Your automobile lender's name appears on your vehicle title as the lien holder until you pay off the loan. While you do not have to get a new title for your vehicle after you make the last payment, if you want to sell the car to someone or move out of Texas you must apply for a new title. Titles list the lien holder's name to prevent you from selling the vehicle without paying the loan balance.
Wait 10 business days for the lien holder to release the title after you pay off the loan. You should receive the original title through the mail from the lender if there is a paper title. If the lender recorded the lien electronically, it will send you a letter that confirms that it released the lien.
Download an Application for Texas Certificate of Title from the Texas Department of Transportation's website. Look at the vehicle's title when completing the application for information to complete the form.
Visit the tax assessor's office in the Texas county where you live and give the clerk your current title, personal identification, the documentation from the lender and your title application. Request your new title.
Visit your regional Texas Department of Motor Vehicles service center. Give the clerk your application and identification and request a duplicate title. There is a $5.45 fee to receive the duplicate in person or a $2 fee if the department mails you the copy, as of July 2011.
Tips
If you are selling the vehicle, you have 30 days to provide the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles with a vehicle transfer notification. Provide your lien release notification from the lender if the lender has failed to send electronic notification to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. The fees for applying for a new title vary by county from $28 to $33, as of July 2011. If you sell the vehicle, keeping the license plate prevents the new owner from blaming tickets or toll violations on you. It can take two weeks for the department to process your vehicle transfer notification.
References
Tips
- If you are selling the vehicle, you have 30 days to provide the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles with a vehicle transfer notification. Provide your lien release notification from the lender if the lender has failed to send electronic notification to the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles.
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- If you sell the vehicle, keeping the license plate prevents the new owner from blaming tickets or toll violations on you.
- It can take two weeks for the department to process your vehicle transfer notification.
Writer Bio
Specializing in business and finance, Lee Nichols began writing in 2002. Nichols holds a Bachelor of Arts in Web and Graphic Design and a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from the University of Mississippi.