How to Complete Ohio BMV Form 5736: Vehicle Registration Power of Attorney

Ohio BMV Form 5736, titled Power of Attorney for Ohio Vehicle Registration, lets a vehicle owner appoint another person to file a registration application or a transfer of registration on the owner’s behalf. The authority is narrow: it applies only to the specific vehicle listed on the form and only to registration paperwork. If you need someone to sign a certificate of title for you, that is a different form (BMV 3771), and using 5736 in its place will get you turned away.¹

When BMV 5736 Is the Right Form

Use 5736 when the owner or purchaser of a vehicle cannot appear in person at a deputy registrar to complete a registration application or a transfer of registration. The form’s own language limits the appointee’s authority to “make application, in my stead, for registration or transfer of registration for the following vehicle(s).”¹ Deployment, an out-of-state work assignment, or a health issue that prevents a trip to the counter are the typical reasons.

For anything that touches the certificate of title itself — a sale, a purchase, or a duplicate title request — you need BMV 3771, the Power of Attorney for Certificate of Title. The Ohio BMV requires the original 3771 when a power of attorney is used for electronic-title transactions.² Registration transactions go through the deputy registrar; title transactions go through the Clerk of Courts title office. Pick the form that matches the office you are actually sending someone to.

Filling Out the Form

The form is a single page. Print in blue or black ink and match your existing records exactly.

Vehicle Owner

Print your full legal name and address as they appear on your Ohio driver’s license or Ohio ID card. Then enter your Ohio driver’s license number or Ohio ID number. The Social Security number field is only for owners who do not hold an Ohio license or ID — the form reads “VEHICLE OWNER SSN (IF NO OH DL / OH ID).” Businesses use their Employer Identification Number or Tax Identification Number in place of a personal ID number.¹

Person Granted Authority

Print the full legal name and mailing address of the person you are appointing. That person, and only that person, can act under this form. They cannot pass the authority to someone else, and they cannot use the form for a vehicle it does not list.

Vehicle Information

Complete the vehicle fields for each vehicle covered by the appointment:

Plate number, if the vehicle already has Ohio plates
Vehicle year (model year)
Make
Type (sedan, truck, SUV, motorcycle, and so on)
Color
Serial number — the 17-character Vehicle Identification Number (VIN)

The VIN matters most. Copy it character by character from the existing title, the registration card, or the plate on the dashboard. A single wrong digit will stop the transaction at the counter because the clerk cannot match the form to the state record.¹

Leased and Jointly Owned Vehicles

If the vehicle is leased or has more than one owner on the title, the form asks for additional identification for the lessee or the other owner: an Ohio driver’s license number, Ohio ID card number, Social Security number, or Tax Identification Number.¹ Leaving those fields blank when they apply is a common reason forms come back rejected.

Signing the Form

The vehicle owner signs and dates at the bottom. The printed form does not include a notary acknowledgment block, and its instructions say the completed form “MUST BE ATTACHED TO THE BMV APPLICATION” rather than filed as a standalone notarized document.¹ If the deputy registrar you plan to visit asks for notarization anyway, getting it notarized in advance will save you a second trip.

When a licensed Ohio motor vehicle dealer is a party to the transaction, Ohio law waives notarization for powers of attorney used in titling and registration, and the dealer may sign electronically.³ A note on the form itself adds that dealers using digital signatures are “responsible for maintaining authenticated and accurate copies of all documents” and may need to prove authenticity on request.¹

If a business owns the vehicle, an authorized officer signs and prints their title beside the signature. If the clerk questions the officer’s authority, a corporate resolution or operating agreement can settle it on the spot.

Submitting the Form

Attach the completed 5736 to the BMV registration application and take the package to a deputy registrar. The appointed person presents the paperwork along with acceptable identification. The form directs users to www.bmv.ohio.gov for the current list of acceptable ID documents.¹ There is no separate fee for the form; its cost is folded into the underlying registration transaction.

Photocopy the signed form before you hand it in. The office keeps the original with the registration file, and you will not get it back.

Odometer Disclosures Are Not Covered

BMV 5736 is not built for odometer disclosure. Federal odometer regulations require a “secure power of attorney” whenever a power of attorney is used to record mileage in a transfer where the physical title is not available — usually because a lienholder holds it or the title has been lost. A general power of attorney does not satisfy the federal rule.⁴ If your transaction needs a mileage statement and the title is unavailable, ask the Clerk of Courts title office for the correct secure form before you start.

Where to Download BMV 5736

The Ohio Department of Public Safety publishes the form as a PDF that you can complete on screen or print and fill out by hand.¹ Searching “BMV 5736” on the Ohio BMV site will also bring it up. Deputy registrar offices keep paper copies if you would rather fill one out in person.

1
Ohio Department of Public Safety. BMV 5736 – Power of Attorney for Ohio Vehicle Registration
2
Ohio BMV. Vehicle Titles
3
Ohio Legislative Service Commission. Ohio Code 4505.063 – Motor Vehicle Dealer Transfers
4
NHTSA. Interpretation of Odometer Disclosure Regulation Regarding Powers of Attorney