Title (legal document)

Generally speaking, in law title is an owner's interest in a piece of property. For most chattel goods, there is no formal document of title, and their possession by a person under circumstances which would not give rise to suspicions as to the validity of the possessor's ownership of that property is sufficient to convey title to a good faith purchaser.

Particularly valuable pieces of property, like land or automobiles, have had more elaborate requirements added, for the protection of buyers and also for lienholders. A "title" is also a legal document in which the ownership status of a good or property is legally recorded. In most industrialized countries, titles are commonly used for real estate and motor vehicles. Thus, possession may safely be transferred independently of ownership.