State service guide

Virginia replacement title: online $1 savings, $15 fee, lienholder mailing, and substitute-title boundaries

Virginia treats replacement title work as a narrow no-change transaction, not a catch-all title fix. The base rule is simple: if the Virginia title was lost, mutilated, illegible, or otherwise needs a clean duplicate, the owner can use the replacement-title lane and pay the current $15 fee. The practical Virginia details are the online channel for eligible owners and co-owners, the VSA 67 paper form for office or mail filings, the rule that only one owner needs to apply for a plain replacement, and the way lien status changes who receives the new title. Just as important, Virginia separates substitute-title cases from ordinary replacement requests, so a title correction, lien update, beneficiary change, or other record change should not be described as a routine duplicate-title order.

Open official source View Virginia services
Main form VSA 67 Application for Replacement and Substitute Titles for ordinary paper filings
Base fee $15 for a replacement title, with eligible online requests saving $1
Fastest channel Virginia's online title-replacement transaction for eligible owners or co-owners with no title changes
Lien rule If a lien is still unsatisfied, Virginia mails the replacement title to the lienholder

Overview

What this page helps you verify

A strong Virginia replacement-title page should split the process into three branches before listing paperwork. First, a true replacement title is the lost, mutilated, illegible, or stolen-title lane, and eligible owners can often do it online. Second, some requests look like replacements but are really substitute titles because the information on the title record is changing. Third, Virginia's e-title system creates a separate first-printed-title lane, because a person who never received a printed title after payoff may be ordering the first paper title rather than a replacement. The other Virginia-specific issues worth surfacing high on the page are the $15 title fee, the $1 online discount, the lienholder-mailing rule, and the special deceased-owner paperwork that can move the request onto VSA 66 instead of the ordinary VSA 67 form.

Last reviewed: 2026-05-22. This page was manually upgraded against service-specific official sources, but requirements can still change quickly.

Usually needed

Documents and information to prepare

  • Completed VSA 67 Application for Replacement and Substitute Titles if you are filing by mail or at a customer service center for an ordinary replacement-title request
  • Your current registration card and your driver's license or ID card if you apply in person at a DMV customer service center
  • The mutilated or illegible title if any portion of the original document remains and Virginia requires it to be submitted
  • Payment for the $15 replacement-title fee, or the lower online total when the request qualifies for Virginia's online title-replacement transaction
  • If the title record shows a lien that has already been paid, the lien-satisfaction information or other proof Virginia needs before it can issue the title to the owner instead of the lienholder
  • If the replacement involves a deceased owner, the deceased-owner application Virginia accepts, plus the death certificate and any supporting inheritance, court, or estate documents called for by DMV

Typical flow

What the process often looks like

  1. Decide first whether this is really a Virginia replacement-title case, a substitute-title case with information changes, or a first-printed-title request from an electronic title record.
  2. If the title details are not changing and you are an eligible owner or co-owner, use Virginia's online replacement-title transaction and update your address at least 24 hours beforehand if the DMV record needs to change.
  3. If you are filing by paper, complete VSA 67 for the ordinary replacement path and gather your current registration card, DMV-issued ID, title remnants, payment, and any lien paperwork before you go or mail the packet.
  4. If the case involves a deceased owner, stop and gather the death and estate documents Virginia requires, because DMV may route the filing through the deceased-owner application instead of a routine VSA 67 request.
  5. Submit the request online, at a customer service center, or by mail, and watch the mailing result closely because Virginia sends an unsatisfied-lien title to the lienholder rather than to the owner.

Transaction split

Virginia separates replacement titles from substitute titles and first-printed titles

That distinction belongs at the top of the page because it changes both the fee logic and the correct filing path.

  • Virginia's replacement-title page covers titles that are lost, mutilated, illegible, or otherwise need a clean reissue without changing the title record itself.
  • Virginia's substitute-title page handles record-change cases such as changing owner information, removing a deceased co-owner with right of survivorship, transferring a lien, adding or changing a beneficiary, or getting a title that shows a satisfied lien.
  • Virginia also has a separate first-printed-title lane for vehicles that have an electronic title record and have never had a paper title printed.

Channel and form rules

Virginia gives eligible owners an online duplicate-title lane, but the paper path still matters

This is not just a generic office-only DMV request.

  • Virginia's online transaction says an owner or co-owner can request a replacement title online if the title was lost, stolen, or mutilated and no information on the title is changing.
  • The same online service says eligible customers save $1 by ordering online, and the title is mailed within five business days to the address shown for the first owner on the current title record.
  • If the mailing address needs to change first, Virginia says the address update must be completed at least 24 hours before submitting the online title order.
  • For in-person or mail filings, Virginia uses VSA 67 for ordinary replacement or substitute title requests and tells in-person customers to bring the current registration card plus a driver's license or ID card.

Owners, liens, and mailing

Lien status changes who can apply and who receives the Virginia replacement title

This is the most practical state-specific rule after the online-eligibility screen.

  • Virginia's replacement-title page says that if there is more than one owner, only one owner needs to apply for a plain replacement title.
  • The same page says that if the title is free of liens, or if the lien existed and has been satisfied, the title will be mailed to the owner.
  • If the lien remains unsatisfied, Virginia says the replacement title is mailed to the lienholder.
  • VSA 67 also allows a lienholder to apply for a replacement title without the owner signatures when the lienholder certifies the title was lost, mutilated, or illegible.

Deceased-owner edge cases

Virginia's deceased-owner rules can move the filing off the ordinary VSA 67 path

A title problem after death is not always a simple replacement request.

  • Virginia's replacement-title page says a legal heir seeking a replacement title for a deceased owner may use either the deceased-owner application or VSA 67, depending on how the transfer is being handled.
  • The page also says a surviving owner who held the vehicle jointly with right of survivorship should not request a replacement title first just to remove the deceased co-owner. Virginia treats that as a substitute-title transaction.
  • Because the deceased-owner branch can require different estate paperwork, a reviewed Virginia page should keep it separate from the ordinary lost-title owner flow.

When the title was never printed

Virginia's electronic-title system means some people need a first printed title instead of a replacement

This is a real boundary that public title pages often blur.

  • Virginia says that if a vehicle was titled electronically and has never had a paper title printed, the owner can request the first printed title online or by mail.
  • If no lien was ever recorded, Virginia says the first printed title is issued at no charge.
  • If a lien was recorded or a paper title was previously printed, Virginia says the customer must move back into the substitute or replacement title rules instead of the no-fee first-printed-title lane.

Accuracy notes

Where people get tripped up

  • Virginia replacement-title content should keep replacement, substitute, and first-printed-title requests separate because DMV publishes different pages and rules for each one.
  • Do not flatten lien handling into one sentence. Virginia changes both mailing and signature authority based on whether the lien is satisfied.
  • The online title-replacement route is narrower than a generic 'duplicate online' label suggests. It is for owner or co-owner no-change cases, and the first owner's address has to be ready before submission.
  • Deceased-owner cleanup is an important Virginia edge case because some filings should move to the deceased-owner or substitute-title path instead of an ordinary replacement form.

FAQ

Common questions

  • Can I get a Virginia replacement title online?

    Usually yes if you are an owner or co-owner, the title was lost, stolen, or mutilated, and no information on the title is changing. Virginia says the online order is mailed to the first owner's title-record address and saves $1.

  • How much does a Virginia replacement title cost?

    Virginia's fee chart lists the replacement-title fee at $15. The online title-replacement service says eligible customers save $1 by ordering online.

  • What happens if my Virginia vehicle still has an unsatisfied lien?

    Virginia says the replacement title is mailed to the lienholder when the lien is still unsatisfied. If the lien has already been satisfied, the title can be mailed to the owner.

  • Do I use a replacement title in Virginia if I need to change information on the title?

    No. Virginia uses the substitute-title process when information on the title record is changing, such as lien updates, owner-information changes, beneficiary changes, or certain deceased-owner cleanups.

  • What if Virginia was holding my title electronically and I never received a paper title?

    That may be a first-printed-title request rather than a replacement title. Virginia says the first printed title can be issued at no charge if no lien was ever recorded and no paper title was previously printed.

Sources

Official references used for this page

Related services

More Virginia tasks people often check next

Virginia Car Insurance

Understand minimum coverage rules, proof-of-insurance expectations, and when you must show insurance to drive or register a vehicle.

Virginia Car Registration

Find out what is usually required to register a vehicle, including title documents, proof of ownership, fees, and emissions or inspection rules.

Virginia DMV Point System

Review how traffic convictions and other events can affect a driving record, suspension risk, and defensive-driving eligibility.

Virginia Driver's License

Get a clear starting point for applying for, replacing, or maintaining a standard driver license in your jurisdiction.