To replace a lost, stolen or damaged Pennsylvania title, fill in form MV-38O, Application for Duplicate Certificate of Title by Owner, and mail it to PennDOT with a check or money order for $72. It’s free if the title never arrived in the mail and you apply within 90 days.
What you need
- MV-38O, completed and signed by every owner
- A $72 check or money order payable to the “Commonwealth of Pennsylvania” (no cash)
- The defaced title, if it was damaged
- If the lien is paid off: the lienholder’s section completed, or the title with the lien satisfied attached
Filling in MV-38O
MV-38O is a fillable PDF.
- Section A, applicant and vehicle: title number, VIN, your name, PA driver license or photo ID number and date of birth, and the same for any co-owner. Tick the box and add your new street address if it changed.
- Section B, reason: lost/destroyed, defaced (attach it), stolen, never received (give your correct address), or lien satisfied on the attached title.
- Section C, declaration: sign and date. It’s an unsworn declaration under penalty of perjury, so no notary is needed.
- Section D: only if a lien was satisfied. The lienholder gives the date of satisfaction and signs.
Where to send it
Mail it to the address on the form: Bureau of Motor Vehicles, P.O. Box 68593, Harrisburg, PA 17106-8593.
Who uses a different form
- Lienholders use MV-38L.
- Dealers use MV-38D.
Selling?
You need the title to sign it over at an authorized agent. See Pennsylvania title transfer after a private sale.