at the dealership. If you buy a vehicle from a private individual or from a dealership that does not partner with the BMV, you must visit a license branch to title your vehicle.

To title your vehicle you must present the title to the vehicle, your valid Indiana driver's license, and documents proving your current insurance, your Indiana residency, and your Social Security number or your Federal Employer Identification number.

The following forms must also be completed at a participating dealership or a license branch:

For newly-manufactured vehicles:

  • Application for Certificate of Title - State Form 205
  • Properly assigned Certificate of Origin
  • Conforming Odometer Statement, generally found on the Certificate of Origin
  • Proof of sales tax paid (State Form 48842, also known as ST-108, provided by the dealership) 

For used vehicles:

  • Application for Certificate of Title - State Form 205 
  • Properly assigned title
  • Conforming Odometer Statement
  • Bill of sale

When you purchase a vehicle in Indiana, you must pay a seven percent sales tax. If a vehicle is purchased from an Indiana dealership, the dealer will collect the sales tax. If a vehicle is purchased privately, the sales tax must be paid at a license branch when you title the vehicle. There is no sales tax paid on a vehicle received as a gift. 

Titling A Vehicle From Out Of Indiana

If you have recently purchased a vehicle with an out-of-state title, or received as a gift a vehicle with an out-of-state title, you must title it in Indiana within 31 days of purchasing or receiving it. If you are a new Indiana resident, you must title your vehicles in Indiana within 60 days of becoming an Indiana resident. 

To title your vehicle you must present the title to the vehicle, your valid Indiana driver's license, and documents proving your current insurance, your Indiana residency, and your Social Security number or your Federal Employer Identification number.

Any vehicle being titled in Indiana from another state, including vehicles owned by new Indiana residents and vehicles assigned to an Indiana resident on a manufacturer's Certificate of Origin, must receive a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) inspection. This inspection may be done at any Indiana license branch for no charge or may be completed by a law enforcement officer who may charge up to $5. The officer must fill out a form named Affidavit of Police Officer/Physical Inspection of an Indiana Resident's Vehicle/Watercraft - State Form 39530 when completing a VIN inspection.

If there is a lien on your out-of-state vehicle, the license branch will assist you in completing a form named Request For Out of State Title To Perfect A Lien - State Form 1014 which will then be sent to your vehicle's lienholder informing them that you are applying for an Indiana title. Once the lienholder sends the title to the BMV, the BMV will contact you and ask that you return to the license branch to complete your application for the Indiana title. Upon completion, you will be able to register and plate your vehicle in Indiana, and the title will be returned to the lienholder.

The following forms and documents must be completed at the license branch:

For newly-manufactured vehicles:

  • Application for Certificate of Title - State Form 205
  • Properly assigned Certificate of Origin
  • Conforming Odometer Statement, generally found on the Certificate of Origin
  • Proof of sales tax paid (State Form 48842, also known as ST-108, provided by the dealership)
  • Affidavit of Police Officer/Physical Inspection of an Indiana Resident's Vehicle/Watercraft - State Form 39530 if the vehicle was not purchased in Indiana

For used vehicles:

  • Application for Certificate of Title - State Form 205 
  • Properly assigned title
  • Conforming Odometer Statement
  • Bill of Sale
  • Affidavit of Police Officer/Physical Inspection of an Indiana Resident's Vehicle/Watercraft - State Form 39530 if the vehicle was not purchased in Indiana

Indiana residents who purchase a vehicle from another state and pay more than seven percent sales tax will receive credit from Indiana for taxes paid in that other state. If you paid less than seven percent sales tax when you purchased your vehicle in another state, you will need to pay the difference to Indiana. New Indiana residents who have titled their vehicles in another state do not have to pay the seven percent sales tax when they title their vehicles in Indiana.

Still Have Questions? Contact The BMV

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