CA REG 227 Instructions: Replacement, Transfer, and Fees

California’s REG 227, the Application for Replacement or Transfer of Title, is the DMV form you file when the original certificate of title (the pink slip) is missing. These CA REG 227 instructions walk through when to use it, how to complete each section, what supporting documents you’ll need, and how to avoid the mistakes that cause the DMV to reject applications. The base fee is $28, and a single missing signature or an unnotarized lienholder release is enough to send your paperwork back.

When to Use the REG 227

The form covers two situations. The first is a straight replacement: the vehicle is already titled in California, and the original title has been lost, stolen, damaged, made illegible, never received, or exists only as a paperless electronic record.¹ Once the DMV issues the replacement, the original is automatically canceled. If it turns up in a drawer later, it can’t be used.²

The second is a transfer without the pink slip. Instead of ordering a replacement first and then doing the transfer, buyer and seller can accomplish both in a single REG 227 filing.¹

The form is not used to correct errors on an existing title, such as a misspelled name. Those go through a separate DMV corrections process. And for vehicles two model years old or newer that have a lienholder on record, the lienholder — not the registered owner — is the party who must apply for the duplicate.¹

What to Have Before You Start

Pull these items together first so you can finish the form in one pass:

The Vehicle Identification Number, from the registration card, the driver’s-side door jamb, or the base of the windshield.
The license plate number.
Full legal names and addresses for every registered owner exactly as they appear in DMV records, plus the name and address of any lienholder.
The California driver’s license or state ID number for each person who will sign.²

If your address doesn’t match what the DMV has on file, you cannot mail the form. You have to submit in person and bring your driver’s license along with proof of ownership such as the registration card or renewal notice.²

For a transfer, add a bill of sale showing the purchase price, or a note that the vehicle was a gift along with its market value. If anyone will be signing for an owner, you’ll need a Power of Attorney (see below).

Filling Out the Form Section by Section

The REG 227 has seven numbered sections. Use dark ink, print legibly, and don’t leave required fields blank. Incomplete applications come back.²

Replacement Only: Sections 1 Through 3

Section 1 is registered owner information: name, address, and DL/ID number. Section 2 captures the legal owner (lienholder) of record, if there is one. Section 3 is the Missing Title Statement, where you check the box that describes what happened to the original: lost, stolen, illegible or mutilated, not received from the prior owner, or not received from the DMV. If you’re waiting on a title from the DMV, allow at least 30 days from the issue date before filing.²

You sign Section 3 under penalty of perjury. Every registered owner must sign. If the registration shows co-owners joined by “AND” (displayed as a “/” on DMV records), all of them need to sign. One missing signature and the application is rejected.²

Transfer With Replacement: Sections 1–4, Then 6–7

When ownership changes at the same time, the seller completes Sections 1 through 4. Section 4 is the Release of Ownership, where the current registered owner signs to release all interest in the vehicle. The buyer then fills in Section 6 (new registered owner information) and Section 7 if a new lienholder is being added.² The buyer reports the purchase price, or checks the gift or trade box and enters fair market value.

California law requires the buyer to complete the transfer within 10 days of taking possession. Miss that window and a $28 late-transfer penalty is added.³

Lienholder Release and Notarization

Section 5 is where the legal owner (lienholder) releases its interest in the vehicle, and it’s the single most common reason REG 227 applications get bounced. The lienholder’s signature must be notarized. Without notarization, the DMV will not process the form.⁴ The notary acknowledgment can appear next to the signature on the form itself, on a separate attached sheet, or on a separate lien-satisfaction document such as a REG 166.⁵ California caps notary fees at $15 per signature.

Two narrow exceptions. If you’re the sole registered owner and you’re adding a financial institution as the new lienholder, your signature in the legal-owner section doesn’t need to be notarized. Insurance companies processing total-loss vehicles are also exempt if they hold a lien-satisfaction document from the lienholder.⁵

For vehicles two model years old or newer, neither a REG 227 lienholder release nor a REG 166 is accepted. Those newer vehicles use the Electronic Lien and Title (ELT) system, and the lienholder must release the lien electronically before a paper title can be issued.⁵

Signing With a Power of Attorney

If an owner can’t sign personally, someone else can sign with a valid Power of Attorney. The DMV’s own form is the REG 260, and a photocopy or fax is acceptable.⁶

A POA usually can’t be used to sign sworn statements on behalf of another person, but the DMV makes a specific exception for the REG 227. An agent with a POA can sign the certification about what happened to the original title. That exception is unique to this form and does not extend to other DMV statements of fact.⁶

Extra Requirements for Transfers

Using the REG 227 to transfer ownership triggers rules that aren’t printed on the form itself but will decide whether the DMV accepts your package.

Smog Certification

The seller must provide a valid smog certificate at transfer, with exceptions. Vehicles less than four model years old are exempt from the inspection, but the new owner pays an $8 smog transfer fee instead.⁷⁸ Gifts between certain family members (spouses, domestic partners, parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings) are generally exempt from the smog inspection, unless the family member giving the vehicle bought it without ever titling it in their own name.

Odometer Disclosure

Federal law requires a written odometer disclosure during any transfer, including the current mileage reading with no tenths of a mile, the date of transfer, and a certification that the reading is accurate (or a statement that it isn’t). Vehicles with a 2010 model year or older are exempt in 2026.⁹ The disclosure normally goes on the title itself; when the title is missing, the DMV office you file with can tell you which separate form to use.

Family Transfers and Use Tax

Transfers between spouses, domestic partners, parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren, and siblings (sibling transfers only between minors related by blood or adoption) can qualify for a use tax exemption. To claim it, file a Statement of Facts (REG 256) with the REG 227 showing the relationship. The exemption doesn’t apply if the seller is in the business of selling that type of vehicle.¹⁰ Without the exemption, use tax is based on the purchase price, starting at 7.25% statewide and rising with county and city add-ons.

After an Owner Dies

When the owner has died and the title is missing, the heir or surviving family member files the REG 227 alongside the Affidavit for Transfer without Probate (REG 5). The REG 5 lets an heir transfer the vehicle without probate if the total estate is $150,000 or less and at least 40 days have passed since the date of death.¹¹ Include a certified copy of the death certificate. If there’s a lienholder, Section 5 of the REG 227 still needs to be completed and notarized before the transfer can go through.¹² Estates above $150,000 go through probate, and the court-appointed representative handles the paperwork.

Fees

Replacement title: $28.³
Transfer fee: $15, added on top of the replacement fee when you’re doing both.³
Late transfer penalty: $28 if the new owner doesn’t file within 10 days of taking possession.³
Smog transfer fee: $8 when the vehicle is exempt from the inspection.⁸
Use tax: based on purchase price, starting at 7.25% statewide unless an exemption applies.

Mail-in submissions require a check or money order made out to the DMV. In-person filings at a field office also accept credit and debit cards.

How and Where to Submit

You have two main options. By mail, send the completed form and supporting documents to DMV, PO Box 942869, Sacramento, CA 94269. Titles processed by mail typically arrive within 15 to 30 days.¹² In person, visit any DMV field office; make an appointment online first, because walk-in waits can be long.

Some situations force an in-person visit: an address that doesn’t match DMV records, or a need to present original identification. The DMV Virtual Office lets you upload forms for review, but the REG 227 isn’t listed among its transactions, so confirm before relying on it.¹³

Penalties for False Statements

The REG 227 is signed under penalty of perjury. California Vehicle Code Section 20 makes it unlawful to use a false name or knowingly make any false statement or conceal a material fact on a document filed with the DMV, and a violation is a misdemeanor.¹⁴ Because the form carries a perjury declaration, knowingly lying on it can also be prosecuted as perjury under Penal Code Section 118, a felony carrying up to four years in state prison. The two situations that most often draw scrutiny are a seller claiming a title was “lost” when it was actually signed over to someone else, and an applicant understating the purchase price to reduce use tax.

1
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Application for Replacement or Transfer of Title (REG 227)
2
California DMV. Application for Replacement or Transfer of Title REG 227
3
California State Department of Motor Vehicles. Appendix 1F – Fees
4
California Department of Motor Vehicles. REG 227, Application for Duplicate or Paperless Title
5
State of California Department of Motor Vehicles. Notarized Lienholder Signatures for Replacement Certificates of Title
6
California State Department of Motor Vehicles. Signature by Power of Attorney (POA)
7
California State Department of Motor Vehicles. Smog Inspections
8
California DMV. Registration Fees
9
eCFR. Part 580 Odometer Disclosure Requirements
10
California DMV. Transactions Not Subject to Use Tax
11
California State Department of Motor Vehicles. Estate Valued at $150,000 or Less
12
California Department of Motor Vehicles. Title Transfers and Changes
13
California DMV. DMV Virtual Office
14
California Legislative Information. California Code VEH 20