Undoing a junked title, and the whole outcome turns on which of four boxes is ticked in Section 1. Two of them describe a vehicle that was never really a wreck - junked in haste by a previous owner, or marked as junk by clerk error - and those come back clean. Two of them are transfers to somebody who intends to rebuild the car, and those bring a permanent salvage brand in the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System with them.
Written against TC 96-352 (Rev 02/2023), issued under KRS 186A.295 and KRS 186A.090(1)(b).
The order matters. A title junked by a previous owner has to be reactivated before it can be transferred, and the person who junked it is the only person named on it - so a car bought on a bill of sale from someone who junked its title first is a much harder problem than it looks.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank TC 96-352 from the transportation.ky.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is the actual TC 96-352, rendered from the PDF the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet, Division of Motor Vehicle Licensing 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
The first box, which is the version that comes back clean. Ticking either of the two rebuild boxes instead would bring the salvage brand and the rebuilt process with it, and the recognition paragraph underneath says so.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
Section 1: choose one of four, and understand which
Junked by a previous owner on an undamaged vehicle, clerk error, transfer to a dealer for rebuilding, or transfer to an individual for rebuilding.
Watch out: The first two give you a vehicle back. The second two give you a project with a permanent brand. It is the most consequential tick in the Kentucky set.
2
You fill this in
Name yourself as the requester
Your name in Section 2, with a second name line if the record carries two owners.
Watch out: Only the owner named on the junked title can reactivate it. That sentence is printed on the junking form, and it is why the previous owner's cooperation may be needed.
3
You fill this in
Year, make, model and seventeen squares
The vehicle description, with the identification number one character per box.
Watch out: Copy from the cancelled certificate or from a registration receipt, not from the vehicle's door pillar - a rebuilt or re-stamped number will not match the record.
4
You fill this in
The title number
One rule, under the vehicle line, and the clerk needs it.
Watch out: It is the eight or nine digits on the front of the certificate at the top left. A title history request will recover it if the certificate has gone.
5
You fill this in
Sign it, then have it sworn
The owner signature lines, then the notary's printed name, title, signature, commission number and expiry.
Watch out: Read the recognition paragraph immediately above your signature first. It is the sentence that tells you what you are getting back.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
Section 1, reason for request
Four boxes: the title was junked by a previous owner and the vehicle was not damaged beyond resale value; the title was accidentally marked as junk due to clerk error; ownership is being transferred to a dealer for rebuilding; ownership is being transferred to an individual for rebuilding.
Section 2, the request
I, [name] and/or [name] request the title for this [year], [make], [model], [vehicle identification number] - the identification number again ruled as seventeen separate squares - [title number] be reactivated.
The recognition paragraph
A printed acknowledgement that reactivating a vehicle previously junked due to damage results in a permanent salvage brand in NMVTIS, and that a salvaged vehicle must go through the Cabinet's rebuilt process to be made roadworthy.
The exception sentence
One line on its own: a non-damaged reactivated vehicle is not required to go through the KYTC rebuilt process.
Two signature lines
Signature of 1st Owner and of 2nd Owner, each labelled as listed on the title or bill of sale.
The jurat
Subscribed and attested before me on this day of, a commission number, an expiry, then the notary's printed name, title and signature.
KYTC use only
Clerk printed name, county, clerk signature and county clerk phone number.
What gets this one rejected
•No box ticked in Section 1. The four reasons produce two entirely different outcomes and nobody can choose for you.
•Two boxes ticked. Clerk error and a rebuild transfer are not the same claim and cannot both be true.
•A missing title number. Reactivation is a lookup, and the identification number alone may not resolve a cancelled record.
•One signature where the record shows two owners. The lines say as listed on the title or bill of sale.
•A clerk-error claim with nothing behind it. The second box asserts the Cabinet made a mistake, and it will be checked.
•Assuming reactivation makes the car roadworthy. Where it was junked for damage, the recognition paragraph says the rebuilt process still has to happen.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•The two clean routes are the first two boxes. Junked in error by a previous owner, or marked in error by a clerk. Both describe a vehicle that was not damaged, and the exception sentence says those do not go through the rebuilt process.
•The brand follows the identification number nationally. The recognition paragraph names NMVTIS, which is a federal system. This is not a Kentucky-only consequence and it does not wash off at a state line.
