Replacement titles are issued for vehicles if a title is lost, mutilated or illegible. Substitute titles are issued when information on the previously issued title needs to be changed.
How to Get a Replacement Title
- Get your replacement title online or
Bring your current registration card and your driver's license or ID card to a customer service center. Complete either an "Application for Transfer and Supplemental Liens (VSA 66) or an "Application for Replacement and Substitute Titles" (VSA 67).
If there are multiple owners, only one needs to apply for the replacement title. If the owner of the vehicle is deceased, the surviving legal heir, executor or administrator of the estate can complete and sign the VSA 66 on behalf of the deceased. You must also submit the certified or notarized death certificate and one of the following:- A copy of the will and a completed "Authority to Transfer Virginia Title Certification" (VSA 24)
- A court-issued document or copy of the will appointing the executor or administrator
- A completed VSA 24 as proof of legal heir, if there is no will and no executor or administrator has been appointed.
- An affidavit indicating that the deceased's estate falls under the small estate laws (currently, the value of the estate must be less than $50,000).
If you are a joint owner with the right of survivorship and your co-owner is deceased, you may apply for a substitute title, to remove the deceased owner's name, without first applying for replacement title.
- Pay the replacement title fee.
Receiving the Replacement Title
If your vehicle is free of liens, you will receive a replacement title for your vehicle. If your vehicle originally had a lien on it, you must show that the lien has been satisfied. If the lien has not been satisfied, the replacement title will be sent to the lienholder of record. Once a replacement title is issued, all prior titles are invalid.