I had trouble getting a trailer titled.  I had bought it from a man who never titled it and only had the Certificate of Origin...it was 13 years old.  Titles are not required for trailers in KY...and I had owned the trailer for 10 of those 13 years without getting it titled.  The man who I bought it from was deceased when I was trying to get a title.

Before I pulled the trailer to Texas 3 years ago I wanted to get it titled and licensed.  Every time I went to the title agency they told me something different.....and when I came back with what they asked for previously it still wasn't accepted.  I had made 4 attempts to get it right and failed each time.

I finally sent an email directly to the County Clerk and explained the trouble I was having.  He sent my emails to one of his employees that actually has helpful.  When I showed her that I had -  she called down to the State Office and got a few questions answered, and 15 minutes later I had my application accepted.

Try going up the ladder (in a nice way without name calling) - and explain what the issues are.......the County Clerk is an elected official and he may be willing to help.  You may also try going to a local auto/motorcycle used car dealer.....they may be able to provide you with a good contact at the title agency and they may have a good relationship with them.  I recently bought a motorcycle from a fellow who buys and sells a lot of old bikes......he takes the clerks donuts and cookies on holidays and they are very helpful when he comes in.

I have recently sold a couple motorcycles, a car and a couple of trailers and the clerks office has been very good at helping me......so I took them a box of cookies the last time I went in!  Who knows when I am going to need them again!

I was watching a YouTube and the guys were explaining how they get the old cars titled.
I was really hoping to remember the state, but, no such luck. What I Do remember is
There is a state that will issue a title with a bill of sale. They need the VIN, of Course. I want to say that state is in the North East.
Maybe the Abandoned Vehicle approach would get it.

 What about salvage title?  

 I know in CO if you can't get the title owner to sign over a title due to previous sale, or deceased etc. you can essentially pay more to get a salvage title.

 I haven't done it myself, but I know someone who did.  Basically the idea is a person can't sell a vehicle, then refuse to acknowledge it.  I wish I had more assistance for the State you are in.

That's the Vermont Title loophole.  The vehicle has to be at least 15 years old.  Mine is 11.  They don't give you a title as resident of another state, but they let you register it and issue you a license plate/registration.  Then, you take this registration to your home DMV and use it in place of a title, because you CANNOT get a title from Vermont when you register as a non-resident.  The logic is that your home state is compelled to let you register the vehicle at home given you have a legal registration from another state.  Are people supposed to tell them the vehicle is from their vacation cabin in VT?  I can't believe this loophole works anywhere (but it apparently does), and I guarantee the Louisiana OMV would laugh it me if I tried this.  


justin_o_guy2 wrote on 04/26/23 at 07:47:53:

Thank you.  The salvage title crossed my mind, but my understanding is that I have to get an insurance company to declare the vehicle a loss to get a salvage title.  I'll be working with a Justice of the Peace to try and get a court-ordered title.  He said it will probably take 3-4 attempts to get it to work given how much a pain our nitpicking OMV is.  One would think they would be glad to get my money sooner (tax, title, registration).  

Eegore wrote on 04/26/23 at 19:18:20:

Thanks, Paul.  I'm trying to do exactly that in parallel with some other things.  What you mentioned is exactly what the State Police officer and a title company suggested.  The original owner on the title seems quite reluctant to help me.  All he did was e-mail me a clean PDF of the title.  Useless, and I never asked for that.  I gave him the forms and postage and fee to request a duplicate title, but he didn't respond other than the PDF.  The attorney didn't sign off on the title, but there was some chicken scratch from some intermediate sale that fell through on the back of the title, which ruined it.  Otherwise, I would have tried to get that "bill of sale" long ago from the original owner like you said.

ThumperPaul wrote on 04/26/23 at 09:22:51:

A couple weeks turned into another month.  I finally have the new seller title in hand over 6 months post-purchase.  I hate UPS, but that's another story.  I think my paperwork is now bulletproof, but I'll soon find out what nitpicking and obstructions Louisiana has in store for me.