How to fill out New York MV-82TON

A title-only application, and the specific answer to one of the worst positions a New York seller can be in: you own the car, but the certificate in your drawer still shows the person you bought it from. You cannot sign that over. This is how you get one in your own name first.

Written against MV-82TON (5/25), issued under the NYS DMV Title Bureau's title-only application procedure. The certificate you hold decides whether you need this at all. If the reverse of it has been assigned to you by somebody else, you cannot sign it over again - the DMV requires a certificate in your own name first, and this is the application that produces one.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank MV-82TON from the dmv.ny.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our MV-82TON guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Step 1 · the form itself Blank MV-82TON — Application for Title PDF at dmv.ny.gov · new tab Step 2 · how to fill it in Our filled-in MV-82TON guide PDF · print and keep beside you

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is all 2 pages of the actual MV-82TON, 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-82TON filled in: new owner Havemeyer, Rosalind, T., with a driver licence identification number, date of birth and Kingston address in Ulster County; in section 3A the used box ticked, identification number 5N1AT2MV6FC812743 written one character per printed box, a 2015 Nissan in gray, an odometer reading of 104382 with six digits, and the vehicle shown as currently registered under plate JHR-4820; and on page two the damage disclosure answered has not been, with the certification printed, signed and dated. — Page 1 of 2. Section 1 and section 3A. The boat, manufactured home and trailer blocks are greyed - including a trailer box the DMV's own PDF ships already ticked, which is the form's default rather than anything an applicant did.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
You fill this in
Section 1, who is applying
Last name, first name and middle initial in three cells, then the identification number from your driver licence, your date of birth and your full mailing address with the county.
Watch out: This is you, not the person named on the certificate you are holding. The whole purpose of the form is to move the record from their name to yours.
2
You fill this in
Mailing address and county
Where you get post, and a second address underneath if you live somewhere different. No post office box on the residence line.
Watch out: The certificate is posted, not collected, so this address is the one thing on the form that decides whether you ever see the document.
3
You fill this in
Section 3A, the vehicle
How it was obtained, the identification number one character to a box, year, make, colour and the odometer reading in miles.
Watch out: Do not include tenths - the form says so beside the box. And answer how many numbers the odometer has room for, because a five-digit clock changes what the reading means.
4
You fill this in
Odometer reading and digit count
The reading, and the number of digits the odometer displays.
Watch out: This has to agree with whatever the previous owner disclosed when they assigned the certificate to you. If it does not, expect the Title Bureau to ask before it prints anything.
5
You fill this in
Section 5, damage disclosure
Has been, or has not been, damaged past 75% of retail value at the time of loss.
Watch out: Answering has been means an anti-theft examination before the vehicle can be registered and a rebuilt salvage statement on the certificate. Answering it wrongly is a criminal offence rather than an administrative one.
6
You fill this in
Section 6, certification
Sign your name in full, print it in full, date it and give a daytime telephone number.
Watch out: Give a number you answer. Title-only applications are examined in Albany rather than at a counter, and a query on one is resolved by telephone or not at all.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
The instruction across the head	In capitals: do not use this form to register a vehicle, boat or trailer. Everyone completes sections 1, 3 and 6, plus section 2 for co-owners and section 5 for a vehicle, motorcycle or trailer.
Section 1, new owner	Last name or company name, first name, middle initial, identification number from the driver licence, date of birth, sex, mailing address, city, state, ZIP and county - and a second address if you live somewhere other than where you get post.
Section 3A, vehicles and motorcycles	How the vehicle was obtained - new, used, lease buyout, salvage or leased - then the identification number in printed boxes, year, make, colour, the odometer reading in miles, how many numbers the odometer has room for, vehicle type, fuel, cylinders, weights and seating capacity.
Sections 3B, 3C and 3D	Boats, manufactured homes and trailers. A car seller uses none of them.
Section 4, dealer lien information	Headed DEALER USE ONLY and to be completed only by a vehicle, boat or trailer dealer. All other liens are recorded by the lender sending in a notice of lien with the $5 lien fee.
Section 5, damage disclosure	The same certification as the certificate: has been, or has not been, wrecked, destroyed or damaged past 75% of retail value at the time of loss, with the rebuilt salvage consequence spelled out beside it.
Section 6, owner certification	Sign in full, print in full, date, and give a daytime telephone number. Both signatures are required if there is a co-owner.
The page-two checklist	What has to travel with it: the application, proof of ownership, proof of name and date of birth, sales tax clearance, the fee, and a power of attorney if one is being used.

What gets this one rejected

•Using it to register the vehicle. It is a title-only application and the head of the form says so in capitals.
•Using it to replace a lost certificate. The DMV's page for this situation lists that as one of two things the form must not be used for.
•An owner paying the lien fee. The form's note is that the DMV can only accept payment of the lien fee from a dealer or lienholder, and that the owner cannot pay it.
•Only one signature on a two-name application. Section 6 says both signatures are required if there is a co-owner.
•Forgetting the tax clearance. Acceptable proofs are a dealer certificate of sale, a receipt for sales tax payment obtained at a motor vehicle office, or - for a boat from a registered dealer - a bill of sale showing tax was paid.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•What it costs. The fee for a title for all vehicles, motorcycles, trailers and boats is $50. A certificate for a manufactured home is $125. The lien filing fee, where one applies, is $5 and is not the owner's to pay.
•The bonded and unusual cases go to Albany by post. The form lists eight application types that must be mailed to the Title Bureau rather than handed in at a counter: garageperson liens, salvage certificates, manufactured homes, boats, bonded vehicles, and dealer applications for lemon-law returns.

Every line here was read off MV-82TON (5/25) 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-82TON

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

Section 1, who is applying

Mailing address and county

Section 3A, the vehicle

Odometer reading and digit count

Section 5, damage disclosure

Section 6, certification

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

Want the paperwork handled instead?

Or send the details — we'll come to you