New DMV online app allows instant check of vehicle-title status

August 19, 2015

Check the status of your motor-vehicle title online and for free using a new Vehicle Title Status Checker app, recently launched by the Idaho Transportation Department’s Division of Motor Vehicles. The new online feature allows DMV customers, auto dealers, banks and county motor vehicle offices to instantly check the status of an Idaho motor-vehicle title application. The new web-based application only requires a Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) from the vehicle being checked, explained ITD Vehicle Services Manager Amy Smith. “No personal-identifying information is displayed,” Smith said. “This application simply allows the viewer to see if a title has been issued or is in progress. It will also show a notation if a lien holder is recorded.” If a title has been issued, the title status checker will show the issue date for the title and allow a viewer to see if they have the most current Idaho title. The checker also will show if a title has been applied for, and the application’s current status. “The best part is that there is no fee required, and the feature is open to everyone,” Smith said. “This new online application was created to help Idaho DMV customers check to see if their title has been issued after applying at a county office, without the necessity of calling DMV or the county office.” “You can also use this application to determine if an Idaho vehicle title that someone is presenting you is valid,” she added. “You may want to do this before buying a vehicle from an individual, providing a loan for a vehicle purchase and recording a lien, or taking a vehicle in on trade as a dealer.” A vehicle’s VIN can be found on its registration document. The VIN can also be found on the vehicle itself, usually on a plate located on the dash just under the windshield on the driver’s side, or on a decal located on the driver’s side door edge or doorpost. Only title applications recorded in the title system, by either a county assessor’s vehicle office or ITD, are accessible. Titles are typically mailed the business day following the title-print date. If there is a lien holder recorded, the title or electronic title record will be sent directly to the lien holder and not to the titled owner. To use ITD’s Vehicle Title Status Checker, go to itd.idaho.gov and click on “DMV Online” to access Idaho DMV Online Services. Once there, look for the “Vehicle Title Status Checker” link.