The replacement for a certificate that is lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed - and, on its reverse, the form that lets an owner assign a car to a dealership before the replacement has even been printed. $25 to the Title Division in Boston, and the Registry will not issue a new title to a buyer applying on a duplicate until fifteen days have passed.
Written against TTL117 (TTL117_0822, August 2022), issued under M.G.L. c.90D s.14.
Section E carries its own odometer disclosure, which means a seller can end up disclosing mileage twice on two different pieces of paper for one car. Make the two agree - the reading recorded on this form and the reading written on the assignment are both certifications made under penalty of perjury.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank TTL117 from the mass.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is all 2 pages of the actual TTL117, rendered from the PDF the Massachusetts Registry 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
Page 1 of 2. Owner, vehicle, signatures and the reason. Note that the Lost box does not require the certificate to be enclosed, and the Mutilated box does.Page 2 of 2. The half that decides where the replacement goes. Section D is greyed against a change of address unless the tick box is used; Section E is greyed because it is only for assigning the car to a dealership, and it is not a power of attorney.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
Ask the lender first
If there has ever been a loan on the car, check whether the lienholder still holds the certificate before applying for anything.
Watch out: If they do not have it, ask for a signed letter on their letterhead naming the year, make, vehicle identification number and every titled owner. An original - not a fax, not a photocopy - has to go in with this application.
2
You fill this in
Section A, the vehicle
Registration number, year, make, vehicle identification number, title number, owner name and address.
Watch out: The title number is on the front of the missing certificate, which is inconvenient. It is also on the Registry's own record, so a title status check online will give it to you.
3
You fill this in
Section B, sign and print
Every owner or the lienholder signs and prints their name.
Watch out: Two names on the certificate means two signatures here, or a power of attorney from whichever of them is not signing.
4
You fill this in
Section C, why
Your name in the sentence, then lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed.
Watch out: Mutilated is the only one of the four that requires you to send the certificate in with the form. The other three assume you cannot.
5
You fill this in
Section D, where to post it
The owner's or lienholder's address on the Registry's system, or a different one with the supporting documents attached.
Watch out: There is a tick box here authorising the Registry to change your address at the same time. Use it if you have moved - it saves an amendment later.
6
You fill this in
Section E, only for a dealership
Dealer name, address, registration number, the vehicle, an odometer reading and your signature.
Watch out: Leave it blank for a private sale. It exists so a duplicate can be posted straight to a dealer taking the car, and it is not a power of attorney or a reassignment.
7
You fill this in
Send it with $25
Cheque or money order payable to MassDOT, posted to the Title Division at PO Box 55885, Boston.
Watch out: Keep a copy of everything you post. A duplicate application is the one Registry transaction with no counter receipt at the end of it.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
Service Type instructions
Three numbered steps and a warning about lenders: if there was a loan and it has been paid off, check with the lienholder first, and if they do not have the certificate get a signed letter on their letterhead specifying the year, make, vehicle identification number and all titled owners. No faxes or photocopies of lien releases are acceptable.
A, Owner and Vehicle Information
Registration number, year, make, vehicle identification number, title number, the owner's name or organisation name, and the owner's address.
B, Signatures
First owner or lienholder signs and prints; second owner or lienholder signs and prints. The certification is that the information is true under the penalties of perjury, and that false statements are punishable by fine, imprisonment or both under chapter 90 section 24B.
C, Applying for Duplicate Title
The applicant's name written into a sentence citing chapter 90D section 14, then one of four boxes: lost, stolen, mutilated or destroyed.
D, Mail Title to
Where the replacement is posted. It goes only to the lienholder's or owner's address on the Registry's system, or to a different address if a photocopy of every owner's licence and a power of attorney are attached.
E, Duplicate Signature
Only for transferring ownership to a dealership. The dealer's name, address, registration number, the vehicle, an odometer statement with two boxes, and the transferor's signature and printed name.
What gets this one rejected
•A photocopied or faxed lien release. The instruction rules both out, whatever the age of the loan.
•Ticking mutilated without enclosing the certificate. If mutilated is selected, the certificate of title must be submitted with this application.
•Asking for the title to go to a friend's address without a power of attorney and a copy of every owner's licence.
•A co-owner who has not signed, with no power of attorney for them. The form asks for a copy of the identification of each owner on file plus a power of attorney for any co-owner who has not signed.
•Applying where the owner has died without attaching a copy of the letter of administration, court order or affidavit of surviving spouse and a death certificate.
•Cash in the envelope. The $25 goes by cheque or money order payable to MassDOT.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•Section E is not a power of attorney. The form says so in its own words: this form does not constitute a power of attorney or a reassignment. It authorises the Registry to post the duplicate to a dealership so ownership can be transferred, and nothing more.
•Fifteen days of waiting on the other side. The statute stops a buyer applying on a duplicate from getting their own certificate for fifteen days after the application is received, which is a gap worth telling a buyer about before they hand over money.
•A recovered original has to go back. Chapter 90D section 14(c) requires anyone who finds an original after a duplicate has issued to surrender it promptly to the Registrar, and the form reprints the rule.
•The duplicate replaces the original outright. It carries the legend that it is a duplicate and may be subject to the rights of a person under the original certificate, and once issued it is the certificate the transaction has to be done on.
Every line here was read off TTL117 (TTL117_0822, August 2022) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Massachusetts Registry 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.
