Lost title · Pennsylvania

Replacing a lost car title in Pennsylvania

Pennsylvania charges $72 to replace a lost title — exactly what an original costs, because PennDOT does not price the two differently.

An ageing sedan parked at a residential kerb on a grey morning

What Pennsylvania charges

The replacement title fee is $72. Form MV-38O (Application for Duplicate Certificate of Title by Owner), mailed to PennDOT with payment; the fee is $72.00 — the same as an original Certificate of Title.

That figure comes from Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Driver & Vehicle Services, read from its own page and current as of August 2026. The hub compares all fifty states if you want to see where Pennsylvania sits — the spread runs from $5 to $101, which is wider than most people expect for the same piece of paper.

The part that catches people out

Form MV-38O, the Application for Duplicate Certificate of Title by Owner, is posted to PennDOT with payment. The fee is $72.00, matching the price of an original Certificate of Title. Like Oregon, Pennsylvania treats a replacement as a title rather than as a copy of one, which is why the figure sits so far above the ten-and-twenty-dollar duplicates elsewhere.

Pennsylvania MV-38L: Duplicate Title or Lien Change, with every box filled in

That is the document Pennsylvania wants, and we publish a worked example of it: Pennsylvania MV-38L: Duplicate Title or Lien Change.

Pennsylvania is also a notarisation state, so the application has to be witnessed before it goes in the post — and PennDOT is strict about it, being the same department that requires notarised signatures on ordinary title transfers.

Sources

Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Driver & Vehicle Services — replacement title fee — Where the Pennsylvania figure of $72 was read, current as of August 2026
Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT), Driver & Vehicle Services — agency home — The agency that issues Pennsylvania titles

Common questions

What people ask about this

How much does it cost to replace a lost car title in Pennsylvania?

$72. Form MV-38O (Application for Duplicate Certificate of Title by Owner), mailed to PennDOT with payment; the fee is $72.00 — the same as an original Certificate of Title.