How To Tell If You Have A Lien-Free Car Title

If you have a lien-free car title, it means that you own the vehicle outright and that any loan you have obtained to finance the car has been paid off.

It’s relatively easy to determine whether your title is clear. A stamp on the document would usually indicate that the lien has been satisfied. You can also check the title on a DMV website, by the way.

Below you will find out exactly how to tell if you have a lien-free car title and what you should do to remove a lien from your vehicle.

What Is A Lien-Free Title?

A car title is a document that says who is the owner of the vehicle. It generally looks like a warranty certificate.

The word ‘lien’ basically means ‘bond’ or ‘restraint’. If you have borrowed money from a lender or a bank to get a car, then the lender will become the lienholder until you are able to completely pay off the car.

In the majority of cases, the lender won’t keep the actual document (it is simply stored in the computer). Once you pay off the loan, the title becomes lien-free; the lender prints out the document, stamps or signs it, and mails the clear title to you.

How To Tell If You Have A Lien-Free Car Title?

The signature or the stamp is the thing that indicates that the lien has been satisfied. Once you get one of those, your vehicle becomes lien-free.

Most state DMV websites offer a title check feature. In a nutshell, anyone can look up a specific car to make sure that the title is clear. You will also get to find out the date the title was issued, the number of liens (if there are any), and the name and even the address of the lienholder.

How To Remove A Lien From A Vehicle

Surprisingly, there are quite a few ways to end up with a lien-free car title:

1. Once you have paid off the loan, you might have to send a lien release letter to the lender. You should do that if the lender, for some reason, forgot to stamp and send you the certificate of title.
2. In case your loan is very old, the lender might not be interested in the vehicle any longer. If that is true, then you can send the lender a letter of non-interest where they would have to state that the loan doesn’t exist anymore.
3. If your lender gets shut down, the lien would most likely be automatically discharged. This can happen if the company was unlicensed, for example.
4. Do bear in mind that when the lender goes out of business that does not usually mean that the lien gets discharged. The clients might have been transferred to another lender, so once you pay off the loan, you would have to access the SOS database to find the new address where you can send a lien release letter.
5. If all these methods have failed, then the only way to remove the lien from your title would be to file a court case. Once the judge declares you a legal owner, you and your car will finally be free.

Things You’ll Need To Obtain A Title Loan

One of the reasons why you might be searching for ways to tell whether your car title is lien-free or not is because you’re planning on getting started with a title loan.

The whole process of obtaining a title loan from Missouri Title Loans, Inc. is extremely simple and convenient as long as you have all the necessary items. Those include:

• Your photo identification
• Your car
• A lien-free car title

Benefits Of Getting Started With A Title Loan

Getting started with a title loan through Missouri Title Loans, Inc. has quite a few important benefits:

• You will get to continue driving your car while paying the loan off
• If you don’t want to, you do not have to visit the lender’s store. The agent will come to inspect your car at the location that you'll get to choose
• You can qualify for up to $15,000
• The lender does not report to the credit bureau, and the company is ready to consider any credit situation

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Now you know exactly how to tell whether you have a lien-free car title or not. As long as you have managed to pay off your car title, removing the lien from your vehicle shouldn’t be hard at all.

After that, you can rely on Missouri Title Loans, Inc. to take care of the rest. If you urgently need a certain sum of money, consider a car title loan to help you face an emergency. You’ll get to continue using the vehicle, and you’ll have the cash you need. Don’t miss this opportunity – fill out our online inquiry form today!

Note: The content provided in this article is only for informational purposes, and you should contact your financial advisor about your specific financial situation.