Commonly Asked Questions
When I Buy A Motor Vehicle?
- No alterations should be
made on a Certificate of Title. If this is done, the title becomes null
and void and a replacement title will have to be obtained.
- Do not fill in any part
of the Assignment or Application (on the reverse side of the title) unless
it is done in the presence of a notary public or another duly authorized
officer with power to administer oaths. All signatures must be notarized.
- Your Certificate of Title
must be procured within 30 days after delivery of the motor vehicle or
a $5.00 penalty will be assessed.
- Always make a physical inspection
of any motor vehicle you buy, checking the serial number to see that it
corresponds with the serial number on the Certificate of Title.
- Your title can be issued
in any County in the State of Ohio.
When I Sell A Motor
Vehicle?
- Do not complete the assignment
on the reverse side of the Certificate of Title until a bona fide sale
has been made. The buyer's full name, address and purchase price must
be inserted before you sign the assignment.
- Ohio law requires the seller
or transferor of a vehicle to execute an Odometer Statement.
Duplicate Titles?
- If the original Ohio title
is lost, stolen or destroyed, you may obtain a Duplicate Title. If the
original is recovered after issuance of the duplicate, it must be returned
to the Auto Title office for cancellation.
Memorandum Certificate?
- You can not transfer ownership
of a motor vehicle with a Memorandum Certificate of Title. It is issued
only for the purpose of obtaining license plates when the original title
is held by the lienholder.
Salvaged And Modified
Vehicles?
- When you dismantle, destroy
or change a motor vehicle in such a manner that is no longer the motor
vehicle described on the Certificate of Title, you must surrender the
Certificate of Title to the Clerk of Courts for cancellation.
- When you sell a motor vehicle
to a Salvage Dealer, you must surrender the Certificate of Title to that
dealer with the Assignment ( on the back of the title) completely executed.
Trailers?
- A Certificate of Tide is
not required on any Utility Trailer weighing less than 4,000 pounds or
a boat trailer. To obtain license plates you must get a weight card from
a license bureau and have the trailer weighed.
- Utility Trailers and Commercial
Trailers or Semi-Trailers weighing in excess of 4,000 pounds must have
a Certificate of Title. To sell, transfer or mortgage such trailers the
Certificate of Title must be presented.
Manufactured Homes?
- The owner of a manufactured
home is required to obtain a Certificate of Title. All Manufactured Home
Titles must have a Tax Approval Stamp from the County Treasurer's Office
and a conveyance stamp from the Auditor's Office where the Manufactured
Home is located at the time of purchase.
Recreational Vehicles? - Recreational
vehicles are defined by law as vehicular portable structures designed
and constructed to be used as temporary dwellings for travel, recreational
and vacation use.
Recreational vehicles are
titled as travel trailers, motor homes, or truck campers, depending upon
whether they are self-propelled, not self-propelled, or designed to be
attached to a motor vehicle.
Mortgages on a Motor
Vehicle?
- If you use your motor vehicle
as collateral for a loan, always insist upon getting a memorandum Certificate
of Title with which you can obtain license plates.
- Upon satisfaction of the
mortgage, you will receive the original Certificate of Title from the
lending institution properly discharged with the lien canceled by the
Clerk of Courts.
Power of Attorney?
- No Person can sign for you
without a notarized Power of Attorney. This form is available at all Auto
Title offices.
Titling Boats and Outboard
Motors?
- A Certificate of Title is
required on all boats 14 feet long or greater and all outboard motors
10 H.P. or greater. Canoes and kayaks are not titled.
- Watercraft titles will be
issued by the Clerk of Courts in any County, regardless of the location
of the boat or residence.
When I Buy a Motor
Vehicle in Ohio that Carries an Out-of-State Registration?
- If a car is purchased in
Ohio that carries an out-of-state registration, it is not necessary for
the seller to obtain an Ohio Certificate of Title prior to transfer. Notarization
may be made by an Ohio Notary Public in good standing on the Certificate
of Tide from another state, provided the seller has a valid Certificate
of Title and makes the proper assignment to you. This transaction can
also be handled at the Clerk of Courts Auto Title office.
When I Buy a Motor Vehicle
Out-of-State that Carries on Out-Of-State Registration?
- lf a motor vehicle is purchased
in another state from a prjvate party, it is necessary that the seller
assign the title to you and have it notarized (only if notarization is
required in your State). The notarization may be made by a Notary Public
of that state or by an Ohio Notary Public. Be sure the Notary Public's
Seal is affixed. If the care is registered in a non-title state, the seller's
Certificate of Registration with a notarized Bill of Sale is required.
Out-0f-State Vehicle
Inspection?
- Any vehicle transferred
with an out-of-state title to an Ohio Title must be physically inspected.
The inspection fee is $4.75 ($3.25 to the inspection station and $1.50
to the Clerk of Courts).
- Locations of inspection
stations in Guernsey County may be obtained by calling the Clerk of Courts
Auto Title Department at 740-432-9232.
Sales and Use Tax
- According to the Ohio Sales
Tax Law you must state the purchase price of the vehicle. The Clerk of
Courts is required to collect tax for the State of Ohio based on this
price.
- A 6.5% tax must be paid
by a resident of Ohio when purchasing a motor vehciel outside the State
of Ohio. This applies to the purchase of a car for use or storage in Ohio.
Payment of Ohio Sales
and Use Tax
- Section 4505.06 of the Ohio
Revised Code requires Ohio Sales Tax Use Tax and Title Fees must be paid
(in cash or check) to the Clerk of Courts before an application for an
automobile title can be accepted.
Guernsey County Clerk
of Courts Auto Title Division
224 Dewey Avenue, Room 6,
Cambridge, Ohio
Phone 432-9235 and fax 432-9239
Hours are 8:30 to 5:00 on
Monday and 8:30 to 4:00 Tuesday thru Friday.
Online
Ohio
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