The part you do yourself

Getting your VIN inspected

Montana will not issue a title for a vehicle nobody has looked at. Before it accepts our application, an independent person has to stand at your vehicle, read the number off it, and write it on Montana's form.

That person can't be you and it can't be us. It has to be somebody your own state allows to verify a VIN, and every state keeps its own list.

This page walks the whole step from start to finish. Pick your state first, because that decides who you'll be dealing with. Then read on for what to say when you call, what we send you to bring, what the inspector does, what to collect before they leave, and what to do with the form afterwards. Most people are done in one visit of ten or fifteen minutes.

22 states let you book a private inspector26 states route it through police or a state office50 states and DC, each read off that state's own form

1 Find out who can do it where you live

Montana's rule is that whoever your state lets verify a VIN for its own titles may complete Montana's form. That sounds simple, and it gives a different answer in every state. In Florida it includes any notary. In Pennsylvania a notary only counts if a dealership or a full agent employs them, and the everyday answer is the mechanic at a state inspection station. In Ohio it's the deputy registrar's office. In Texas, and in twenty other states, it's a police officer or a state office and nobody else. Search results will tell you to find a mobile notary, which is true in Florida and almost nowhere else.

Every entry on this site was read off the state's own form or titling page and checked on 2026-08-26. If your state's rules have moved since, tell us and we'll correct it the same week.

2 Call before you go anywhere

If your state is police-only. Call the non-emergency line, not 911 and not the front counter. Ask for "a VIN verification for an out-of-state title application," in those words. "Inspection" sounds like a safety check they aren't set up to do, and a front desk will sometimes say no to something the auto theft unit does every week. If the city department declines, try the sheriff's office. Some departments do this free while you wait. Some won't do it at all, and five minutes on the phone now is how you find out which.

If your state has a private route. Book whoever the list names and tell them, when you book, that the form is Montana's and that they'll be completing Section 2 of it. A dealer or mechanic who does VIN verifications for your own state will recognize the job. Expect to pay $25 to $50, more if they come to you.

If your state names a specific office. Some do. North Carolina sends this to the State Highway Patrol Investigative Services Unit, not your local department. Your state's page gives you the number to call, so start there rather than at the front desk.

3 Print what we send you

When you open your case we email you the paperwork. Print it at 100 percent, not "fit to page." A shrunken form gets rejected.

  • Montana form MV20, with your vehicle's details already on it. Section 2 is the inspector's. Section 1 is ours, and we finish it once the form comes back. Nobody at the inspection should write anywhere in Section 1.
  • A one-page cover letter addressed to the inspector. It says what the form is, quotes Montana's own instruction that an out-of-state inspection is proper, and shows them which boxes are theirs. Hand it over before you hand over the form. Most inspectors want to know that what they're signing is legitimate, and the letter answers that so you don't have to.
  • The bill of sale. It names the Montana company we operate through rather than Pink Slip Title, which catches people out. That company holds the title for the few weeks Montana needs, then signs it straight over to you. Sign it and put it in the envelope with the form.

4 At the vehicle

The inspector looks at the vehicle and fills in Section 2 by hand, in ink, standing at it. They write the year, make, model and color, the VIN exactly as it reads on the vehicle, the odometer reading, and where on the vehicle they found the number. Then they sign and date it and add their name, their ID or badge number, and their department or business.

Three mistakes we see over and over:

  • The wrong form. An inspector who does this for a living will reach for their own state's form out of habit. Montana won't accept it. The cover letter says so in its first paragraph.
  • Something crossed out. Montana discards a form with a correction on it, even an initialed one. If a box gets written wrong, stop there and email us. We'll send a fresh copy the same day. A reprint is free. A crossed-out box means the form goes back to Montana and adds a month.
  • Writing in Section 1. It is the most common reason one of these forms has to be redone and the easiest to avoid. If a box isn't in Section 2, nobody at the vehicle should be filling it in.

The vehicle does not have to run, move, or be towed. It gets inspected where it sits: a barn, a driveway, a storage unit.

5 Before the inspector leaves: their credential

Montana wants proof that the person who signed was allowed to. One document is enough, and the easy moment to get it is while you're still standing together.

  • A police officer: a government photo ID, a department officer card, or a department business card. Anything that shows their name and their department.
  • A dealer, mechanic, or licensed verifier: their license, certificate, or mechanic number. A business card works if the license number is printed on it.
  • A Florida notary: nothing extra. The stamp on the form already carries the name, the commission number, and the expiry.

A photo of a badge on its own is refused. A badge shows a number and a department but no name, and Montana can't match a number to a person. Ask for the card. Officers who do this regularly expect to be asked.

6 Before you leave: four photos

Take these on your phone at the inspection, so the odometer photo shows the same number the inspector wrote down.

  • The VIN. On a car or truck, through the windshield at the bottom of the driver's side. On a motorcycle or off-road machine, wherever it's stamped on the frame.
  • The odometer. It has to match Section 2 exactly. If there is no odometer, which is normal on an ATV or dirt bike, tell us in your case.
  • The vehicle. Enough of it to show what it is.
  • The federal safety label, on cars and trucks from 1981 onward. Usually the driver's door jamb; sometimes the door edge, the pillar, under the hood, or inside the glove box. Motorcycles, dirt bikes, ATVs and side-by-sides don't have one, and neither does anything from 1980 or earlier. If your car should have one and it's gone, say so in your case rather than skipping the inspection over it.

Add the photos to your case, or email them to us.

7 Mail the form back

Put the original MV20, the inspector's credential (a printed photo is fine), and the signed bill of sale in an envelope with the return label from your packet and one Forever stamp, and mail it. It's tracked. Before you seal it, take a photo of the completed Section 2 and send it to us, so we can check it while the envelope is on its way and you aren't waiting on the mail to hear about a problem.

What happens after that

We finish our half of the form, attach your photos, and prepare everything else Montana wants with the application. Then we file it. Montana usually takes about a month. When the title arrives, we charge the $279 balance, sign the vehicle over to you, and mail you the title and the bill of sale, tracked. From printing the forms to holding the title is typically five to seven weeks.

What it costs

  • To open your case: $20. That pays for the prepared MV20, the cover letter, and the bill of sale. Yours to keep whichever way it goes.
  • The inspection: paid by you, to the inspector. Often free with police. Usually $25 to $50 for a notary, dealer, or mechanic.
  • When the title is in our hands: $279. It isn't charged when you mail the form or when we file, only when the title is on our desk.
  • Total to us: $299, and that includes Montana's fees.

We split it this way because the inspection is the one part we can't do for you, and in about half the country it means asking a police officer. Taking $299 up front and then finding out nobody will sign would leave you paying for our problem, so the larger payment waits until there is a title. The pricing page has the full breakdown.

Questions we get asked

Why does Montana want this at all?

Because you're asking a state to create an ownership record for a vehicle it has never seen, on the strength of a bill of sale. An independent person confirming that the vehicle exists and that the number on it matches the paperwork is what makes the resulting title hold up.

The police said no. Now what?

Call the non-emergency line rather than walking up to the front desk, and ask for a VIN verification for a title application. Try the sheriff's office and the auto theft unit; they often say yes where a city department says no. If you've asked everyone and it's still a no, email us and we'll refund your $20.

Will an out-of-state officer sign a Montana form?

Yes, routinely. Montana's application instructions say in so many words that an out-of-state officer may do the inspection, and the cover letter quotes that line. Show them the letter first.

Can it be done over video?

No. This isn't a notarization. The inspector isn't witnessing a signature; they're recording what they can see on the vehicle, and that means being there.

My VIN is missing, corroded, or doesn't match the paperwork.

Stop before you book anyone and email us. That's a different procedure, and sending an inspector to it wastes their time and your money.

How do I know this is right for my state?

Every state here was read off that state's own form or titling page, and each page says the date it was checked and links the source. Where a state names a specific office, like North Carolina's State Highway Patrol Investigative Services Unit, we give you the phone number rather than sending you to your local police station. If you find a rule has moved, tell us and we'll correct it the same week.

$20 to start · $279 when the title is in our hands

Ready when you are.

See how it works

Pick your state above first. If it says talk to us, please do, before you pay anything.

All 50 states

Who can verify a VIN in each state, checked against that state's own form on 2026-08-26.