Dustin, I live in Virginia, so I know a "little" about vehicle titles. It
kind of depends on the state the vehicle is coming from. If a particular
state allows a BOS as a legal document, then I think Virginia is usually
compliant with following the lead of the state the car is from. I think they
have records of how to deal with each states situations. I've heard Alabama
doesn't even USE vehicle titles, only BOS documents. So Virginia HAS to allow
retitling based on any legal Alabama documents. There's actually a website
that promotes getting any vehicle a title THRU Alabama as that's an easy out.
You don't even have to take the vehicle there, only temporarily "transfer"
ownership to a car dealer there, who then issues you a Bill of Sale saying he
sold you the car. THis costs $150. But, in Virginia, only way to be sure is
to call them and find out what their State-to-State requirements are.
Sometimes they require a registered letter to the last known owner, and since
the PO is dead, then the registered mail would be returned unopened to the
sender, and that is taken in along with some other paperwork to fill out. I
had to do that with a '55 TF Suburban that the last known owner was in West
Virginia, but the truck was bought from a salvage yard in Virginia. I had to
do a title search, send a Registered letter to the last owner, and bring the
returned RL unopened along with other forms to get title to the vehicle. It's
actually EASIER than trying to get title to a junked vehicle IN STATE, which
then requires you place an ad in a local newspaper for two weeks stating your
intentions, blah, blah, blah. Can get convoluted in VA, depending on the
situation! But with it being out of state, it should just require a little
extra paperwork. Best thing these new owners can do is to call first. They
MAY have to have a title search done by the state the car was in, then use
that address to send a RL I think it took me 6 weeks to get mine, and
really not that much extra money, but I DID have to go to the West Virginia
DMV to find the PO's address. Tell them call the DMV to get details for the
state the car came from , a BOS may be all they need.
Jerry in (northern) Virginia
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