Titling a Repossessed Vehicle

A repossessed vehicle is a vehicle that was used as collateral to obtain a loan, either to pay for the vehicle or some other commodity, but the registered owner defaulted in satisfying the terms of the loan contract and the lender, or lienholder, has taken possession of the vehicle for the purpose of recovering the loan in whole or in part. The lienholder must first title the repossessed vehicle in their name before reselling.

You must provide proof of address when titling a vehicle, unless you already have an established Virginia record with DMV, such as a Virginia driver's license, identification card, or title. If the vehicle is being titled in more than one name, only the first listed owner is required to provide proof of his or her address. A lienholder that is a business does not have to provide proof of address.

Before registering a repossessed vehicle, you must pay sales and use tax.

In-State Lienholders

If you are a lienholder and are repossessing a vehicle currently titled in Virginia, you must obtain a repossession (REPO) title in your name after taking possession of the vehicle and prior to reselling it. This requirement, which falls under the privacy protection law, ensures that information about the previous owner is not divulged to an individual who purchases the vehicle from you.

Out-of-State Lienholders

Other states do not always required repossessed vehicles to be titled in the lienholder's name before being sold. However, a lienholder must title an out-of-state repossessed vehicle in his name before selling it in Virginia, unless the lienholder sells it to a licensed Virginia motor vehicle dealer. Licensed Virginia motor vehicle dealers can purchase out-of-state repossessed vehicles from a lienholder and resell them in Virginia without first obtaining a Virginia REPO title in the lienholder's name.

If you are applying for a Virginia REPO title, you, or your authorized agent, must use a Repossession of Vehicle Titled Out-of-State form, VSA 98, to apply for the Virginia REPO title in your name. All repossession documents required by the originating state (as listed on page 2 of the VSA 98) must accompany the form, unless the model year of the vehicle is not required by law to be titled in the other state.