Help with missing title.

A friend of mine has a problem with his mid-1960s Fiat 1500 Cabriolet that was imported from the USA several years ago by somebody else. The car is now restored and needs to be registered. The car still carries the California licence plates from 1972. He has the bill of sale but the title has been lost! Is there anything he can do to obtain a copy of the title? Are there any authorities that can be contacted in California or..? The car can't be registered here without the title.

Very difficult with the "Privacy Of Information Act". First step is to contact the previous owner on the bill of sale and see if a duplicate title could be issued. One word of advise.....NEVER restore a car until the paperwork is completed!

Good luck!

It's easy to get a title, in California, for a car that has been unused and unregistered for that length of time. The problem is, the car has to be inspected by the CHP. Your friend might be screwed

If you get a hard time from Finland, maybe you can get a title from an adjoining (easier to deal with) country and then transfer it?

There are services that offer this. I was looking into it at one time for something I was thinking of buying. As I recall they will get you a title from either Maine or Alabama for a cost. It was not that cheap, but it can be done rather quickly. Seems like some states will take revenue any way they can. If you notice a lot of over the road trailers have Maine tags, and they never even were in the state.

Over the road trailers are titled in Maine because it's cheaper. You can't get a car title from Maine unless you already have a title in your home state. Not as easy as it once was.

There may be ways to obtain a title BUT, remember, the person with the earliest title owns the car!

It is usually the Finish work that is the hardest on a car restoration.

Bernie