How to fill out Oregon 735-512

The form for a title that was issued and never arrived, as opposed to one that arrived and got lost. Oregon treats those as different problems with different forms and different fees, and this one has a window either side of it: at least 30 days must have passed since the title was issued, so it is certainly not still in the post, and no more than six months, after which the department wants a replacement application and the replacement fee instead. On a salvage title the front end of the window is 20 days rather than 30.

Written against 735-512 (1-25), issued under ORS 803.065. Revised January 2025. Check which of the two windows you are in before filling anything in — the whole form is built around them, and the wrong one means starting again with a different application and a fee.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank 735-512 from the oregon.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.

Every line, in the order you meet it

1. 1
   You fill this in

   Never Received Regular Certificate of Title

   The first of two boxes at the head of the form.

   Watch out: Tick one, and read the paragraph beside it. The two boxes carry different waiting periods — thirty days for a regular title, twenty for a salvage one.

2. 2
   You fill this in

   Never Received Salvage Certificate of Title

   The second box, for a salvage title that was issued and never turned up.

   Watch out: The escape route past six months differs too: a regular title goes to Form 735-515 and a salvage one to Form 735-230.

3. 3
   You fill this in

   Plate number, year, make, style, VIN, title number

   The vehicle block across the top of the sheet, with the title number marked if known.

   Watch out: If known is doing real work here. A title you never received is a title whose number you may never have seen, and DMV can find it from the VIN.

4. 4
   You fill this in

   Lines 1 to 3 — registered owner or lessee

   Printed full legal name last, first, middle, with the customer number and date of birth.

   Watch out: Match DMV's record exactly. The department is being asked to reissue a document it has already issued once, and it will check the name it issued it to.

5. 5
   You fill this in

   Lines 4 to 8 — addresses and counties

   Residence address, city, state, ZIP, county of residence, mailing address and county of mailing.

   Watch out: If the title never arrived because the address on the record was wrong, this is the moment to fix it — otherwise the replacement goes to the same place.

6. 6
   You fill this in

   Lines 13 to 15 — vehicle address and one-time mailing address

   Where the vehicle lives if that is not the residence, and a mailing address used for this transaction only.

   Watch out: The one-time address does not change your customer record. It is the right box for a title you want sent somewhere unusual just this once.

7. 7
   You fill this in

   Lines 16 to 19 — security interest holder and lessor

   Any lender or lessor on the record, with customer numbers, dates of birth, addresses and telephones.

   Watch out: If one of these is filled in, they are the title holder and the application is theirs. You can complete the form; they have to sign it.

8. 8
   You fill this in

   Line 20 — the certification and signature block

   I (we) certify the original title for this vehicle was never received, with four signature lines under it.

   Watch out: At least one title holder must sign — the instruction is printed in capitals directly above the lines. A form arriving with every box filled in and no signature is the most common way this one comes back.

What gets this one rejected

• •Filed too early. The form requires at least 30 days to have elapsed from the date the title was issued, to be sure it is not still in transit, and 20 days on a salvage title.
• •Filed too late. If more than six months have passed since the title was issued, the form directs you to an Application for Replacement Title, Form 735-515, with the replacement title fee paid.
• •Filed by somebody who is not the title holder. Where a lender holds the interest, they are the title holder and the application is theirs to make.
• •The wrong box at the top. A salvage certificate that never arrived is the second box and has its own timings and its own replacement form, the 735-230.
• •No signature at all in the block at the foot, where the printed instruction reads AT LEAST ONE TITLE HOLDER MUST SIGN.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

• •Work out who the title holder is first. The form defines it: the title holder is the security interest holder at highest priority; if there is none, the lessor; if there is none, the registered owners. On a financed car, that is not you.
• •Thirty days from issue, not from the sale. The clock runs from the date DMV issued the title, which is on the department's record rather than in your hand. If you are not sure of it, ring before you file.
• •A salvage title runs on shorter timings. Twenty days elapsed rather than thirty, and the replacement route past six months is Form 735-230 rather than 735-515.

Every line here was read off 735-512 (1-25) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Oregon Department of Transportation, Driver and Motor Vehicle Services Division 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 Oregon seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Oregon involves.