I live in Las Vegas,NV and purchased a '51 Chevy 3/4 ton utility truck this past April. The party I bought it from had it since Dec. '05, only used it twice in a tradeshow display, was never street driven during that period of time and was never licensed here in Nevada. He had purchased it from someone in California and that registered owner did not have a title. He had signed a "Missing Title Request" form but that form was never submitted to the DMV. When I went to our local DMV office to get the truck registered, they told me that they could not issue me a title. His instructions were for me to contact the California DMV where it was last registered and try to find out if the truck was still registered. Some states don't keep old vehicles titles on file more than 3 to 5 years if there's no renewal. If this was the case, then all I had to do is bring the response from the CA DMV to the NV DMV and they would issue me a new title. If the CA DMV said they still had the truck on file then I would have to go to step 2. Through the CA DMV website I printed the proper request form, sent $15.00 money order and 3 weeks later received documents showing the last 3 registered owners. Step 2 was to contact the last registered owner at his last known address requesting him to send for a missing title explaining him the circumstances. This would have to be done through certified mail with return receipt requested. If he responded and agreed to procure the title then this would be the document that the local DMV would need. If he did not respond within 15 days then I would bring that signed receipt as a document to get a new NV title. If the letter was to come back undelivered then I would bring that letter unopened to the DMV. In my case it came back undelivered with no forwarding address. That's the document that I have to take to the DMV after I get VIN checked.

If you haven't tried to get the title yet you may want to try this route if it's applicable in your state. Good luck

Paul B.

1951 Chevy 3600 3/4-Ton Utility Truck
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