Title Transfers

Have you written the check for your last car loan payment? It's all yours now, but you'll need to do a bit of paperwork in order to make it official. You'll need to have the lienholder information removed from the title of your vehicle.

You are not required to get a new registration when a lien is released, but if you want one showing that the car is free of a lien, you can get one for a fee of $11. Otherwise, there is no fee for releasing a lien.

Liens are overseen by the Oklahoma Tax Commission (OTC). You won't need to download or pick up any additional forms in order to have a lien released unless your lien entry forms have been lost or destroyed. You will, however, need to have your lender or lienholder sign off on the proper paperwork.

In most cases, a lien is held by a lender until a loan for the vehicle is paid in full. Private parties may also hold liens, whether for a private or personal loan, or for any other reason. Most loan companies will file the lien release once the loan is paid in full without requiring anything on your part. If they do not do so promptly, call the lending office to see what is holding things up.

Releasing a Lien

Again, if you are the debtor (the person paying the loan) you are not required to do anything to release the lien. If you are a private party lienholder and need to know what to do to release a lien, you must sign off on copies three and four of the lien entry form and mail copy three to:

• Oklahoma Tax Commission

• P.O. Box 53525

• Oklahoma City, OK 73152

Copy four should be mailed to the debtor, or, in this case, the former debtor.

Lost Lien Entry

If your lender or lienholder has lost your lien entry or if it has been destroyed, the lienholder may submit the Lien Release Affidavit to the OTC in order to clear the title of your vehicle. One can be obtained online using the free Adobe Reader.

Transferring a Title

There are always special circumstances when it comes to transferring your vehicle's title. Below are a few of the most common, with instructions on how to handle them. You must transfer or make changes to a title in person at a tag agency. Note that you don't need a driver's license to hold a vehicle title in Oklahoma; however, you do need one in order to purchase insurance for the vehicle.

Add or Delete a Name

There are no special forms for adding or deleting a name from an Oklahoma title. The process is based on how the names are joined.

If the names are joined by "or," either party can sign the title as the seller. If the names are joined by "and," both parties must sign the title.

Whether you're adding or deleting a name, the signatures on the title must be notarized.

Change Your Name

To change your name on your vehicle's title, you'll need to present your tag agency with legal documents such as a marriage license, divorce decree, or other court papers stating your name has been legally changed.

Gift

If you've received a vehicle as a gift, lucky you! In order to get your name on the title, you'll need to complete a gift affidavit, which you can obtain from any tag agency.

If the gift is from an immediate family member (parent, child, or spouse), the sales tax will be waived. If the gift is from another family member (grandparent, cousin, aunt, uncle), you'll be charged an excise tax of 80% of the vehicle's retail value.

Death

If a vehicle was left to you in a will, you'll need to wait until the will is probated―unless the estate value is less than $10,000. In that case, you'll need to contact your local tag agency.

Once the will has been probated, take the death certificate and the appropriate court documents awarding the vehicle to you to any tag agency to transfer the title.

If there's no will involved, head directly to your local tag office with the death certificate. There you'll be given the appropriate paperwork to complete.

Lost Title

Have you lost the title to your vehicle? You may request a replacement by filling out form 701-7, the Application for Duplicate Certificate of Title and take it to your local tag agent's office.

The fee for a duplicate title is $10 and if you are making your request by mail, please add an additional $1.

Check out our Forms section for more vehicle-related forms and applications.