A title is a vehicle's ownership document.
When a vehicle is purchased, the seller provides the vehicle’s title to the buyer.
The buyer submits the vehicle’s title to his state’s vehicle registration authorities (i.e., his state’s DMV), which issues a new vehicle title in the name of the buyer.
The seller’s title is destroyed, so all vehicles have exactly one title at a time. This ensures that the buyer and seller of the vehicle can’t both claim ownership at the same time.
New vehicles have a Manufacturer’s Certificate of Ownership (MCO) or Manufacturer’s Statement of Ownership (MSO), a document issued by the vehicle’s manufacturer that serves as the vehicle’s ownership document until submitted to a state for initial registration.
Unlike a vehicle's registration, its titles never has to be renewed.
visitor.us uses the term Prior Title to refer to the ownership document (title, MCO, or MSO) that you received from the seller.
visitor.us uses the term Montana Title to refer to the ownership document that will be issued for your vehicle.