How to fill out Connecticut J-23T

The form for proving something about a car you no longer own. Six things can be ordered on it at $20 each, and two of them matter to a seller: a copy of the bill of sale you filed with the transfer, and a copy of the cancelled title showing your assignment. Both are what you reach for when a property tax bill or an insurance compliance notice turns up on a vehicle you sold last spring and your own copies have gone.

Written against J-23T (Rev 5-2022), issued under Conn. Gen. Stat. s. 14-192(a)(3) and (a)(10), declared under the penalties of false statement per s. 53a-157b. This is a two-page form and the second page carries the list of purpose codes the declaration on page one commits you to. Read the codes before you tick anything - the declaration is given under the false statement penalty and it is about what you will do with the record afterwards.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank J-23T from the portal.ct.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.

Step 1 · the form itself Blank J-23T — Copy Records - Title Records Request PDF at portal.ct.gov · new tab

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is the actual J-23T, rendered from the PDF the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles publishes and completed end to end: letterhead, every field, and the blocks at the foot.

Amber — you write it
Grey — not yours to fill
Numbered — explained below

A completed Connecticut Copy Records - Title Records Request, form J-23T. The Bill of Sale tick is marked at $20. Section 1 names Oberlander, Marguerite T of 88 Cliff Street, Willimantic, CT 06226. Section 2 gives the vehicle identification number 2HKRM4H74FH612508, the make Honda, the year 2015, the registration plate number BX24857 and an as-of date. The applicant block at the foot repeats the name and address, and the quantity, unit price and amount columns down the right show one item at twenty dollars. — Filled in the way a seller uses it - one tick, one vehicle, twenty dollars - to retrieve the bill of sale filed with a transfer when a property tax bill arrives on a car that is long gone. The five unticked request lines and the attorney block are greyed. Every name and number here is invented for the sample.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
You fill this in
Tick what you actually want
Six requests at $20 each. For a seller, Bill of Sale or Canceled Title are the two that prove a transfer happened.
Watch out: Two of the six carry a bold warning that they are not a duplicate title, and the foot of the sheet repeats it. If you want a title, this is the wrong form.
2
You fill this in
Section 1, Owner's Name and Address
The registered owner of the vehicle whose record you want - which on a sale you are disputing is you.
Watch out: Use the name as it stood on the registration at the time, not as it is now. The record is being searched as it was filed.
3
You fill this in
Section 2, Vehicle Identification Number
Seventeen characters. The form's own capitals say a VIN must be provided for each request or the request may not be filled.
Watch out: If you no longer have anything with the VIN on it, an old insurance document or a service invoice will carry it.
4
You fill this in
Section 2, Make, Year, Plate Number and As Of date
Four boxes that narrow the search. The as-of date matters where you want the record as it stood on a particular day.
Watch out: For a property tax argument, the as-of date to use is the date of sale - that is the day you are trying to prove something about.
5
You fill this in
The purpose code
One of ten codes from the list on the reverse, written into the request section.
Watch out: The declaration underneath binds you to use the record only for the purpose you have named. Read the list on page two before ticking anything on page one.
6
You fill this in
The applicant block at the foot
Your name, mailing address and licence or federal employer ID number - and a street address as well if you have given a PO box.
Watch out: Two forms of identification go in the envelope with it. A request with no ID is returned rather than queried.
7
You fill this in
The fee column and the total
Quantity, unit price and amount down the right-hand side, added up by you.
Watch out: Certification is an extra $20 per item and you only need it where a court or a town assessor has asked for a certified copy. Most tax disputes do not.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
Title Records, check (✓) request(s) below	Six ticks down the left of the sheet, each at $20, each naming which sections have to be filled in.
Title Record	A copy of the computer record showing title, owner and lien information. The form warns in bold: this is NOT a duplicate title.
Application for Title	A copy of the application for the current title, form H-13. Also flagged as NOT a duplicate title.
Canceled Title	A copy of the front and back of the cancelled title - which is the document that shows your assignment. Records available: current plus previous four years.
Title History (Verification of title history as of a specific date) Enter date	With a date box beside it.
Bill of Sale (Copy of bill of sale if available)	The seller's other useful tick.
Miscellaneous Request (Please specify)	Section 3 rather than sections 1 and 2, and a free-text line.
Certified copy of uncertified items	A separate tick on the right: add $20.00 to unit price per item.
Request Section, and the code line	Applicant, read instructions and specify code 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9 or 10 - the reason the record is being requested, from the list on the reverse.
Declaration	I declare under the penalties of false statement as set forth in Section 53a-157b of the Connecticut General Statutes that I will use the information obtained only for a purpose stated on the reverse of this form.
Section 1, Owner's Name and Owner's Address	The registered owner of the vehicle whose record is wanted.
Section 2, Vehicle Identification Number, Make, Year, Registration Plate Number, As Of (date)	The vehicle block. The form's warning at the head of the request section is that a vehicle identification number must be provided for each request or the request may not be filled.
Section 3, Miscellaneous Request	Two free-text lines for anything not on the tick list.
Applicant block at the foot	Customer number, licence or federal employer ID number, name and mailing address - and the instruction that if using a PO Box, street address must also be included.
QTY, Unit Price, Amount and Total	A small fee grid down the right-hand side, added up by the applicant.

What gets this one rejected

•A request with no VIN. The instruction is printed across the request section in capitals: a vehicle identification number must be provided for each request or the request may not be filled.
•No identification enclosed. The department asks for copies of two forms of identification as stated on the form.
•A cheque for the wrong amount. Everything on the tick list is $20, certification adds another $20 per item, and the applicant totals it themselves.
•No purpose code. The declaration binds you to use the information only for a purpose stated on the reverse, and the code is how you say which one.
•Asking for a duplicate title on this form. Two of the six ticks carry the department's own warning that they are NOT a duplicate title, and the foot of the sheet repeats it in capitals: please note this is not an application for a duplicate title.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•For a tax dispute, ask for the bill of sale rather than a title search. The department's own tip: if evidence is needed for tax purposes that ownership of a motor vehicle has been transferred, don't request a title search. Instead, request a photocopy of the cancelled title.
•Four to six weeks for a bill of sale. The bill-of-sale page's estimate, with a request to include a copy of the original registration showing the date of issue to begin the search.
•The cancelled title reaches back four years. The records available column for that tick reads current plus previous 4 years. Older than that and there may be nothing to send.
•A title search tells you who owns it now. A title search will verify who the current titled owner of record of a motor vehicle is in the State of Connecticut - which is a different question from proving that you once did.
•Ask for extras in Section 3. The department's guidance is that odometer readings or a complete ownership history are noted in Section 3, Miscellaneous Request, rather than assumed to come with a search.

Every line here was read off J-23T (Rev 5-2022) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Connecticut Department of Motor Vehicles pages. This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ, theirs governs.

Back to all Connecticut seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Connecticut involves.

How to fill out Connecticut J-23T

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

Tick what you actually want

Section 1, Owner's Name and Address

Section 2, Vehicle Identification Number

Section 2, Make, Year, Plate Number and As Of date

The purpose code

The applicant block at the foot

The fee column and the total

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

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