[1969GiPper]

If you’re in Michigan and hoping to locate a classic vehicle that you once owned or you drive a classic vehicle then here is some information that you need to be aware of.

Based on this the vehicle you’re looking for could still be on the road and the Department of Motor Vehicles doesn’t know it (even if they are willing to run a search of the VIN for you). This information may also be helpful in the event you get stopped by law enforcement while driving your classic vehicle in Michigan. How many other states operate this way I do not know.

In 2013 I was at the Michigan Secretary of State (a.k.a. DMV) and showed the lady at the counter my title for my 1969 G/P dated June 1973 and asked if she could run the VIN to see if their database still shows me as the owner. She ran the VIN and it came back as no record of it. As far as the SOS was concerned the car didn't exist. I asked her why and she asked me if I had current license plates on the car? I showed her the wrinkled up registration that showed that I had Michigan "non-expiring authentic" plates on it. She asked me if I had had the plates for more than 10 years and I responded yes, since 1997. She said that's why the plates and VIN don't show up in their database.

Apparently the Michigan SOS stops keeping track of a VIN and title if it's been dormant (no activity) for over 10 years and no renewal of license plates takes place during that same time period. Basically they figure the vehicle has been scrapped or just disappeared. In my case I had Michigan non-expiring authentic license plates that never needed to be renewed. So my vehicle got dropped from their database when the ten years of inactivity was up. I said what happens if I get stopped by the police and they run my VIN and/or license plate number? She said they’ll get nothing and may impound the vehicle until they can figure out what’s going on. It all depends on the officer and his/her knowledge of this little known fact.

I asked her how can I correct the problem and she said that because I had the old title and non-expiring registration with me it was easy. She took my original title from 1973 and scanned it into their database. Problem solved and their database stills shows me as the titled owner since 1973. Then she issued me a new "temporary" registration to go with my old non-expiring authentic plates. She said that I'd receive a "real" registration in the mail in a few days and that there would also be a blue piece of paper in the envelope. She said that I should keep that blue paper in the car and if I get stopped by the police, give it to them along with the new non-expiring authentic registration. The blue paper has information on it that tells law enforcement about the use of Authentic Historic Vehicle Plates as well as the following:

"Note to Law Enforcement: Authentic historic plate registrations are NOT maintained on the Law Enforcement Information Network (LEIN). To verify this registration, review the owner's validated registration document and/or send a LEIN inquiry to the Michigan Department of State (ORI: MI230015V)."

So if you live in Michigan and have a classic vehicle that’s been titled to you for over the last 10 years and you have non-expiring authentic license plates on it during that 10year period you may want to pay a visit to the Secretary of State. And if you’re trying to track down a classic vehicle that you previously owned understand that it could still be on the road in Michigan and their Secretary of State (DMV) has no record of it.

Sorry for such a long post.

[Chris65LeMans]

Wow. On the plus side; there's no way that the California DMV would have been as helpful for you.

[Keith Seymore]

Good info.

Thank you for posting that, Jim.

K