50-state table · exact cutoffs
Cars too old for a title: every state’s exemption
In 10 states an old car legally has no title and trades on its registration and a bill of sale. The exact cutoffs, from the statutes.
The cars that legally have no title
“No title” usually means trouble. In 10 states it can simply mean the car is old: their law exempts vehicles past a certain age or model year from titling altogether, and ownership rides on the registration and a bill of sale instead. The other 40 states title everything, however old — so a title-less ’68 pickup is a problem in one state and a Tuesday in another. Buyers, lenders and out-of-state DMVs regularly refuse to believe this, which is why each row below carries its statute: the seller of an exempt-age car should hand over that citation with the keys.
| State | Old cars | The rule, in one line |
|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Age-exempt | No title for cars over 35 model years old (§32-8-31(13)); through 2026 that's 1990-and-older — Rule 810-5-1-.246 bill of sale + county inspection. ↗ |
| Alaska | Titles everything | Titles every age — the only age line, 2 AAC 92.220(e)'s 20-year rule, exempts odometer disclosure; ATVs/snowmachines are a type carve-out, not age. ↗ |
| Arizona | Titles everything | Titles regardless of age; sole age-linked out is scrap: a 12+-model-year, ≤$1,200, lien-free car may go titleless to a licensed recycler/scrap dealer. ↗ |
| Arkansas | Titles everything | Titles regardless of age; only a scrap/dismantle sale lets a bill of sale (yr/make/model/VIN) stand in — car 25+ years old and no title available. ↗ |
| California | Titles everything | Titles every vehicle at any age; its only age cutoffs (e.g. smog exemption for 1975-or-older gas cars) govern emissions, not the title requirement. ↗ |
| Colorado | Titles everything | Titles every vehicle regardless of age; the title page's lone age rule is odometer disclosure — required only for MY2011+ in their first 20 years. ↗ |
| Connecticut | Age-exempt | No title issued for vehicles older than 20 model years (rolling; CGS §14-166(b), which lets an owner request one); last registration + Q-1 transfer. ↗ |
| Delaware | Titles everything | Titles motor vehicles, trailers, motorcycles, mopeds and mobile/house trailers at any age; only OHVs/ATVs and snowmobiles (type, not age) are exempt. ↗ |
| Florida | Titles everything | Titles regardless of age — an odometer-exempt car under s.319.225(4) still gets a title, as the HSMV 82092 filing for a 2004 Ford Ranger shows. ↗ |
| Georgia | Age-exempt | No title required for model year 1985 or older; a bill of sale stands in, plus Form T-22B inspection if not previously registered in Georgia. ↗ |
| Hawaii | Titles everything | Hawaii titles every registered vehicle: HRS 286-47 issues a certificate of ownership on registration; 286-41(g)'s exemptions have no age carve-out. ↗ |
| Idaho | Titles everything | Idaho titles every registered vehicle; 49-501's exemptions have no age carve-out — the only dated item: optional titling of pre-2009 truck campers. ↗ |
| Illinois | Titles everything | Illinois requires a title for every vehicle; 3-102's 10 exclusions (dealer, farm, pre-4/1998 apportioned trailers, scooters) have no age exemption. ↗ |
| Indiana | Titles everything | Indiana titles registrable vehicles; IC 9-17-1-1 excludes special machinery, homemade low-speed builds, snowmobiles, pre-2010 ORVs — no age rule. ↗ |
| Iowa | Titles everything | Iowa titles every vehicle subject to registration (321.20); 321.18's 9 exceptions (farm gear, school buses, parade trailers) have no age carve-out. ↗ |
| Kansas | Titles everything | Kansas titles every age of car; TR-312's 35-yr antique bill-of-sale path is only for cars with no title in the seller's name; buyer titles in 60 days. ↗ |
| Kentucky | Titles everything | Kentucky titles all vehicles regardless of age: "All motor vehicles operated upon Kentucky roadways must be titled and registered." ↗ |
| Louisiana | Titles everything | Louisiana titles all vehicles regardless of age: "All used vehicles must be titled with OMV," no age exemption found. ↗ |
| Maine | Age-exempt | Maine exempts vehicles older than a rolling 25 model years (pre-MY2001 as of Jan 1 2026) from titling; registration + bill of sale stand in. ↗ |
| Maryland | Titles everything | Maryland titles all vehicles regardless of age: "You must have a valid Maryland Certificate of Title...before you can sell the vehicle." ↗ |
| Massachusetts | Age-exempt | Model year 1980 or older cars bought before 26 Nov 1990 sit outside MA title law, transferring on the old registration plus a bill of sale. ↗ |
| Michigan | Titles everything | Michigan titles every vehicle regardless of age; the 1984 model-year line on its transfer page only switches the registration-fee formula. ↗ |
| Minnesota | Titles everything | Minnesota titles every ordinary car; Minn. Stat. 168A.03 exempts only vehicle types (husbandry, snowmobiles, light trailers), never by age. ↗ |
| Mississippi | Age-exempt | Cars built and first sold before July 1, 1969 are exempt and titled only voluntarily (Miss. Code 63-21-9); everything newer must be titled. ↗ |
| Missouri | Titles everything | Missouri titles every vehicle; reconstructed cars 40+ model years old worth $3,000 or less get an easier documentation path, not an exemption. ↗ |
| Montana | Titles everything | Montana titles every vehicle at any age; its only age lines are odometer disclosure (MY2011+ until 20 yrs) and salvage routing at 14/15 yrs. |
| Nebraska | Titles everything | Nebraska titles every vehicle at any age; the lone age cutoff is odometer disclosure (s. 60-192(2): MY2010- exempt, MY2011+ until 20 yrs). |
| Nevada | Titles everything | Nevada titles every vehicle at any age; age matters only for odometer disclosure (MY2011+ until 20 yrs; printed 9-yr line is outdated) and smog. |
| New Hampshire | Age-exempt | NH titles only model year 2000+ (RSA 261:3); a 1999-or-older car sells on a bill of sale plus the old registration, seller filing TDMV 22A. ↗ |
| New Jersey | Titles everything | New Jersey titles every vehicle at any age; the only age cutoff is the federal odometer rule 49 CFR 580.17, which NJ itself does not publish. |
| New Mexico | Titles everything | New Mexico titles every vehicle regardless of age; MVD's list of vehicle types requiring a title has no model-year cutoff or antique exemption. ↗ |
| New York | Age-exempt | New York issues no title for model year 1972 or older; a transferable registration (or MV-51 plus bills of sale if never registered) is the proof. ↗ |
| North Carolina | Titles everything | North Carolina requires a title before registration for every vehicle, antiques included; antiques are only barred from same-day Instant titles. ↗ |
| North Dakota | Titles everything | North Dakota titles all ages - its 40-plus-year process (NDCC 39-05-05/39-05-20) still ends in a state-issued title, via affidavit or bill of sale. ↗ |
| Ohio | Titles everything | Ohio titles vehicles of every age; the only carve-outs are by class (mini-trucks/USV/UTV used only on private property), never by model year. ↗ |
| Oklahoma | Titles everything | Oklahoma titles every age; carve-outs are the MY2010-or-older odometer exemption and Form 766 for dead 10-plus-model-year cars with no title left. |
| Oregon | Titles everything | Oregon titles vehicles of every age; the only age carve-out is the federal odometer exemption (MY2010-or-older; MY2011+ at 20 years), not titling. |
| Pennsylvania | Titles everything | Pennsylvania titles every age; the only age carve-out is the opt-in odometer exemption (MY2010 at 10 yrs, MY2011+ at 20), never titling itself. |
| Rhode Island | Age-exempt | R.I. 31-3.1-38 exempts pre-2001 model years from titling, but since 1/1/2024 the exemption ends at transfer - a sale now triggers a title at any age. ↗ |
| South Carolina | Titles everything | South Carolina titles every age (56-19-220's exemptions are by class, not year); age only sets the 10/20-yr odometer rule and TI-014A scrapping. ↗ |
| South Dakota | Titles everything | South Dakota titles every vehicle regardless of age; its own manual bars a bill of sale from ever substituting for the certificate of title. ↗ |
| Tennessee | Titles everything | Tennessee titles every motor vehicle when driven/moved on a highway (Tenn. Code 55-3-101(a)); exceptions are by type/owner, never by age. ↗ |
| Texas | Titles everything | Texas titles all motor vehicles; Transp. Code 501.004(b) excepts only farm trailers, accessory liens, U.S.-owned and driver-ed loaners - never age. ↗ |
| Utah | Titles everything | Utah titles every vehicle regardless of model year; age cutoffs exist only for OHVs, watercraft, outboard motors, campers and park RVs - not cars. ↗ |
| Vermont | Age-exempt | MY2009-or-older cars VT-registered with no owner change since 1/1/2024 sell on reg cert + bill of sale; the buyer gets a title at registration. ↗ |
| Virginia | Titles everything | Virginia titles every vehicle regardless of age; 46.2-602(E)'s 25-year foreign-market rule waives only federal safety-compliance proof, not the title. ↗ |
| Washington | Titles everything | Washington titles every vehicle regardless of age; RCW 46.12.520's only titling exemption is manufacturer/dealer inventory and test vehicles. ↗ |
| West Virginia | Titles everything | West Virginia titles cars of every age; 17A-3-2's exceptions are all by type (gov't, farm, special mobile equipment), and ATVs/boats stay titled. ↗ |
| Wisconsin | Titles everything | Wisconsin titles every vehicle subject to registration regardless of age; Wis. Stat. 342.05 has no age carve-out - 342.02 excepts only certain liens. ↗ |
| Wyoming | Titles everything | Wyoming titles every vehicle regardless of age; 31-2-102 exempts only U.S.-owned vehicles, implements of husbandry, nonresidents titled elsewhere. ↗ |
The hard case: an exempt car crossing into a titling state
Inside an exempt state, the old truck sells fine on registration and a bill of sale. The friction starts when the buyer lives across a border in a state that titles everything: their DMV wants a title the seller’s state never issued and cannot issue. Most titling states publish a path for exactly this — typically the exempt state’s registration plus the bill of sale, sometimes a VIN inspection or a surety bond on top — but it is the buyer’s process, and a seller who hands over the statute citation from the table above alongside clean paperwork saves the deal a week of confusion. Selling in the other direction is simpler: a titled car entering an exempt state just gets registered, and the title becomes the ownership proof in the drawer.
How this table was built
Age exemptions surfaced state by state in our forms research and were then verified against each state’s titling statute or agency instructions — the linked source. The cutoffs move (Rhode Island began titling all model years for new registrations in 2024), so the exact rule text matters more here than in most tables.
Related: replacing a title that should exist · what stands in for the title in exempt states, box by box.
Exemption ages are statutory but not immortal - Rhode Island’s 2024 change is the recent proof - so treat the linked statute, not the memory of the rule, as current.