Short answer: keep your car's title for as long as you own the car, along with the papers from any loan on it. The FTC puts both "the title to your vehicle" and "documents related to mortgage or vehicle loans" on its keep-while-you-own list. Keep repair and maintenance records for the same stretch, because they back up warranty claims and help when you sell. Keep the current registration, and in some states the last original card matters even after it expires. After a sale, keep proof of the sale; no official rule says how long, so that part is common practice.
Titles and registration are state business, and the rules differ. The examples below come from California's DMV, which publishes its rules plainly; check your own state's DMV for the local version. For every other kind of document, the master retention chart has the quick answer.
Car documents at a glance
| Document | Keep for | Why / source |
|---|---|---|
| Certificate of title | While you own the car, as a paper original | FTC: keep while you own; it identifies the legal owner |
| Signed-off title or lien release after a loan payoff | While you own the car | Proves the loan is gone; in California the lienholder signs the title at payoff |
| Loan agreement and payoff letter | While you own the car; the payoff letter longer (practice) | FTC lists vehicle loan documents under keep-while-you-own |
| Registration card | The current one; in California, the last original too | California DMV accepts the original expired card, not a photocopy, if a car drops out of its records |
| Repair and maintenance invoices | While you own the car | FTC: they show you maintained the car if you use the warranty |
| Warranty or service contract | While the coverage lasts | FTC: keep service records and receipts to show maintenance |
| Sale papers: bill of sale, copy of the signed title, release of liability | No official rule; practice is to keep them for good | They prove the date the car stopped being yours |
This describes what's generally true in the US, not legal advice. Where your state's DMV says something different, the DMV wins.
The title: the paper that really is the car
California's DMV describes the Certificate of Title as "an official document that identifies the legal owner of a vehicle." It's the paper you sign over when you sell, which is why it's one of the few car documents where the original matters more than any scan. Keep it at home with your other important papers. The glove box is the classic wrong answer: if the car is stolen, the proof of who owns it goes along for the ride.
Losing it is fixable but slow. In California you apply for a replacement with form REG 227, in person or by mail, and the DMV says titles usually arrive by mail within 15 to 30 days. That's a long wait when a buyer is standing in your driveway with cash. Some states handle titles differently, for example electronically while a loan is open, so check how yours works.
When the loan is paid off
The day you make the last payment isn't the day the paperwork ends. In California, at a loan payoff the lienholder signs the title, which then goes to the DMV, and "any change in ownership or lienholder must be reported to DMV within 10 days." The Lien Satisfied/Title Holder Release form (REG 166) is on the DMV's list of title-transfer forms.
The practical version: after your final payment, watch for the signed-off title or lien release, get the title updated so the lender no longer appears on it, and keep the payoff letter with the title. No official rule covers how long to keep a paid-off car loan's payoff letter; the common practice is to keep it at least as long as you own the car, because it's the quickest proof that the debt is gone.
Registration: the current card, and one reason to keep an old one
Registration renews on your state's schedule, and each new card replaces the last. Most old cards can go. California adds a twist worth knowing: if a vehicle is no longer in the DMV's records, you can submit a new registration application with the Certificate of Title "or the original expired California registration card (not a photocopy)." That makes the most recent original card a cheap backup to the title, mostly useful for cars that sat unregistered for years. Keep it in the folder with the title, not in the car.
Repair and maintenance records
The FTC's advice on auto warranties is direct: "Keep records of repairs and maintenance like oil changes, tire rotations, belt replacement, new brake pads, and inspections." If something fails under warranty, those records show you looked after the car. The FTC says the same for service contracts: keep your service records and receipts to show you've maintained the vehicle.
There's a second payoff at sale time: buyers trust a car with a complete history. A repair invoice earns its place in the file when it shows the date, the mileage and what was actually done, so check those three before you file it. If you bought used from a dealer, the FTC says to make sure you get a copy of any warranty; keep it with the service records while the coverage lasts.
When you sell
In California, after you sell or transfer a vehicle you have five days to submit a Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability. Keep the confirmation, plus a copy of the signed-over title and the bill of sale. There is no official rule for how long; a common practice is to keep them for good. They're small, and they're your answer if a parking ticket or toll bill for a car you sold last spring ever lands in your mailbox.
Where to keep car papers
The manual way on iPhone. Open the Files app, tap the More button, tap Scan Documents, and hold each page in view of the camera; when you're done, choose a location and tap Save. Make one folder per car and scan each service invoice the day you get it. Keep the paper title and the last original registration card together at home, and the current registration and insurance card where you'll need them on the road.
The less manual way. Paperlock reads each invoice and card as you save it, picks out who it's from, the date, the amount and any expiry, and files it behind Face ID with no folders to set up. Turn reminders on once and it reminds you 30 and 7 days before a registration expires. And "when did I last get the brakes done?" comes back with the invoice attached.
The whole system fits in one sentence: title and loan papers while you own the car, service history alongside them, and proof of the sale kept after it's gone.