The moment I hear it I get twitchy. I start to sweat. It typically goes something like this:

I just bought a used trailer from a guy in Maine.

Did he give you a title?

A title? No, he never registered it.

What do you have?

A trailer …

Recently & currently, a client bought a used trailer and the seller gave her the Certificate of Origin (CO). Here at insurance agency central, the alarms started to go off. How can someone sell a vehicle with a CO? It should be a title or, if no title, then the previous registration.

The Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles requires proof of prior ownership.