Quote History Originally Posted By drobs:
I believe you just need to have the Missouri State Highway Patrol to run the vin for you to make sure it's not stolen.
With that report and the bill of sale, you ought to be able to register it.
I have a boat motor, I need them to do that on. Have been putting it off.
The boat & trailer all have titles, but not the motor.
View Quote
I'm beginning the process tomorrow. Well, I guess technically I began the process last week. I went to the local DMV office with the VIN and had them confirm no prior title application / registration. She worried me a bit by saying "I can't really say much, but you may want to call Jeff City on this before you go any further". I called Jeff City, gave them the VIN and a recap of the convo with my local office. Long story short, she said the original purchaser didn't pay tax on the bike (hence why it was a MSO vs a title). She said "that won't affect what you're doing with it, though. That's probably what the local office saw." She confirmed it meets the bonded title requirements of >= 7 years old, value of $3k or less, and no prior MO title or application for title.
I'll print out my forms tomorrow and call Jeff City to schedule an appointment for the HiPo inspection. I still need to confirm the requirement for proof of bond, but Google shows a bunch of MO companies that offer title bonds. Local DMV office did confirm that nothing about the bonded title process will go through them, it will all be handled directly via Jeff City. I assume this means I'll be mailing a packet of docs to them, but I"ll cross that bridge when I get there.
I think it'll be a pretty straightforward process. The only thing that would make it a PITA as a replacement for the VT process is the requirement that it have no (or conflicting) prior MO title. I assume if it had a prior title at any point, and there were no conflicting information, DOR would say "sorry, get the current title holder to request a duplicate and sign over to you."
That was one of the biggest benefits of VT, IMO. It allowed some vehicle that had been sitting in a field for 30-50 years to get back on the road without some sort of near-impossible sleuthing. I may see if I can find out what must be submitted to find the last registered owner of a vehicle. Not sure if that's "a thing" or not.