I lost the title to my old car in Lake Forest. What do I file?

Lake Forest owners fill out REG 227, called "Application for Replacement or Transfer of Title." One form does both jobs. Turn it in at a DMV office or mail it with the $28 fee. The new Lake Forest title usually comes by mail 15 to 30 days later.

Do I need a notary for REG 227?

Just in one case: when the DMV's record lists a legal owner or lienholder, section 5 needs a notary's stamp. Signing over the title in a normal sale has no notary step in the DMV's instructions.

What if I can't get normal proof of ownership at all?

Below $5,000 in value, skip the bond. Lake Forest owners mail their ownership papers with REG 256. In that Statement of Facts you say how the car came to you, give its value, and confirm no lien is owed. A car worth $5,000 and up also needs a motor vehicle bond.

Does Lake Forest have its own junk-car ordinance?

We did not find Lake Forest's code online. State law lets each city adopt its own rule, so it may have one.

Town guide · California

Selling a junk car in Lake Forest

When a car has sat long enough in a Lake Forest garage to be called junk, the title is often what has gone missing. California handles that with one form. REG 227 both replaces a lost title and transfers ownership, so a missing title slows a sale down without ending it. We buy whole non-running and junk cars. You sell the whole car as it sits, and pickup is free anywhere in the US.

Updated October 11, 2026 · 9 sources

Photo: Photograph by Don Ramey Logan · CC BY-SA 3.0 · Wikimedia Commons

Lake Forest, the short version

Population: 86,333 (Census estimate, July 1, 2025)
County: Orange
Land area: 16.714 square miles
City junk-car code: Not found online; state law used here
Lost title: REG 227, $28 replacement fee
Replacement title by mail: Usually 15 to 30 days
Release of liability: REG 138 within 5 days

No title? Three routes

1. Replace it. REG 227 can be dropped off at a DMV office or mailed. Under Vehicle Code 9265, Lake Forest owners pay $28, and DMV says the new title often comes in 15 to 30 days. When DMV records list a legal owner or lienholder on a Lake Forest car, section 5 of the form needs a notary.

2. Statement of Facts, under $5,000. If normal proof of ownership is out of reach, the DMV's junking rules let a car valued below $5,000 through without a bond. In Lake Forest, mail whatever ownership papers you have plus REG 256. That Statement of Facts names the seller, states the car's value and confirms no lien.

3. Bond, $5,000 or more. Past that value, a motor vehicle bond is required.

Those dollar lines are the DMV's own tests for which path applies. Junk car with no title goes deeper, and car not in your name covers a title that was never moved to you.

What "junk" means to the DMV

The DMV calls a car a junk vehicle when it's dismantled because it was wrecked, abandoned or wouldn't run. Record the Lake Forest car as junk before you take it apart. Dismantling the Lake Forest car first means an added investigative service fee. Junking your own car in Lake Forest takes no dismantler's license. Filing that junk application also means giving up the car's plates to the DMV.

Two title brands sit nearby. Instead of a title, a total-loss car is issued a salvage certificate. A nonrepairable car, meaning surgically stripped, fully burned or declared fit only for parts or scrap, can never be titled or registered again.

The rest of the sale

Lake Forest sellers sign the Certificate of Title, with any lender listed on it. The buyer files and pays the $15 charge. The DMV's seller list includes no notary.
Sales for dismantling or wrecking skip the smog inspection.
Lake Forest sellers send REG 138 by mail or on the DMV site within five days.
In a regular sale, ordinary plates remain on the car.

We couldn't find Lake Forest's vehicle code online. Vehicle Code 22660 lets each city set its own nuisance rule for inoperative cars, so Lake Forest may have one.

Nearby towns

Mission Viejo is 3.3 miles away and Laguna Hills 4.6. Rancho Santa Margarita is 4.7 miles and Irvine 5.7. The California page has the statewide rules.

Getting an offer

Be upfront about the title, and include the year, make, model, miles and whether it runs. Use the form or call (877) 421-6008. The truck can reach a garage on a hillside street, a business-park lot, or the shop holding the car.

Questions people ask

I lost the title to my old car in Lake Forest. What do I file?: Lake Forest owners fill out REG 227, called "Application for Replacement or Transfer of Title." One form does both jobs. Turn it in at a DMV office or mail it with the $28 fee. The new Lake Forest title usually comes by mail 15 to 30 days later.
Do I need a notary for REG 227?: Just in one case: when the DMV's record lists a legal owner or lienholder, section 5 needs a notary's stamp. Signing over the title in a normal sale has no notary step in the DMV's instructions.
What if I can't get normal proof of ownership at all?: Below $5,000 in value, skip the bond. Lake Forest owners mail their ownership papers with REG 256. In that Statement of Facts you say how the car came to you, give its value, and confirm no lien is owed. A car worth $5,000 and up also needs a motor vehicle bond.
Does Lake Forest have its own junk-car ordinance?: We did not find Lake Forest's code online. State law lets each city adopt its own rule, so it may have one.

Sources

Every fact on this page comes from one of these. Checked October 11, 2026.

U.S. Census Bureau, city population estimates 2020-2025 www2.census.gov
U.S. Census Bureau, 2025 Gazetteer (land area) www2.census.gov
California DMV: Title transfers and changes dmv.ca.gov
California DMV: Registration fees dmv.ca.gov
California DMV: Junking a vehicle (individual) dmv.ca.gov
California DMV: Salvage, nonrepairable and junk definitions dmv.ca.gov
California DMV: REG 138 Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability dmv.ca.gov
California DMV: License plates dmv.ca.gov
California Vehicle Code 22660 (local abatement ordinances) california.public.law