A vehicle can have title from a traditional lender such as Wells Fargo, Bank of America or Chase. Vehicle financing from manufacturer can also cloud a title such as GMAC, Ford Credit, Toyota Financial or BMW Financial Services. We can work with these institutions to obtain a lien release.

We have also worked with credit unions on car title processing, lien mitigation, and lien releases.

If you have a vehicle where the lender has gone out of business and can not provide a lien release our lien mitigation department can handle this.

Secondary lenders such as Americredit, Credit Acceptance, or Westlake Dealer Finance may have a lien on the car title. Dealer finance or title pawn loans may be in place and need to be cleared prior to title being issued.

Floor plan title lien – A floor plan lender may need to get a title based on a dealership being out of trust on their inventory pay down, or having become insolvent.

A bill of sale can be typed or handwritten and should include the following:

• Names and signatures of buyer and seller
• VIN
• Year, make and model of the vehicle
• Date of transfer
• Sale price amount, trade vehicle, or specification as “gift”

Special note: For the Vermont registration process (bill of sale only title process) the bill of sale does NOT need to be notarized

A vehicle whose registration has lapsed may have past due registration fees, and late penalties. If the vehicle is remaining to be titled in the same state where the registration is lapsed those fees may still be due even if the vehicle is changing ownership.

Special note: For the bill of sale only title process (Vermont registration) sales tax will be calculated for your vehicle and the amount due will be provided with your paperwork. Sales tax is paid to the DMV at any time that is convenient for you. CarTitles.com does not collect or charge for sales tax. There is only one flat fee of $159 for your title process.

A vehicle transfer may be a taxable event. If the buyer has not paid taxes on their prior vehicle purchase, those taxes may be due prior to a title being issued. Prior transfers (jumped title) upon which taxes have not been paid may still have been taxable events. Those taxes may not be required as payable prior to a title being issued, but may still be due and liable to owners in the chain. When a title recovery or bonded title is processed, only the most current transfer is being processed and potentially creating a sales tax liability. A title recovery should not be used to evade sales tax due. Any taxes due are the responsibility of the buyer unless some other arrangement was made between the buyer and seller. A vehicle owner who uses the titling process to avoid a valid sales tax liability may be subject to penalties.

CarFax can report the existence of prior registrations or insurance claims on a vehicle. It reports any information that the company has obtained from insurance companies. It does not report if a vehicle is stolen, has any liens, or repairs made by the owner.