Disclaimer: Check with your local DMV for correct and complete information. The info provided here is not necessarily correct or legal, just some peoples opinions.

[HK] "In Maine I was able to use "FFR1566K" as my VIN, but I also could have had them assign a new one too. I'm quite sure every state is different, and you should check with your state motor vehicle department to find out how they do things."

[BP] For complete info on Texas registration, click here.

[DG] "Here in Louisiana the DMV states the the frame or chassis is what they consider for the age of the car not the motor. The age of the motor has nothing to do with it. They want to know when the frame or chassis was constructed and that's the year of manufacture for the car. This is supplied with the car from FFR and that's what the DMV over here bases the year it is titled as."

[IL] "Florida has a provision for you to register it as a replica (i.e. of '65 if you wish)."

[AV] "So does Oregon. You just title it as a "1965 Cobra Replica" then you only have to meet the emissions of the year that it emulates."

[RO] "Oklahoma lets you register as a 65 as that is what the Certificate of origin states."

[EE] Registering in Florida: "Back earlier this year I went through the registration process on FFR1997K. I was able to title her as a '65 replica... Some of you have had trouble going this route, but here is the info you need:

Go down to the tax office and have them look up procedure # TL-48 "Application for Certificate of Title for a Replica Motor Vehicle".

It Covers all the information the tax office needs to get you in and out of the office with a '65 Title and registration, compliments of Engineer Ed 

You will need the following....

A. Form HSMV 82040 or 82041 "Application for Certificate of Title with/without Vehicle Registration. "Includes a special affidavit."

B. The Manufacturers Certificate of Origin.

C. Form HSMV 82042, Vehicle Identification Number and Odometer Verification, accurately completed by the retail purchaser(s) with the motor vehicle identification number verified by one of the four officials shown on the lower portion of the form, -or- An affidavit from the seller(s) and the purchaser(s) verifying that the vehicle identification number shown on the affidavit is identical to the vehicle identification number shown on the motor vehicle.

D. Florida sales tax or a form DR40, Sales tax Exemption Affidavit, or a form DR41A, Certificate of Motor Vehicle Sales Tax Exemption. Form HSMV 82040, Application for Certificate of Title with/without Vehicle Registration (Rev. 2/95), may be used in lieu of the above listed forms.

E. The Florida license plate number transferred to or purchased for the vehicle, or a non-use affidavit (yeah right )

F. All title fees

If anyone wants a faxed copy of the procedure TL-48, let me know and I'll be glad to send a copy.
I'm going to try and scan the document to make things easier, so bear with me.

Hope you appreciate this, it took some time and butt kissing with the "little old gray haired lady".

Don't forget to bring receipts for "major component" purchases. ie.. FFR kit, motor, transmission (or donor vehicle). Items such as lights, emblems, hoses, filters and the such are not taxed items, only major drivetrain items will need to be taxed if you "HAVE NOT" already paid tax."

[CD] "Go to your local DMV and ask for HSMV 82040,Application for Certificate of Title.
Get Procedure TL-07 and Procedure TL-41. You can contact the DMV:
DMV
323 10th. Ave. W.,ste 200
Palmetto Fl. 34221
(941)723-4551
Or go on line dmv@hsmv.state.fl.us"

[JP] "You can save enough in tax to pay for the titles Unlimited service. When I tried to register 2010 they wanted to do an inspection. The only option they gave me was to bring the car down for them to look at. Since she wasn't completely done yet, I went the TU route. Then the only thing I needed was a VIN verification from a cop or a Notary. Notary's in Florida are everywhere. It's easy to stamp some numbers in a scrap of aluminum and rivet it to the frame somewhere."

[RL] "I WOULD BE CAREFUL WITH THE VIN# ISSUE ,IVE MET A FEW PEOPLE THAT HAVE HAD PROBLEMS WITH THIS AS FAR AS GETTING IN TROUBLE ,ONE GUY IN MY AREA USED TITLES UNLIMITED ,AND THE TROOPERS IN OUR AREA FOUND OUT AND LAST TIME I SAW HIM HE WAS IN TROUBLE ,WE WERE AT THE NORTH EAST REPLICA CHALLENGE THE TROOPER SHOWED UP AND TOLD THE GENTLEMEN IF HE DROVE HIS CAR OFF OF THE RACE TRACK GRIUNDS HE WOULD BE ARRESTED ,HE GOT A TRAILER TO TAKE IT HOME THE TROPPER THEN TOLD HIM THAT HIMSELF AND HIS SUPERVISOR WOULD BE OVER TO TAKE THE REGISTRATION OFF OF THE CAR I HAVE TALKED TO OTHERS THAT HAVE BEEN BUSTED WHEN SOME SAVVY COP FIGURED IT OUT ,LIKE MY FRIEND THAT PUT ANTIQUE PLATES ON HIS REPLICA AFTER HE MADE UP A VIN# ,WE WERE AT A SHOW A COP WAS WALKING AROUND CHECKING OUT THE CARS (NOT IN UNIFORM) SAW THE PLATE ,STATED TO MY FRIEND THAT IT MUST BE ORIGINAL ,WHEN MY FRIEND STATED THAT IT WAS A REPLICA HE WANTED TO KNOW HOW HE GOT AN ANTIQUE PLATE (NEEDS TO BE OVER 25 YEARS OLD IN NH) HE SOON RECEIVED A LETTER FROM THE DMV ABOUT HIS VIN## ,I TOO WOULD LIKE TO REGISTER MINE AS A 65 FOR OBVIOUS REASONS BUT DID IT BY THE LAW AND IT IS REGISTERED AS A 2000
YOU SHOULD KNOW THAT IN MOST AREAS IT IS AGAINST THE LAW TO MESS WITH VIN# AND SOME STATES ARE WORSE THAN OTHERS SOME AREAS IT IS CONSIDERED A FELONY"

[SG] "Just titled my F5R in my home state (VA.) with the help of Titles Unlimited. 1966 Ford 2 door; no hassles, no questions, no inspections."

[CD] "TU charges $200 for a Cobra. On paper you sell TU your car and that price you put down as purchase will have to paid in taxes in your state. The nice part is you can have a 1965 Cobra Roadster."

[SC] "I just called my local DMV (GA.) and they said all I need it the Certificate of Origin that FFR give you with the kit. Now I just have to come up with what I want on my tag."

[SS] "I used titles unlimited up here in mass, have hit a brick wall! Yes, I did everything that they tell you to do. the problem is I use my ff5 number rather than adding a few numbers to it. They say it should have at least 11 entries."

[RS] "have nothing but praise for T.U. they are by and far the best. I tried the other main Title company and they not only were slow but more expensive.
With T.U.I paid $200 and had my papers back in 7 days. When I called back about a DMV issue they called right back and were quite helpful and courteous."

[MI] "Here in AZ the process is no hassle.

Just show up with your MSO from FFR or any one else....No inspection, The car gets registered as a 1965 Roadster. No emissions and inspection.

Tags, Title and Registration...$27.00.

Yearly tags $15.00 personalized plates another $25.00."

[CD] "TU would allow you to put anything down as your vin.#. Back then like the DMV told you it should have had more than four digits. I didn't have a Number from my kit manufacturer and I chose a 13 digit# that I made up ,no problems here in Florida. Today your new cars come with 17 digit#. Call TU and see if they might correct the vin#."

[SP] "I just checked both my Ford vin #'s from 65, both are 11 digits."

[MR] "You need to get a VIN assigned by the Mass. State Police. They will probably make you do it as a 2001 car. Cliff Henricksen went through this in Mass. and the only things they required were wipers, cats, and backup lights. Check out the sticker on the Breeze Website. I didn't know there were any FFR's on the Vineyard. Actually it stands to reason since it's only about 15 miles from the factory!"

Michigan: [JJ] "I checked into the process last year with the Secretary of State office. To my recollection there was three forms for the purpose obtainable from their office.

I was told that you need to keep all receipts and to have as much information on major donor parts as possible. If you are as anal as I am that was a given!

You will have to tow or trailer your Cobra to a State Police station and have the finished car inspected. The vehicle must be driveable at that time. They require that you return with the completed forms to finish the process in the Secretary of States office.

This procedure follows what I had to do getting a used truck with RV plates reregistered as a pickup, and for registering an assembled (home made) trailer in Michigan. The key is to transport the vehicle - do not drive it to the State Police. The hassle for trailering without a plate to the City Police Station is a nightmare. Take that from first hand experience!!!!!"

[DC] "live near Lansing, MI and didn't run into any real problems registering. A got a form from the SofS (Secretary of State)that was basically a safety inspection sheet. When I was ready; and I believe there is a time limit on when you have to return that form, a County Sheriff will come and inspect it. He'll fill out the form and you return it to the SofS. I can't really remember because it was awhile ago, but I believe there are a couple more forms you need to fill out. One of them I think was an application for a VIN number.
Once everything goes through, you then go to the State Police post for a final inspection and placement of the VIN number.
After that you'll get a title that says assembled vehicle.
As far as driving it to the State Police post, that is allowed, however you must go directly there and back and you need to have the paperwork from the SofS with you incase you get stopped.
That must be OK, since I arrived at the Police Post and no one questioned the fact that I drove it there or home.
All-in-all though it really is pretty simple to register in Michigan. Especially with no smog test!"

[rj] "This is what you have to do (MI.):
1) go to Secretary of State and get form TR54
2) get a police officer (any officer, I had a friend of a friend do mine) fill out the form that says it has the mandatory safety equipment. They require you to have windshield wipers, but if the police officer is cool, he will ignore this.
3) Take the completed TR54 form, along with the Bill of Sale and the Certificate of Manufacturer back to the Secretary of State.
4) They will enter your car into the system and assign you a VIN number.
5) Someone from the liscensing department will contact you, and either come to your house or will ask you to drive to the office to put the VIN sticker on. Takes from 4 - 8 weeks. You can buy temp plates after step 4, but no permanent plate.

EASY!

P.S. Just to warn you, they will want you to pay sales tax on the cost of the kit. And they will ask you to estimate the value of your Cobra (make it low, I said 15K) so they can figure out the cost of the plates."

West Virgina: [SS] "I know of 2 titled in W V. Mine : I went through the dmv ,A couple of forms to fill out, car has to be checked out by a certified state inspector, luckily I happen to be one. and paid tax on the kit price.
Titled as a 65 cobra cv.  The other one used titles unlimited in Alabama.
either way it doesn't seem to much of a problem."

[WL] "I went the Titles Unlimited route (WVa.). Titled as a 1965 AC Cobra, used a combination of FFR # and my initials as VIN. Everything worked fine. Even the Ins company was happy."

(MA.)  [SS] FOREWARNED-----------
I LIKE MOST OF YOU GUYS, WOULD HAVE PREFERRED THAT MY CAR BE REGISTERED AS A 65 COBRA, BUT ALAS, AFTER WAITING 10WEEKS FOR MY TITLE TO COME BACK FROM BOSTON, I CALLED TO FIND OUT MY TITLE WAS SITTING ON A MR. BURRS DESK, THE THEFT DIVISION OF DMV!! I HAD GONE THRU TITLES UNLIMITED. THEY ARE KEYING IN ON ALL CARS THAT THEY SUSPECT ARE KIT CARS, AND MAKING THE OWNERS GO THRU A STATE INSPECTION AND ISSUING A NEW VIN. AT THIS TIME, I HAVE KNOW IDEA WHAT MY CAR WILL END UP BEING TITLED AS. MY BEST GUESS IS A 1993 OR 2001 COBRA REPLICAR. WHICH MEANS I WILL HAVE TO HANG THE CATS BACK ON AND MY POLLUTION PUMP AS WELL. DOES ANYONE HAVE ANY IDEA IF I MIGHT BE ABLE TO PASS EMISSIONS WITHOUT THEM.
I BELIEVE, WHAT GAVE ME UP WAS THE FACT THAT I USE FF5'S VIN NUMBER. TOO SHORT
CRIME JUST DOES NUT PAY!!"

[cd] "registered in mass about 5 months ago as a 1965 AC cobra with titles unlimited. using a vin of FFRXXXX I got through the registry inspection and received my title in the mail 2 weeks later."

[1846] "Well, seems like TU is down in OHIO and my home of MASS. OK guys. Try it this way. Get your car "Salvage & Reconstructed Replica" titled... completely legit... and how you're supposed to do it here. Now listen closely. Here's the loophole... when you fill out your RMV-1 form, put 1965 as the year and you decide on the make and model... as in Cobra Replica or AC Cobra replica. Have your insurance agent stamp the insurance part (they'll have no clue what to do with a kit car anyways) and go to the registry with a spread sheet of every nut, bolt, can of paint listing price and tax paid, with the receipts to back up this list up. You needed the receipts for the salvage/reconstructed replica title anyways. Now, make sure your list has some stuff that you did not pay tax on. Like the donor. It's best if you have the title. Now, they can say "hey, you owe us tax on that thing and you need to pay a penalty for not titling it in 30 days". You pay your $118 or so (that's the # I paid) and walk out with a plate and a month later the title for the 65 whatchamacallit comes in the mail. No Titles Unlimited "red flag" that's probably been sent out around the state, now.

Here's another way to go... A Lone Star dealer (while cutting FFR up and down) told me... if there is at least a 10 inch section of the chassis from a particular car in the new car, then it can be titled as that old car. So buy a 65 Ford anything, weld 10" onto the frame, be sure that you have the title and run with that. I've not independently verified that this is true, but it's worth checking out."

You need to go to the treasurer's office, (where you renew tags & title cars) and ask for a specially constructed vehicle affidavit. This form will require you to show where your frame, body, and engine came from. You simply fill out the form, have your receipts to prove where you got the stuff. Then you call the KHP to make an appointment to have the car inspected for an "MV-1"(I think) form, where they will look at your FFR MSO, your receipts, and the car to issue you a VIN. (unless your car already has a VIN) The good news is that the KHP only want 10 bucks or so from you,,,,,the bad news is that the blood sucking SOBs at the treasurers office will want more! They will want you to "add up" your receipts of what it "cost" to build your car so they can tax your a$$ off. 
This is why you only want the price of the kit on one receipt. All of your "options" are nobodies business but yours. You want the "cost" of your build to be "low" so your "tax value" will be lower.

Luckily there is no tree hugging sissy a$$ smog BS to deal with! Oh, can you tell I just loooooove to pay taxes!!!! I bet each one of us buys at least one or two FFR kits a year with what we pay good 'ol uncle sam."

Florida:

[EE] "It depends on "where" in Florida you live.
Most counties do not have emissions testing. In fact, Hillsborough just eliminated its testing in July af last year. I think there may still be testing in West Palm Beach county and possibly Dade county (Miami area).
Other than that, there are VERY few counties with the emission testing requirements.

If you do NOT already have a title for your car, I suggest trying to title the vehicle as a 65.

I have a copy of the Florida Statute that covers titling procedures for replica vehicles.
I titled FFR1997K as a 1965 last year and I will never have to worry about the emissions testing."

The last time I research this subject with the state, (2 years ago)the car had to meet the requirements that were in effect the year the engine was built. That is to say if the engine came out of a 1990 GT it had to meet 1990 emissions standards. How is this monitored you ask? From what I can tell it is not. When you register your car following completion of the build you may have to prove what year of engine you installed. But to my knowledge with the elimination of emissions testing, that is as far as it goes."

Ohio:

[sb] "We seem to hear a lot of mumbo jumbo about registering Cobras, but in Ohio it's a breeze. Call the Highway Patrol and have them mail or fax a form for salvage/self-assembled vehicle inspection. Fill it out and mail it in with $50. A couple weeks later you'll receive a form with a phone number on it to call and set up an appt for inspection. You'll need that form, your certificate of origin from FFR, and receipts for the drivetrain/donor vehicle. You can tow or drive your car on the day of inspection without any tags on the car. They will do an inspection of the car which solely consists of checking the engine and tranny serial #'s to see if they're stolen or not. A couple weeks later they'll call/mail you to set another appt to affix the vin tag to the frame of your car. (another trip to the inspection station is mandatory) That's all there is to it! Two road trips/50 bucks. Couldn't be any cheaper or simpler, and no worries about the state coming back to haunt you because you used "creative out-of-state titling"."

[jg] "Finally registered. OK so its easy in OH to get the paperwork approved and the car titled. How about the difficult task of passing emission testing requirements like we need to do in Cincinnati, Dayton, Columbus, Cleveland, etc. Is it possible to build a potatoe or does everything need to be EFI complete with Catalytic Converters. Double Venom told me its possible to register the car as a Collector Vehicle and then it possibly is exempt from pollution requirements. I think with a Collector Vehicle in OH you're limited to driving <3k miles per year. DV told me that technically the Cobra must be registered as a 2001 Composite Vehicle. I'm nor sure what that means in terms of keeping it legal. At the same time, I'm not crazy about having some 16 year old high school dropout at the emission testing place running my potential beast wide open on the rollers. How about some ideas and what other OH FFR owners have done."

[jh] "Depending on where you have your car inspected will depend on how the inspection will go. It is set up to work like Chris said but some places feel they have more power to do what they want. Some places tell you that wipers, back up lamps, ect. are a must. The state inspection is looking for stolen parts and nothing more. If you used a donor and have the title in your name things go easier.
It is my understanding that if you use a older motor you won't have to have it e-checked. I'm not in a part of the state that has to do this but I was told to use a 1960's or early 1970's block and then you don't have to worry about e-check."

[DV] "Pure and simple. Can you register the car as a '65, '66? NO! Not legally. Can you get around the "year" thing in Ohio? Yes...until they catch you, which they will most likely do at inspection.

Can they check for anything other than serial numbers during your first inspection?
Absolutely! Are back up lights, washer, wipers, etc. needed? The answer is gray. Basically if the original car did not have back up lights, etc., then you do not have to have them. However, being titled as a 2000, 2001, the inspecting Officer can demand they be in place. As with anything else, and especially in dealing with the State, each inspection office has it owns guidelines.

Another note: If you have a professional VIN plate made up before inspection, listing your VIN number that meets new guide lines, this plate is permanently attached to the car, (preferably on the firewall with rivets)
then you will NOT have to wait the two weeks it takes for the State to make you one, and two trips to the inspection station are NOT necessary.

Ohio is very easy fellas. Just follow the rules without bending and your car will fly through.

One more thing, technically, you can trailer the car to the inspection, but by law you have to drive it into the garage. What they want is a completed car, ready to be put on the road. The paper that you receive from the State for your inspection, allows you to drive the car to and from the inspection without tags.

Did I miss anything?  Ps. ya I did, "Collector tags" have no mileage restrictions! Historical tags do but not Collector tags. If you have anymore questions feel free to call me at the shop- 740-852-5280 and I will go into full details."

Washington:

[CL] "The State Patrol assigns the model year as the date of manufacture of the kit. The car won't have to be emissions tested for 5 years. I had my FFR with no emissions equipment but cats tested and it passed easily. When you take the SP paper work to the DOL they might screw up and give you a '65 title. Just don't go to the office on Sprague because they seem to know what they are doing."

[PP] "I asked a state patrol inspector for our area on Tuesday about registering a "kit" car. He said in our area we don't have to go through the sniffer so it wouldn't be a problem. I asked him about antique plates and his reply was that if you could find 65 plates with the date stamped into them. You could probably get them registered and only have to pay licensing once under the antique auto law but he wasn't sure."

[Neal] "The law is clear that the registered date can be no older than the date of the kit purchase. The DMV dictates this, not the state patrol. Some DMV offices have a hard time with interpretation of the law and I know of at least one FFR that has a '65 reg date. FFR cert of origin has describes the car as a '65. Find the right office and you may be lucky. Mine is a '99. You will need to have your pipes probed after five years though. A referee will look at the car at that time and most likely give you an exemption. The state patrol inspection is necessary. They look at parts receipts and a SN on your car. Be sure you can find the FFR SN on the frame otherwise they will assign a VIN."

1/car will have to go thru an initial inspection by mass dmv.
2/must have all docs including donor car title.
3/if what was on the car in 1965 is on your ff5, in other words as ff5 provides you with, that will work just fine.
4/quote: from mass dmv head inspector, you will only have to pass a safety inspection each year, not emissions!!!!!!!!!!!!
4a/car will be registered and titled in the year it was inspected by mass dmv, not the engine year!!!!!example 2001 ford 1965 cobra replica!!!!!!!!
5/evidently, they have come up with a new classification for these cars and they were very kind to us, I'm sure you will all agree.
6/from what my take on them was, they are not out to get us, just to make sure that the car's are in fact road worthy, and that the car's were not built using stolen parts.
7/i was advised by several people that i should go the way that I did with tu, totally a wasted stupid step!!!!!!!!!
8/in conclusion, the devil you know is better than the one you don't.
9/peace at last, peace at last!!!!!!!!"

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