American Registration

Certificate of Title

To export a vehicle from the USA, the "Certificate of title" (in short: „Title") must be provided, otherwise the US-customs will not give clearance for the vehicle. The “title” can be compared with the German registration document / certificate of acceptance part II, it gives no information about the number of previous owners, though. This paper informs about the model year and the number of kilometres the car has under its belt, since in the USA, with each ownership transfer the kilometre reading is determined and listed in the “title”.

Certificate of origin, Certificate of title – the differences

The "Certificate of Origin" only applies to new vehicles. Each vehicle sold as a second hand-vehicle in the USA, must have a "Certificate of Title". For registering a vehicle in Germany, having one of those is vital. If the ownership of a second hand-vehicle is being transferred, a new "Certificate of title" is issued. The initial registration date cannot be traced back after the second ownership transfer at the latest, only the model year is indicated. When in doubt, the registration offices in Germany determine the 1st of July of the respective model year as the initial registration day for the certificate of acceptance part II.
The TÜV SÜD-expert will inspect the vehicle following § 21 StVZO (Road Traffic Licensing Regulations) in compliance with applicable technical and registration related laws based on this date.