Georgia Replacement Title and Title Transfers

By Mohamed SkhiriUpdated November 10, 2026Checked against the Georgia Department of Revenue's title pages

Georgia title replacement: two ways to apply

The Department of Revenue's Motor Vehicle Division issues Georgia titles, and it replaces a lost, stolen or damaged one for $8. The replacement carries a legend showing that it's a replacement title. You can get one two ways:

• Online with MyMVD. If your title is eligible for the service, sign in to a MyMVD account, pay the fee online, and the replacement is mailed to you. It's the fastest way to replace a Georgia title.
• At your County Tag Office. Bring a completed Title/Tag Application, form MV-1, the damaged title if you still have it, and the $8 fee. This is the route when the online service won't take your title.

Either way, the Georgia lost title application is the MV-1 itself; there's no separate form just for a missing title.

If a loan was paid off

A lien that still shows on the record after you've paid the loan holds up a replacement. Bring an original Form T-4, the lien or security interest release, for each lienholder recorded on the original title. The T-4 is what clears each satisfied lender from the record.

Title lost in the mail

If a new title never reached you, Georgia waives the $8 for a replacement, but only within 60 days of the title's issue date, using the DOR's affidavit for a certificate of title lost in the mail (T-216). Past 60 days the request needs the fee like any other replacement title in Georgia.

Before you apply

A few minutes of preparation saves a second trip. Find your current registration, which shows the plate and helps the clerk find the record. Check that the name on your ID matches the name the title was issued in; a change of name or a co-owner who has since died adds paperwork. If someone else is applying for you, ask the County Tag Office what authorization it needs. And if the old title turns up after you've applied, keep it out of circulation: the newer document is the one on record.

Check title status in GA

The DOR's online title services include a Title Status check. Use it to follow a title or replacement you've applied for, or before buying, to confirm the Georgia title status matches what the seller tells you. It's the simplest way to see whether a title is still being processed or has already been issued. For a fuller history on a car you don't own, the DOR's form MV-20 sells a $5 title history; our Georgia license plate lookup guide explains that form and its privacy rules.

How to get a title for a car in GA after buying it

If you bought a car privately and need the title in your name, that's a transfer. Here's how to obtain a car title in Georgia after a casual sale:

1. Check the seller's title before you pay. Your name has to be written in as the buyer. Georgia makes delivering or accepting a title assigned in blank, with no buyer named, a misdemeanor.
2. Go to your County Tag Office within 7 days of the purchase, as the DOR's casual-sale page directs.
3. Bring the signed title and the Georgia application for title, form MV-1, along with your ID and proof of insurance, and pay the title and tag fees and any tax due.

Sellers, the title must be signed over to the named buyer, never left blank. And if your title is lost, replace it first: the buyer can't apply with a title that doesn't exist. The checklist above prints the list for selling, buying, gifts and new residents.

Georgia title FAQ