An ordinary replacement form with one extraordinary use. On a Vermont car of model year 2009 or older that the state never titled, the registration certificate is the ownership document - the DMV's own title guide says so in those words - so a lost registration on an untitled car is a lost title in every practical sense, and this single page is how it is replaced. It also corrects a wrong name or address on a certificate and replaces one that was stolen or destroyed.
Written against VD-040 (06/2024), issued under 23 V.S.A. s. 202 and s. 4110, under which the application is affirmed; the registration certificate itself is the ownership document for a vehicle exempt from titling under s. 2012(10).
Do not confuse this with VT-004. VT-004 replaces a certificate of title; this replaces a registration certificate. On a Vermont car built in 2009 or earlier there is no title to replace, and this is the only ownership paper the state ever issued for it.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank VD-040 from the dmv.vermont.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our VD-040 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.
This is the actual VD-040, rendered from the PDF the Vermont Department of Motor Vehicles, Agency of Transportation 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
Rendered from the department's own PDF and filled in for the case that matters most in Vermont: an untitled 1994 vehicle whose registration certificate is the only ownership document the state ever issued for it. Nobody in this sample is a real person and the identification number identifies nothing.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
This application is for my
One tick from six, and it sets the fee.
Watch out: Car/Truck covers almost every reader of this page and costs $20.00. The cheaper ticks belong to boats, ATVs and snowmobiles and are not a way of paying less.
2
You fill this in
My Registration: Needs Correction, Was Destroyed, Was Stolen, Was Lost, Other
Why the certificate is being reissued.
Watch out: Lost and destroyed are treated the same way. Stolen is worth ticking accurately, because it is the one that suggests the plate should be watched as well.
3
You fill this in
I need a: Registration Certificate, Sticker/Decal, For Plate or Registration #
What comes back, and which plate or registration number it relates to.
Watch out: Write the plate number in the box beside the ticks. Without it the department is looking for a certificate by name alone.
4
You fill this in
Name: Last, First, Middle
The registered owner, spelled as the department holds it.
Watch out: If the name on the record is wrong, that is a correction made in person with a marriage certificate or a court order, not a box to tidy up here.
5
You fill this in
Mailing Address and Physical Address
Both blocks, where the mailing address is a box number.
Watch out: Rural Vermont runs on box numbers, which is exactly why this form insists on a physical address underneath. Fill in both and the form stops being returnable.
6
You fill this in
Above is a change to the Mailing address / Physical address
Two ticks, used only if something has actually moved.
Watch out: Ticking one of these updates every record the department holds for you, which is a good thing done deliberately and an annoyance done by accident.
7
You fill this in
Make, Model, Model Year, Body Style, Color, Mileage
Six boxes describing the vehicle, with the mileage in whole numbers.
Watch out: On an older car take the description from the plate record rather than from a listing. Body style in the department's vocabulary is what the certificate will carry.
8
You fill this in
Serial Number (VIN) and Vermont Driver's License #
The vehicle's identification number and your own credential.
Watch out: On a 1990s vehicle read the VIN off the dashboard and the door jamb and check they agree before you write it. There is no title to check it against.
9
You fill this in
Signature of Applicant, Date, Phone Number, Email Address
One signature under 23 V.S.A. s. 202 and s. 4110, with two ways to reach you.
Watch out: Send it before you advertise the car. A replacement certificate in hand is what makes an untitled Vermont vehicle sellable to somebody who has never heard of the exemption.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
This application is for my: Car/Truck, Trailer, ATV, Snowmobile, Boat, Other
Six ticks that choose the fee: $6.00 for an ATV or a snowmobile, $3.00 for a boat, $20.00 for everything else.
My Registration: Needs Correction, Was Destroyed, Was Stolen, Was Lost, Other
Why you are asking. The four named reasons cover almost everything and the fifth is a free choice.
I need a: Registration Certificate, Sticker/Decal, For Plate or Registration #
What you want back. Vermont no longer issues a validation sticker for a plate - Act 41 removed it in 2023 - so on a car this is the certificate.
Name: Last, First, Middle
The registered owner, exactly as the record holds the name.
Mailing Address, City, State, Zip
With the instruction beside it: if it is a PO or private box, the physical address below has to be completed too.
Physical Address (NO PO or Private Box), City, State, Zip
Where the vehicle's owner actually lives. Vermont wants a real location as well as a postal one.
Above is a change to the Mailing address / Physical address
Two ticks that turn this form into a change-of-address notification for every record the department holds on you.
Make, Model, Model Year, Body Style, Color, Mileage (No Tenths)
Six description boxes. The mileage is a record rather than a disclosure, and it is still written in whole numbers.
Serial Number (VIN), Vermont Driver's License or Learner's Permit #
The vehicle and the person, side by side.
Signature of Applicant, Date, Phone Number, Email Address
One signature under an affirmation made under penalties of 23 V.S.A. s. 202 and s. 4110, with two contact boxes beneath.
What gets this one rejected
•A PO box in the mailing block with the physical address left empty. The instruction is printed on the form and it is the most common reason this page comes back.
•A name change attempted on this form. Name changes must be processed in person, with an original or certified copy of a marriage licence, certificate or court order clearly stating the new name.
•A company name change without the Secretary of State's certification. The form names the document it wants and no other will do.
•The wrong fee. It is $20.00 for a car, truck or trailer, $6.00 for an ATV or snowmobile and $3.00 for a boat, and the ticks at the top of the page are what the cashier reads.
•An assumption that a replacement registration proves ownership of a titled car. On a titled vehicle the certificate of title is the ownership document and this form replaces a different piece of paper altogether.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•On an untitled Vermont car this is the ownership document being replaced. The department's title guide tells the owner of a 2009-or-older Vermont-registered vehicle that the registration certificate is the ownership document and that a sale is made by handing it over with a signed bill of sale.
•Which makes it a form to file before you list the car, not after. A buyer standing in your kitchen wants the certificate in their hand. The replacement arrives by post, and no part of that timetable improves for being started on the day of the sale.
•It doubles as a change of address, whether you meant it or not. The form says that where the address differs from the department's records it will be treated as a change of address for all your records, and reminds you of the thirty-day duty to notify a change of mailing address, legal name or physical residence.
•There is no sticker to replace any more. Act 41 eliminated the annual and biennial validation sticker in 2023, so on a car the Sticker/Decal tick belongs to a different class of vehicle rather than to a missing plate decal.
