During the Coronavirus, I’ve had several clients insist, when purchasing a vehicle, there was no way to get an appointment at a Secretary of State office to complete transferring the title for months.

Having just gone through the experience of transferring a title, I can assure you that you can do it without delay – you need to understand how scheduling an appointment works.

At the Secretary of State Make an Appointment website, you have an option to “Book a Next Day Appointment” or “Book an Appointment in Advance.”

Suppose you attempt to schedule a same-day appointment at a random time during a weekday. In that case, the site may indicate none are available, leading some people to mistakenly conclude the only option is to select a future appointment.

The reality is you can schedule next-day appointments a day in advance. Suppose you visit the site on a Tuesday afternoon looking for a Wednesday appointment. In that case, all available positions may already be gone, and, as a result, the site will show none available.

It would help if you were strategic in your timing of when you attempt to book an appointment. In my case, I purchased a vehicle after business hours on a Friday and went online early Sunday morning to look for a Monday morning appointment and was able to schedule an appointment for 9 a.m. the following day successfully.

Here are detailed scheduling tips directly from the Secretary of State website:

  • Next-day appointments generally are available from 9 to 11 a.m., and from 3 to 4 p.m. Morning next-day appointments become available for booking the previous weekday at 8 a.m. Afternoon next-day appointments become available for booking the previous weekday at noon. Monday appointments become available for booking Friday. 
    • For example: If you need an appointment for 9 a.m. Tuesday, you can start looking for that appointment at 8 a.m. Monday. If you need an appointment for 3 p.m. Wednesday, you can start looking for that appointment at noon Tuesday. 
  • If you can’t find an appointment that meets your time/date needs at a specific branch, try another branch in your area.

Since scheduling an appointment with the Secretary of State can be a challenge, it’s essential to bring the correct paperwork with you. When transferring a title, be sure to have a properly completed title and a certificate of insurance for your vehicle. You should also review the insurance certificate to ensure the vehicle identification number (VIN) matches precisely the VIN on the title.