Build guides · Paperwork

Titles & Registration

The most-cross-posted anxiety on the cafe-racer forums — and the one with no single answer, because it depends where you are. Here's the map, US and UK, so you know what to check before money changes hands.

By Jason · Updated October 2026

A leather document folder and a motorcycle key on a garage workbench, with a classic fuel tank behind — AI-generated illustration (not a specific real motorcycle).

The rule that saves you: sort the paperwork before you buy, not after. A "cheap" project with no title is the most expensive bike you can own — a clean title routinely swings resale value more than several thousand dollars of parts.

United States

Clean title in the seller's name is what you want: signed over to you, then registered at your DMV. If the title's in a previous owner's name (an "open title"), you're relying on a chain of signatures — tread carefully.

Bill of sale only, no title. Common on old project bikes. Your options vary by state: some issue a title from a bill of sale plus a VIN inspection; others need a bonded title (you post a surety bond for a few years, after which it goes clean); a few make it genuinely hard. Check your state's DMV rules before buying, not after.

Salvage / rebuilt. A salvage title means the bike was written off; a rebuilt title means it passed inspection back to roadworthy. Both cut value and can complicate insurance — fine if the price reflects it, painful if you didn't know.

Buying out of state. Legal and common, but you register in your home state to your rules — factor in a VIN/emissions inspection and transport. The identical "noob question on out-of-state titles" gets asked weekly precisely because the answer is "it depends on your state."

United Kingdom

V5C logbook is the registration document — make sure the seller has it and the details match the bike (frame/engine numbers). Registering a change of keeper is straightforward with a valid V5C.

Imports need a NOVA (Notification of Vehicle Arrival) to HMRC within 14 days of arrival, and you cannot register the bike until that is done. Then comes a first registration with the DVLA and, depending on the bike, a vehicle approval (Motorcycle Single Vehicle Approval, MSVA, for most imported motorcycles) and an MOT.

Age-related vs personalised plates. A vehicle without its original registration may get an age-related mark on proof of age; keep any documentation that dates the bike.

Before you hand over cash — checklist

Title/V5C present, in the seller's name, details matching the frame and engine numbers.
You know exactly how your state/country turns this paperwork into a plate — and the cost.
No surprise "salvage", "rebuilt" or missing-NOVA status.
Frame and engine numbers are legible and not tampered with.

Weigh it in the value: the calculator lets you set title status (clean / bill-of-sale / salvage / none) and shows exactly how much it moves the number.

Sources

General guidance, not legal advice — rules vary by US state and change over time. Always confirm with your DMV or the DVLA.