How to Complete the NY MV-51B: Statement of Ownership for Non-Titled Vehicles

The NY MV-51B form is a one-page sworn statement you file with the New York DMV to establish ownership of a non-titled vehicle, boat, snowmobile, or ATV when no transferable registration is available. You complete it, sign it under penalty of a Class A misdemeanor for false statements, and bring it to any motor vehicle office along with a bill of sale, VIN verification, and a standard registration application. The DMV has final discretion over whether to accept it.¹

When the Form Applies

New York requires a title certificate for most motor vehicles from model year 1973 forward.² Older vehicles fall outside the titling rule, as do ATVs, limited-use motorcycles, boats, and snowmobiles. For these, the MV-51B covers two situations:¹

Establishing ownership of a vehicle that never required a title certificate.
Substituting for a lost transferable registration on a non-titled vehicle (including a historical vehicle), boat, snowmobile, or ATV that can’t be replaced.

One hard limit: the form cannot be used for abandoned vehicles. If a vehicle has been abandoned on your property, contact your local police department. A separate form, the Statement of Abandoned Vehicle (MV-37), handles certain abandoned vehicles valued at $1,250 or less that are at least 10 model years old and have sat for at least a month, and only for transfer to a registered dismantler or itinerant vehicle collector.³

How to Fill Out the Form

Download the free PDF from the DMV website. You can type into the PDF before printing, or complete it by hand in blue or black ink.

Vehicle Description

Start at the top with the identifying information for the vehicle. You’ll enter the Vehicle Identification Number, year, make, model, and body type. On most cars, the VIN sits on a metal plate visible through the lower-left corner of the windshield or on a sticker on the driver-side door jamb. On a boat, look for the Hull Identification Number on the transom. Transcribe the number one character at a time against the plate itself. A single wrong digit means the DMV cannot match the vehicle to any record, and the application comes back.

How You Obtained the Vehicle

The form asks you to explain how the vehicle came into your possession. Be specific. Include the seller’s full name, the date of the transaction, and the price paid. If the vehicle was a gift, describe your relationship to the person who gave it to you. The DMV uses this narrative to judge whether the ownership claim is plausible, and vague answers invite extra scrutiny or outright rejection.

Certification and Signature

At the bottom you sign a certification that you are the owner of the property described. The form carries a legal notice that false statements are punishable under Section 210.45 of the New York Penal Law, which makes a punishable false written statement a Class A misdemeanor.⁴ Read what you’ve written before you sign.

VIN Verification Is a Separate Step

Writing the VIN on the form is not enough. The DMV also wants independent proof that the number on the form matches the number physically on the vehicle. Three options are accepted:

A VIN tracing. Lay a piece of paper over the VIN plate and rub a pencil across it to lift an impression.
A clear photograph of the VIN plate on the vehicle.
A signed statement from a police officer who has inspected the vehicle and verified the number.

For older vehicles where the plate is hard to read or sits in an unusual spot, the police verification route tends to be the most reliable. Some DMV offices also perform VIN inspections on site, but availability varies.

The Full Document Package

To register a non-titled vehicle, bring all of the following to a motor vehicle office:¹

The completed, signed MV-51B.
A bill of sale, or a completed Certification of Sale or Transfer for Non-Titled Vehicles (form MV-51). The MV-51 must show an unbroken chain of ownership from all previous owners and cannot be used by dealers.⁵
VIN verification (tracing, photograph, or police statement).
A completed MV-82 Vehicle Registration/Title Application.
Proof of name and date of birth as described on form ID-82.
An insurance ID card, if required for your vehicle type.

If you are selling or giving away a non-titled vehicle rather than registering it yourself, you give the buyer a completed MV-51B along with a bill of sale or MV-51. The buyer uses those documents when they go to register.

When the Former Owner Must Complete the Form

A rule here catches people off guard. If the vehicle has been in your possession for less than one year, and the former owner either never registered it or lost the registration and cannot get a duplicate, the former owner is the one who must complete the MV-51B and the MV-51 or bill of sale.¹ That means you need the seller’s cooperation at the time of sale. If the seller disappears afterward, you may have no way to complete the registration, so get the paperwork signed when money changes hands.

Where You Submit and What It Costs

Bring the complete package to any New York motor vehicle office in person. There is no mail or online option for MV-51B transactions.

For a first-time registration, expect a $50 title certificate fee on top of the registration fee. Registration fees for passenger vehicles are based on weight and cover a two-year period, running from $26 for the lightest vehicles up to $140 for those over 6,950 pounds. Vehicles with six or more cylinders, or electric vehicles, have a minimum two-year fee of $32.50.⁶

You will also owe county use tax on the purchase. New York calculates the rate based on the buyer’s county of residence, so the amount varies.⁷ The DMV uses the purchase price on the bill of sale to calculate the tax, so bring documentation of what you paid.

Acceptance of the MV-51B as proof of ownership is discretionary. If the DMV sees inconsistencies in the ownership story or has concerns about the vehicle’s history, the office can refuse the application and request further documentation.¹

Mistakes That Delay or Kill the Application

The most frequent reason applications get rejected is an incorrect or incomplete VIN. Verify every character against the physical plate before you submit.

Second most common: showing up without VIN verification. The sworn statement by itself does not prove the number on the form is the number on the vehicle. Bring the tracing, photograph, or police statement.

Third: forgetting the bill of sale or MV-51. The MV-51B does not document the transaction on its own. When the vehicle has passed through multiple owners before you, the MV-51 must show the chain of transfers back through each one.

Finally, a thin acquisition story draws scrutiny. Write a specific account of how you got the vehicle, with date, seller’s full name, and price paid. Concrete detail moves the application through; vague answers slow it down or stop it.

1
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. MV-51B Statement of Ownership for Non-Titled Vehicles, Boats, Snowmobiles and All-Terrain Vehicles
2
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Acceptable Proofs of Ownership for Vehicles
3
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Abandoned and Unclaimed Vehicles
4
New York State Senate. New York Penal Law 210.45 – Making a Punishable False Written Statement
5
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. MV-51 Certification of Sale or Transfer for Non-Titled Vehicles, Boats, Snowmobiles, and All-Terrain Vehicles
6
New York State Department of Motor Vehicles. Passenger Vehicle Registration Fees, Use Taxes and Supplemental Fees
7
New York State Department of Tax and Finance. Sales Tax Rates, Additional Sales Taxes, and Fees