Ohio Motor Vehicle Power of Attorney Form

Ohio Motor Vehicle Power of Attorney Form Details

The PDF this page hands out is the Ohio Bureau of Motor Vehicles’ Form BMV 3771, Power of Attorney (12/25). It names an attorney-in-fact to make and execute the assignment of, or application for, your Certificate of Title for the motor vehicle you describe on the form.^[1] Ohio’s power of attorney act, sections 1337.21 to 1337.64 of the Ohio Revised Code, does not apply to a power created on a form a government prescribes for a governmental purpose, such as BMV 3771.^[2] The form has its own notary acknowledgement, and its note says a motor vehicle dealer licensed under Chapter 4517 of the Ohio Revised Code, who is the owner or purchaser of the vehicle, is not required to have it notarized under R.C. 4505.063.^[1] The table below lists the form name, the time it takes to complete and the number of fillable fields.

How to Fill Out the Ohio Motor Vehicle Power of Attorney Form

The steps below follow the Ohio BMV’s Form BMV 3771, the official form this page hands out, in the same order as the parts of the form.^[1] The PDF has no fillable fields, so print it and fill it in by hand, or type onto it with a PDF editor. Keep your attorney-in-fact’s name and address, the last 4 digits of your Social Security number and the vehicle title within reach before you start.

The screenshots under each step show Form BMV 3771, the official Ohio form, with sample entries in blue, so you can see where each answer goes. The names, addresses, dates and numbers are examples only.

1. Attorney-in-fact. After “Know all men by these presents, that the undersigned does hereby make, constitute and appoint”, enter your attorney-in-fact’s last name (including a suffix such as Sr. or Jr.), first name and middle initial, then their street address, city, state and ZIP code.

   

2. The motor vehicle. Enter the year, make, model and VIN of the vehicle, and copy the VIN from the title or registration. Then answer “Is this a Replica Motor Vehicle?” with Yes or No. If you tick Yes, also fill in the year, make and model in the box beside it.

   

3. In Witness whereof. The paragraph that grants your attorney-in-fact full authority is printed on the form. In the sentence after it, fill in the day, the month and the last digits of the year.

   

4. Person giving power of attorney. Print your name, enter the last 4 digits of your Social Security number, and sign on the X line in front of the notary.

   

5. Acknowledgement. Leave this part blank. The notary public or other officer authorized by law fills in the day, month, year, county and state, signs, adds a seal and the commission expiration date. The note under it is about licensed dealers.

   

How to Sign and Use the Ohio Motor Vehicle Power of Attorney

After you fill in the form, it moves on to signing and the notary acknowledgement. The steps below follow that order, and the last one covers your copies. Compare every name and number with your ID and the vehicle title before anyone puts a pen to the power of attorney.

1. Check the details. Read the content of the form once. Compare the VIN and the names with the title and your ID, then fix any typo before you sign.
2. Sign the form. The principal must sign the vehicle POA form.^[1] So, after adding the date, sign on the X line of BMV 3771, in front of the notary.
3. Call a Notary to Sign the POA Form. The vehicle POA form has to be notarized in Ohio, unless the dealer note on the form applies to you.^[1] The acknowledgement reads “Sworn to and subscribed in my presence”, so sign in front of the notary public or other officer authorized by law, who then completes the acknowledgement and adds a seal.^[1]
4. The FormsPal template. If you use the FormsPal template from Create My Document instead, Ohio’s power of attorney act applies to it, because it is not a form a government prescribes.^[2] Under the act, you must sign it, and a signature is presumed to be genuine if you acknowledge it before a notary public or another individual authorized by law to take acknowledgments.^[3] So under the act, notarizing the template is optional and makes your signature presumed genuine. The template’s acknowledgment page is the part the notary completes.
5. Keep your copies. We also recommend making at least two copies of the document. Store the signed original with the vehicle title and give your attorney-in-fact a copy, so each of you has the power of attorney on hand.

Common Mistakes to Avoid

Most problems with a power of attorney come from small slips rather than from the form itself. A quick read-through before the signing catches the common ones, so go through this short list once every part of the form is complete.

• Names that do not match your ID. Spell your name and the name of your attorney-in-fact exactly as they appear on the IDs.
• A mistyped VIN. Compare the VIN you entered with the title or registration, character by character.
• A skipped replica question. Tick Yes or No for “Is this a Replica Motor Vehicle?”.
• Skipped lines. Scan the whole form for a field you meant to fill in.
• Mixed-up vehicles. If you own more than one, check that the VIN, year, make and model belong to the same vehicle.
• No spare copy. Make a copy of the finished power of attorney before you hand over the original.

Create a free high quality Ohio Motor Vehicle PoA online now!

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Frequently Asked Questions

What is an Ohio motor vehicle power of attorney?

It is a legal form in which you name another person, called your attorney-in-fact or agent, to act for you with a vehicle. Form BMV 3771, the PDF this page hands out, collects your attorney-in-fact’s name and address, the description of the vehicle, and your printed name, the last 4 digits of your Social Security number and your signature on one page.

Can I fill out this power of attorney form online?

Yes. Select Create My Document at the top of the screen and answer a few questions. The FormsPal tool builds the FormsPal template from your answers, a different document from BMV 3771, so you can save your progress, print it or download it as a PDF.

How do I edit the PDF after I download it?

BMV 3771 has no fillable fields. Open the downloaded file in the FormsPal PDF editor to type your entries onto the page, or print it and fill it in by hand. Print a clean copy when you are done.

What is the difference between the principal and the attorney-in-fact?

The principal is the person who signs the form. The attorney-in-fact, also called the agent, is the person the principal picks to hold that legal authority.

What does the successor attorney-in-fact section do?

Form BMV 3771 has no successor section. The FormsPal template from Create My Document has one. It names another person as an alternate, by name and address, and its printed wording covers the case where your first attorney-in-fact is unable or unwilling to serve.

What details should I have ready before I start?

Have these details ready:

• Your printed name and the last 4 digits of your Social Security number
• The name and address of your attorney-in-fact
• The vehicle’s year, make, model and VIN, and for a replica motor vehicle, the year, make and model the form asks for

Which related Ohio forms might I need?

Our Ohio durable power of attorney and Ohio general power of attorney cover other kinds of legal authority. If the vehicle is changing hands, the Ohio bill of sale records the sale, and our Ohio notary acknowledgment shows the notary wording.

Can I keep a digital copy?

Yes. Download the PDF and store it with the vehicle title and your other car papers. You can print more copies whenever you want them.

General information, not legal or tax advice.

Sources

1. Ohio BMV Form BMV 3771, Power of Attorney (12/25). Accessed October 15, 2026.
2. Ohio Rev. Code § 1337.23. Accessed October 15, 2026.
3. Ohio Rev. Code § 1337.25. Accessed October 15, 2026.

Mara Erlach

Writer & Attorney

Mara has been practicing estate planning and trust law in California since 2003, taking pride in helping clients of all backgrounds and asset profiles form a complete and customized estate plan. Her specialties are: estate planning, wills and trusts, trust and probate administration.