The end of the road, formally. Where a certificate of title is faulty, lost or destroyed, or where an abandoned vehicle has ended up in your possession, this is how Indiana authorises you to sell, give away or scrap it without ever obtaining a title. The approved certificate is what the salvage recycler needs to see before they will take the car, and the application costs $4.00.
Written against State Form 55018 (R7 / 4-26), issued under IC 9-22-5-3.
Do not scrap the car first and apply afterwards. The certificate is the recycler's authority to take a vehicle with no title, and a yard that accepts one without it is a yard with a problem of its own.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank State Form 55018 from the forms.in.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is the actual State Form 55018, rendered from the PDF the Indiana Bureau 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
Filled in by the owner rather than by a yard, so section 1B is grey throughout. The written statement in the middle is the part that actually decides the application - everything above it is identification and everything below it is a signature.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
Section 1A, and the telephone number
Name, mailing address, telephone number and e-mail.
Watch out: The telephone number is marked required, which on this form is not boilerplate - the BMV rings applicants about certificate of authority applications more often than about anything else in the set.
2
You fill this in
Decide who is applying
Section 1B is for a salvage recycler applying on behalf of the applicant in section 1A.
Watch out: If a yard has offered to handle it, they fill in 1B with their own Dealer Number. If you are doing it yourself, leave the whole section empty.
3
You fill this in
Preferred Method of Delivery
One tick, USPS Mail or E-Mail.
Watch out: E-mail is faster and the BMV publishes separate guidance on submitting these electronically. It also means the recycler can be sent a copy the moment it arrives.
4
You fill this in
Section 2, the vehicle
Identification number - or the No Vehicle Identification Number tick beside it - then Year, Make, Model, Type and Color.
Watch out: If you tick the no-number box, a police inspection has to come with the application. The condition is printed inside the box itself.
5
You fill this in
Reason for Request
Abandoned Vehicle, or Certificate of Title is faulty, lost or destroyed.
Watch out: These are genuinely different claims. Abandoned means somebody else's vehicle left with you; faulty or lost means your own vehicle and a document problem.
6
You fill this in
Write the statement
Why no title is available, how the vehicle came into your possession if that applies, and why it is being disposed of.
Watch out: Attach additional sheets if necessary is on the form for a reason. This is the only place you get to make your case, and a full page is not too much.
7
You fill this in
Sign, and post it with the fee
Signature of Representative, printed name and date, then the packet and the $4.00 fee to the Indianapolis address at the top right.
Watch out: The affirmation on this one goes further than most: it adds that no material fact has been withheld. Leaving out an inconvenient part of how the car came to you is exactly what that phrase covers.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
SECTION 1A - APPLICANT INFORMATION
Name of applicants, mailing address, city, state, ZIP, a telephone number marked required, and an e-mail line.
SECTION 1B - SALVAGE RECYCLER INFORMATION
Filled in only where a recycler is applying on behalf of the applicant in section 1A: the recycler's company name, address, Dealer Number and contact details.
Preferred Method of Delivery
Two boxes, USPS Mail or E-Mail, which decide how the approved certificate comes back.
SECTION 2 - VEHICLE INFORMATION
The Vehicle Identification Number with a tick beside it reading No Vehicle Identification Number, then Year, Make, Model, Type and Color.
Reason for Request
Two ticks: Abandoned Vehicle, or Certificate of Title is faulty, lost or destroyed.
The statement
A free-text area asking for a concise statement regarding the reason a certificate of title is unavailable, how the vehicle came into your possession, and the reasons for disposal - with an invitation to attach additional sheets.
Signature of Representative
Signature, printed name and date, under a perjury affirmation which adds that no material fact has been withheld.
What gets this one rejected
•A vehicle you intend to sell to a private buyer. This authorises disposal - selling, giving away, or scrapping - not a transfer of title to somebody who wants to drive it.
•A missing telephone number. It is marked required on the form, in both section 1A and section 1B.
•No explanation. The statement area is where the application is decided, and a one-line answer is not a concise statement regarding the reason a certificate of title is unavailable.
•A blank identification number with the No Vehicle Identification Number box unticked. If there is no number, the tick is the answer - and a Physical Inspection of a Vehicle or Watercraft completed by a police officer has to come with it.
•Sending it to a branch. Instruction 3 says the completed application, supporting documentation and the $4.00 application fee must be mailed to the address printed at the top right.
•Ticking neither reason. Abandoned and faulty-or-lost are different applications with different evidence behind them.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•The recycler can apply for you. Section 1B exists for exactly that, and it asks for the recycler's Dealer Number so the BMV knows who is acting.
•The approved certificate is what changes hands. An approved Certificate of Authority is provided to the automotive salvage recycler or other appropriate facility when disposing of the vehicle.
•It can arrive by e-mail. The delivery preference boxes are near the top of section 1B, and the BMV publishes separate guidance on submitting a Certificate of Authority electronically.
Every line here was read off State Form 55018 (R7 / 4-26) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Indiana Bureau 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.
