Retitling to Remove Lien
With a sigh of relief, a man puts his final car payment in the mail. Two, three, or even more years of payments are finally over. Now that money can go towards other necessities. He can't wait to receive the title from the bank to prove that the car really and truly is his. But when the title comes, he notices that the lien information is still displayed even though there is a signature showing it is paid off. He is puzzled. Should he apply for a new title to eliminate the lien information?
It is up to the owner whether to do so or not. Because there is no law stating that it must be done, many people keep the title as they received it. However, there is one circumstance that may cause some to reconsider. What is that?
Titles can be lost. Of course, the owner can apply for a replacement, but it will be a duplicate of the original. That is, if the original had lienholder information on it, the replacement will too. But it will not have the lienholder's signature releasing the lien, because the Motor Vehicle Division never had the signature. The owner will then need to contact the lender to have the lien released. Before applying for a duplicate title, the applicant may request a lien release form from the Tax Commissioner's office. After taking it to the lienholder to complete, the owner gives it to the Tax Commissioner's office at the time he/she applies for a duplicate title. The new title will then be issued without the lienholder on it. For most people, that may not be a problem. For some, it may be. How?
If the lender is out of business or if an individual has moved or died, it may be a problem. In such cases, the Tax Commissioner's office can explain the steps the owner needs to take that may allow the lienholder to be removed from the title.