Alabama at a glance
| What | Alabama |
|---|---|
| Form | MVT 12-1, Application for Replacement Title |
| Fee | $15, non-refundable. County offices can charge more; Clarke County charges $18 |
| How long | Titles are normally issued within 10 to 15 business days of the Department of Revenue getting a complete application |
| Faster option | None. Alabama doesn’t print titles the same day |
| Ways to apply | Online or in person |
| Who can apply | The owner or the owner’s legal representative. Anyone signing for the owner needs papers that back it up, like a power of attorney, letters testamentary or a court order. |
| ID | The state’s pages don’t say |
| Loan on the car | The lender fills in the application and gets the new title. Paid it off? Include the lender’s lien release and the title comes to you without the lien. |
Where Alabama’s $15 fee sits among the 50 states and DC
State fee for a duplicate car title in the 50 states and DC: Under $10, 9; $10 to $19.99, 19; $20 to $39.99, 13; $40 to $59.99, 5; $60 or more, 5. Alabama charges $15.
Step by step
Find the VIN
You don’t need the lost title to find the 17-character VIN: it’s on the lower left of the windshield and on your registration card, and it may be on your insurance card.Check for a loan on the car
Still paying? Start with your lender: it fills in the application and gets the new title. Paid off the loan but the lien never came off? Get a lien release statement from the lender first. An electronic title can be printed on paper once, free; after that, a lost one needs this replacement.Fill in Form MVT 12-1
The form is the Application for Replacement Title.Send it with the fee
- Online: Through the Department of Revenue’s Public Title Portal, where the owner or the lienholder can upload the application and pay.
- In person: At any designated agent, such as your county’s license plate office (the license commissioner, probate judge or tax collector, depending on the county).
Good to know in Alabama
- To have the new title mailed to someone other than you or the lienholder, the owner has to sign and date the application.
- In Clarke County, a lien recorded 4 or more years ago can be removed automatically on a vehicle 12 or more model years old.
Title from another state?
Apply to the state that issued it. Find yours on the lost car title page for every state, or go straight to Illinois, New York, Texas or Wisconsin.