How to fill out Ohio BMV 3774

One page carrying five different applications, and a seller usually needs the second of them. Tick Duplicate and it replaces a certificate that was lost, stolen or destroyed; tick Replacement and it corrects information on a title already issued, or turns an electronic record into a paper one. The other three - Original, Memorandum and Salvage - are on the same sheet and are not what a seller with a missing title is after.

Written against BMV 3774 (12/25), issued under Ohio Revised Code 4505.06 and 4505.09. A duplicate replaces the certificate; it does not clear anything off it. A brand, a lien notation or an odometer discrepancy that was on the old title is on the new one too.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank BMV 3774 from the dam.assets.ohio.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.

Step 1 · the form itself Blank BMV 3774 — Application(s) for Certificate of Title to a Motor Vehicle PDF at dam.assets.ohio.gov · new tab

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is the actual BMV 3774, rendered from the PDF the Ohio 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

Ohio form BMV 3774 filled in as a duplicate application: applicant Marlene R. Kovach of Youngstown in Mahoning County, the Duplicate Certificate of Title box ticked, a title number entered with the word lost, the vehicle in her own possession at her own address, the lien holder line reading NONE, a 2017 Honda CR-V with VIN 2HKRW2H84HH640917, the condition ticked Good and a printed title requested, then signed and notarised. — The actual BMV 3774, completed for a lost certificate a week before the car was listed. Four of the five application blocks are greyed because they are separate applications - ticking more than one is not how the form works.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
You fill this in
The applicant block
Your printed name and identification number, address, city, state, ZIP and county.
Watch out: The name has to be the one the title record holds. If you have married or moved since the title was issued, that is a replacement application rather than a duplicate, and the clerk will want the evidence for the change.
2
You fill this in
Tick Duplicate
The second of the five blocks down the page. Tick it and complete only what is inside it.
Watch out: Replacement is the neighbouring block and it does something different - it reissues a title whose information needs changing, including turning an electronic record into paper.
3
You fill this in
Lost, stolen or destroyed
The certificate of title number, then which of the three happened to it.
Watch out: Stolen is a word with consequences. If the certificate went missing rather than being taken, the answer is lost.
4
You fill this in
The lien statement
The lien holder, E code number and address, under the printed instruction that if there is no lien you state none.
Watch out: Check the record before you write it. The BMV's title inquiry shows a cancellation date against a lien, and a blank there means the release never reached the clerk however long ago the loan was paid.
5
You fill this in
The vehicle
Year, vehicle identification number, model, body type, make and conversion, in that order across the page.
Watch out: The order of those boxes is not the order on most forms - year first, then the VIN. It is easy to write the make where the model goes.
6
You fill this in
Your signature
The applicant's signature line, with a co-applicant's line beneath it for a jointly held title.
Watch out: Both owners of a jointly held title sign, and both are notarised. One signature on a two-name title is the commonest reason a duplicate application comes back.
7
You fill this in
The notary block
Sworn to and subscribed in my presence this ___ day of ______, 20 ___ in ______ County, State of ______, with the seal and the commission expiry.
Watch out: Applying by post means finding your own notary; applying in person means the clerk's counter can do it, and the title is printed while you wait.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
Applicant block	Your printed name, Social Security or employer identification number, printed address, city, state, ZIP and county, with a second row for a co-applicant.
Original certificate of title	Evidence of ownership - a manufacturer's certificate of origin, a previous title number, a registration - how the vehicle was acquired, the name and address of the previous owner, whether that seller was a minor, and the lien statement.
Duplicate certificate of title	The certificate of title number, a choice of lost, stolen or destroyed, who the vehicle is in the possession of and where they reside, and an undertaking that if the certificate is recovered the applicant will deliver it to the Clerk of Courts for cancellation.
Replacement and memorandum	Two single-line applications, each asking only for the certificate of title number being replaced.
Salvage certificate of title	A statement that the original certificate has been surrendered to the Clerk of Courts.
Vehicle block	Year, vehicle identification number, model, body type, make and conversion.
Money block	Purchase price, trade in allowance, gross tax due, vendor's discount, tax paid, and a tax exemption tick with a reason line.
The questions across the foot	Condition of the vehicle, whether a title is to be printed, with right of survivorship, transfer on death, whether the applicant is a minor, replica, and adaptive mobility vehicle.
Signature and acknowledgement	The applicant's signature, a co-applicant's line, and a notary block ending in the commission expiry.

What gets this one rejected

•Ticking two of the five applications. The heading is check type of application(s) but the blocks are different applications with different evidence behind them - a duplicate and a replacement are not the same request.
•Leaving the lien statement blank. Both the original and duplicate blocks carry the same instruction: if no lien state none, and if more than one lien, attach statement of all additional liens.
•A duplicate applied for by somebody who is not the owner of record. The block asks who the vehicle is in the possession of, but the applicant is the person the record names.
•Sending it without the notarisation. This is an application for a certificate of title, and R.C. 4505.06 requires one to be sworn to before a notary public or other officer empowered to administer oaths.
•Posting it to the BMV. Titles are issued by a county Clerk of Courts title office, and that is where this goes - the BMV is not a title counter.
•Forgetting the return envelope. Applying by post, the clerk needs a self-addressed, stamped envelope to send the printed title back in.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•In person the title is printed while you wait. The BMV's own instruction for both a duplicate and a replacement is that you visit any county clerk of courts title office with valid photo identification and payment, and the title will be printed on the spot.
•The title number is findable. If you do not have it, the BMV's online title inquiry will return it from the vehicle identification number - and the same search shows whether a lien was ever cancelled.
•A lien changes who can apply. Where a lender is still recorded, the BMV says to contact the lienholder to make changes to the existing title record. The owner cannot replace a title out from under a live lien.

Every line here was read off BMV 3774 (12/25) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Ohio 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.

Back to all Ohio seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Ohio involves.

How to fill out Ohio BMV 3774

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

The applicant block

Tick Duplicate

Lost, stolen or destroyed

The lien statement

The vehicle

Your signature

The notary block

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