How to fill out New York MV-35

The end of the line for a car that is not worth repairing and whose certificate has vanished. It lets an owner with no title move the vehicle to a registered dismantler, an itinerant vehicle collector or a certified scrap processor - and it does it on strict terms, printed on the form in capitals: the vehicle may never be titled again, and it must be dismantled or scrapped.

Written against MV-35 (6/22), issued under New York Vehicle and Traffic Law section 429-1(b) and Commissioner's Rules and Regulations part 81.8. This form is irreversible in a way almost nothing else in this set is. Signing it does not sell a car; it retires one, permanently, and the DMV states that in capitals before it asks you for a single detail.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank MV-35 from the dmv.ny.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our MV-35 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Step 1 · the form itself Blank MV-35 — Statement of Vehicle Owner Who Does Not Have a Valid Title PDF at dmv.ny.gov · new tab Step 2 · how to fill it in Our filled-in MV-35 guide PDF · print and keep beside you

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is all 2 pages of the actual MV-35, rendered from the PDF the New York State 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 New York MV-35 filled in: a silver 2008 Pontiac Vibe with identification number 5Y2SL658X8Z417392, owner Rosalind T. Havemeyer of Kingston with a government-issued identification number, signed and dated 6 August 2026; delivery agent Marcus Tavares with a date of birth, identification number and the plate on the delivery vehicle; and the yard, Esopus Auto Dismantlers Inc, certifying through its yard manager. — Page 1 of 2. Three certifications on one page - owner, delivery agent, and the licensed yard - because the DMV wants all three identified before a vehicle leaves the record permanently.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
You fill this in
Vehicle description
Year, make, model, identification number and colour, across the top strip.
Watch out: Get the identification number off the car itself here - a plate on the dashboard or the door post - because on this form the missing certificate is the whole reason you are filling it in.
2
You fill this in
Owner information and certification
Your name, a government-issued identification number, your address, your signature and the date.
Watch out: You are certifying two things at once: that you own it, and that it is worth $1250 or less and at least eight model years old. Both are on the same signature.
3
You fill this in
Delivery agent
The driver who is physically taking the vehicle away: name, date of birth, identification number and the plate on their truck.
Watch out: If the driver tells you they are buying the car rather than delivering it, stop. This block exists specifically to record that they are not the owner.
4
Dealers only
The yard's certification
Business name, business identification number, a named signer with a title, and a date, certifying they paid $1250 or less and that there are no undisclosed liens.
Watch out: Ask to see the registration behind that business identification number. A yard that is not a licensed dismantler, collector or scrap processor cannot take a vehicle on this form at all.
5
Dealers only
Page 2 and the copy that goes to Albany
The completed forms go to the DMV Junk and Salvage unit within 15 business days, with copy 2 of the salvage certificate attached and marked For Parts Only where a dismantler or collector is involved.
Watch out: Keep your own photocopy of the whole thing. It is the only evidence you will have that the vehicle left your hands on the day it did.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
The two conditions	The vehicle must be worth $1250 or less and be at least eight model years old. Both, not either.
Who may use it	Only the vehicle owner, and only where they either bought the vehicle from the titled owner and never titled it in their own name, or were issued a title that has since been lost or stolen.
Who may not	It may not be used to transfer ownership to a private party, or to an entity not licensed by the DMV such as a tow truck driver or a charitable organisation. Nor may a business engaged in acquiring vehicles for dismantling or disposal use it to allege ownership.
Vehicle	Year, make, model, identification number and colour.
Owner information and certification	Name, a government-issued identification number with a copy of the identification attached, address, signature and date.
Delivery agent information and certification	The driver's name, date of birth, identification number with a copy attached, the plate on the delivery vehicle, a signature and a date.
Dismantler, itinerant vehicle collector or scrap processor certification	The yard certifies that it paid $1250 or less, that there are no undisclosed liens, and gives its business name and business identification number, a signer, a title and a date.
What the yard does with it	Within 15 business days of acquiring the vehicle the completed forms go to the DMV Junk and Salvage unit in Albany. A dismantler or collector also attaches copy 2 of the salvage certificate with "For Parts Only" written on its front.
Page 2, the tow truck rules	A page of them. Tow truck drivers cannot claim ownership of vehicles being delivered for scrap via this form - the individual or entity they acquired it from is the owner, and the driver is only the delivery agent.

What gets this one rejected

•A vehicle worth more than $1250, or newer than eight model years. Both limits are certified on the face of the form.
•Selling to a neighbour with it. It transfers to licensed trades only, and the form names tow truck drivers and charities as examples of who it cannot go to.
•Photocopied identification missing. The yard has to copy the owner's and the delivery agent's government-issued identification and attach it.
•A tow truck driver signing as the owner. The Vehicle and Traffic Law section printed on page 2 says the driver is the delivery agent and nothing else.
•Expecting to change your mind. The capitals across the head are unambiguous: the vehicle may never be titled again, and it must be dismantled or scrapped.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•Why an itinerant vehicle collector matters to you. Any tow truck driver in the business of acquiring inoperable vehicles for scrap has to be registered as a collector or a dismantler. If the person offering to take your car away is neither, this form is not available to them, and you are being asked to sign something that does not apply.
•Where a missing certificate might still be worth chasing. This is the route for a car with no residual value. If the vehicle is worth more than the ceiling, the answer is a duplicate certificate rather than a scrap statement, and the two are not interchangeable.

Every line here was read off MV-35 (6/22) itself — the PDF is here — and off the New York State 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 New York seller paperwork, or what selling a car in New York involves.

How to fill out New York MV-35

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

Vehicle description

Owner information and certification

Delivery agent

The yard's certification

Page 2 and the copy that goes to Albany

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

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