Fix the title first: selling a car in Riverside County when the paperwork is wrong

Lost, stolen or damaged title: the REG 227

A lost, stolen, missing or unreadable California title is handled on the Application for Replacement or Transfer of Title, REG 227. Tick Replacement Title and fill in Sections 1 to 3 for a new title in your name. Or tick Transfer of Title with Replacement: you complete Sections 1 to 4, the buyer completes Sections 6 and 7, and the sale happens on the form.

Section 3 warns: "Issuance of a replacement title cancels the original title." If you now live at an address the DMV does not have, file in person with your registration card or renewal notice and your license or ID card. If the title was replaced in the last 90 days, the CHP must verify the vehicle. Only a lienholder's release, in Section 5, needs a notary.

As of November 8, 2026, the DMV fee schedule lists $28 for a replacement title. The DMV takes a REG 227 in person or by mail. The county's field offices in Riverside, Riverside East, Norco, Hemet, Temecula, Indio, Palm Desert, Palm Springs and Blythe list title transfers among their services. Murrieta Express lists duplicate titles too, but books no appointments and takes only cards. A REG 227 sale that needs an odometer disclosure also needs a REG 262 from the seller (see the seller paperwork guide).

Source: DMV: REG 227 form (REV. 9/2024); DMV: title transfers and changes; DMV: how to change vehicle ownership; DMV: registration and service fees; DMV: Murrieta Express office; DMV: Riverside office.

A bank or credit union still on the title

A lender listed as legal owner has to release its interest before the title can pass to a buyer; in a private sale the DMV has the seller and the lienholder sign and the buyer submit the title. The release depends on how the lender holds the title:

• Paper title. The lender signs the lienholder line on the front, or a notarized Lien Satisfied form, REG 166, which cannot be used for a paperless title or a car two model years old or newer.
• Electronic title. Under the DMV's Electronic Lien and Title program you hold only a registration card. Once you pay off the lien, the DMV mails you a sole-owner paper title; its manual gives eight days as the average wait.
• Newer car, lost title. For a car two model years old or newer, no release on a REG 227 or REG 166 is accepted; the lender applies for the replacement title.

A title lost after the lender released it, on a car three model years or older, needs a notarized lender release on the REG 227 or a notarized lien satisfied form. If the lender cannot be found, check the DMV's list of lenders that closed, merged or changed names. After that, the manual asks for a returned certified letter and a REG 256 stating the car's value, plus a bond when the lender was a person or a closed dealer.

Source: DMV: title transfers and changes; DMV: how to change vehicle ownership; DMV: REG 166 form; DMV manual: Electronic Lien and Title program; DMV manual: replacement titles; DMV manual: titles lost after a lien release; DMV manual: unavailable legal owners.

When the owner on the title has died

When the sole owner on a California title has died, an heir can transfer the car with a copy of the death certificate and the Affidavit for Transfer Without Probate, REG 5. On the form (REV. 12/2024) the signer declares:

• that "at least 40 days have elapsed since the death of the decedent";
• that no probate case is open or has been held in California, and nothing else needs probate;
• that unsecured creditors are paid or have no claim;
• that the decedent's California property, leaving out what Probate Code section 13050 excludes, is worth no more than $166,250 for a death before April 1, 2022, or $184,500 for a death on or after that date.

Signers are heirs or beneficiaries under a will, a trustee of the decedent's trust, or an heir's conservator or guardian.

The California courts' self-help guide says the limits change every three years and lists $208,850 for deaths on or after April 1, 2025, which this revision of REG 5 does not print, so ask the DMV which figure applies. The guide also leaves cars, boats and mobile homes out of the estate total. Over the limit, or with probate open, the car goes through the probate case in the superior court's probate division.

Source: DMV: title transfers and changes; DMV: REG 5 affidavit (REV. 12/2024); California Courts: simple ways to transfer property; California Courts: property after someone dies.

Two names on one title: AND, OR or a slash

Check the joining word. The DMV says: "When the names are joined by the word 'or,' one owner can sell the vehicle without the other's signature." AND, or a slash, needs every owner to sign. When an application named neither word, the DMV prints AND as a slash. Its manual treats AND/OR like OR.

If a co-owner has died, the wording still decides:

• AND or a slash: ownership passes to the survivor, but the deceased owner's interest is released only by an heir with a REG 5 or by an administrator or executor with court letters. A survivor who is also the heir uses the REG 5 and signs the title twice, as owner and as heir.
• OR: the survivor's signature releases everyone, unless Tenants in Common or COMPRO follows the names.
• Tenants in Common: the deceased owner's share goes to their estate and moves by court letters or a REG 5.
• JTRS: the survivor signs and includes a copy of the death certificate.

A living AND co-owner who will not sign holds up the sale.

Source: DMV: how to change vehicle ownership; DMV: REG 227 form; DMV manual: co-owners.

A name that does not match, an out-of-state title, or no ownership papers

Name mismatch. The title must show the owner's true full name. After a name change, print the new name on the back of the title (or use a REG 227) and fill in the Name Statement on a REG 256; a misspelling is corrected with the same statement. A name change or correction on its own carries no fee. De La Cruz printing as DELACRUZ is not an error; the DMV runs divided surnames together. A mistake on the title goes on a REG 101, signed by whoever made it.

Out-of-state title. If your registration card says Nontransferable/No California Title Issued, the DMV says a REG 227 will not work: get a title from the state where the car was last titled, and a bond may be required if that state cannot issue one. An original out-of-state title is endorsed to the buyer without a notary, and the buyer registers it in person, since the DMV must inspect it.

No ownership papers. When the usual evidence is missing, the DMV manual requires a surety bond, REG 5057, or an alternative if the car is worth $5,000 or more, is nontransferable, or the lender's release cannot be obtained.

Bringing one of these title snags to Sell My Car Riverside County? Name it in a request, along with what the title shows today, and a person calls you back about it; or call (951) 404-1640 to talk it through.

Source: DMV manual: change or correction of owner name; DMV manual: REG 101; DMV: title transfers and changes; DMV manual: nonresident evidence of ownership; DMV: out-of-state title transfer checklist; DMV manual: ownership surety bond.

Worked example: lost title, old loan, two names

Example, built from the rules above: a 2014 sedan in Riverside, title lost, loan long paid, a credit union still listed as legal owner, two owners joined by a slash.

1. Ask the credit union for a notarized release in Section 5 of a REG 227, or a notarized REG 166; a lien held electronically is released through the ELT program instead.
2. Tick Transfer of Title with Replacement and complete Sections 1 to 3.
3. The slash reads as AND, so both owners sign Section 4.
4. A 2014 model needs its mileage disclosed, so add a REG 262.
5. The buyer completes Sections 6 and 7 on the same form.
6. File the release of liability within 5 days of the sale (release of liability).

Source: DMV: REG 227 form; DMV manual: titles lost after a lien release; DMV: title transfers and changes; DMV manual: Electronic Lien and Title program.

Once the title is sorted out

With the title problem fixed, the California seller paperwork guide covers the rest of a Riverside County sale, from the bill of sale to the smog certificate. A title case not covered here can go in a request to Sell My Car Riverside County, or be talked through by phone at (951) 404-1640.