What do you need to get a Car Title Loan?

The question “What do you need to get a Car Title Loan” is one that gets asked often and often answered partially, but not fully. The main reason for the partial answer is there are really two parts to this question.

The first part is “What do you need to qualify for a title loan?”; and the second part “What do you need to complete the process of acquiring a title loan?”. These questions have different answers.

Once we answer both of these fully, you will be able to easily answer the first question. The get a title loan you will need to both qualify for one and meet the requirements to complete the loan and get funded.

Some borrowers can qualify for a loan (get approved) bet then fail to meet what is needed to complete and fund the loan. Understanding what these requirements are before applying will help minimize the chance of this happening.

What do you need to Qualify for a Title Loan?

To qualify for a title loan you will simply need to meet the title loan requirements. This means you will need to have:

1. A vehicle with equity
2. A lien free title
3. Valid drivers license
4. Insurance

These are the main requirements to qualify for a car title loan. For online title loans, sometimes lenders will require additional steps; these we can cover in the next section. You’ll notice one item that is not on the list of requirements is checking or bank account.

Do you need a bank account to get a title loan? No, not necessarily. However, if you want your loan funded by direct deposit, then a bank account will be necessary.

What do you need to Acquire a title loan?

This portion of the question includes the steps and actions you will need to take to get a title loan. As we frequently mention, preparation will help save time and money in the long run.

While it is not required, it is highly recommended. If you are not sure how to prepare for a title loan read our guide.

First, you will need to apply for a car title loan. During the application process you will need to provide vehicle information. For completely online title loans this includes vehicle pictures.

For simplicity, we break up the remaining car title loan requirements into three categories:

1. Hard Title Loan Requirements – these are necessary regardless of lender.
2. Soft Title Loan Requirements – some of these may or may not be necessary depending on where you get the loan.
3. Online Title Loan Requirements – these are additional items needed for online title loans.

We’ll define the different types of requirements and what they mean, but first we should reemphasize the two key parts of “qualifying” for a title loan. These include what is needed to get approved for a title loan, and what is needed to get a loan funded.

While some of these items are the same, verification of what is on the application occurs prior to loan funding. Preparing for a title loan can help ensure this part of the loan goes quickly without any problems.

Hard Title Loan Requirements

Some requirements for a title loan are what you can call hard requirements. These are the must haves, regardless of which state or lender.

1. A vehicle with equity
2. A lien free title
3. Drivers License
4. 18 years of age
5. Insurance information

These are must haves for any title loan. You will need to meet each of these requirements prior to applying for an online title loan.

Soft Title Loan Requirements

The other type of requirement are what we call soft title loan requirements. These are the items needed by some lenders, and are not necessarily deal breakers if you do not have them. These include:

1. Bank account
2. Spare key
3. Late model vehicle
4. Full coverage insurance

These items are nice to haves in some cases, although there are some lenders that will require these. A bank account may be necessary for an online title loan if you want the funds direct deposited.

Full coverage insurance is a requirement of some lenders, and for others it may depend on the value of the vehicle. Additionally, some lenders will only make title loans for late model cars. Again, that is why we call these soft requirements.

Online Title Loan Requirements

The other category of items needed to fund a title loan relates to online title loans. This is especially true for loans without a physical vehicle inspection. Some additional items may be required for these types of loans, including:

1. Vehicle pictures
2. Verification of vehicle location
3. References

In some cases an in person vehicle inspection is required, even for an online title loan. There are online title loans without the car that do not require a store visit or inspection.

Other Vehicles

The final consideration for answering what you need for a title loan is the type of vehicle. For example, a motorcycle title loan will have slightly different requirements than a car title loan. These types of title loans are also not available from every lender, so make sure to check before applying.

Conclusion

The fact is answering the question “What do I need for a title loan” is “it depends”. The true answer will vary depending on which state you live in and which lender you choose. Further, it is logical to break a title loan into two parts:

1. Approval
2. Funding

Doing so leads to slightly different answers of what is needed. There are always cases of title loan approvals that do not get funded for certain reasons.

Understanding these reasons and making sure you can meet all requirements will help make sure you don’t end up with an approved but unfunded loan. It is better to be over prepared than under prepared.