# Release of Lien and selling a car **URL:** \ **Category:** Factual Questions\ **Created:** [October 20, 2008, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-lien-and-selling-a-car/468758 "2008-10-20T16:49:34Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 8\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![bauble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f6c823/32.png) [@bauble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bauble)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 4:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-lien-and-selling-a-car/468758/1 "2008-10-20T16:49:34Z")
I’ve got a car that I’m going to sell. The DMV said I’d need a Release of Lien to do that. I’ve gotten that. My question is: What am I supposed to do with it now? Does it go with the title when I sign it over? Am I supposed to file it with the DMV? I don’t have either the title or the Release of Lien in front of me, so maybe there’s answers there; I was just hoping a kindly Doper who’d dealt with this before could let me know. Thanks! bauble ---
**Author:** ![CookingWithGas](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cookingwithgas/32/485_2.png) [@CookingWithGas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/CookingWithGas)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 5:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-lien-and-selling-a-car/468758/2 "2008-10-20T17:36:38Z")
It may depend on how your state works. I live in Virginia and my title had a notation on it that there was a lien. When I got the lien released, I had to submit it to the state DMV to have them reissue the title. Only then could I transfer clear title. Kansas (or is it Missouri?) may allow you to use the title with the lien release without a title reissue, but you should call your DMV and ask. Or maybe it’s on their web site. ---
**Author:** ![bauble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f6c823/32.png) [@bauble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bauble)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 6:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-lien-and-selling-a-car/468758/3 "2008-10-20T18:13:56Z")
Thanks for the reply! I’m on the Missouri side; I guess I need to call the DMV and see what they have to say. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 6:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-lien-and-selling-a-car/468758/4 "2008-10-20T18:16:08Z")
> [@](#): > > To title a motor vehicle in the state of Missouri, the owner must submit the following: > > 1. The Certificate of Title, properly signed over to you (see instructions), or Manufacturer’s Statement of Origin (MSO); > 2. A signed Application for Missouri Title and License (DOR-108); > 3. An Odometer Disclosure Statement (DOR-3019)Adobe Acrobat PDF, if applicable; and > 4. Lien Release (DOR-4809), notarized, if applicable. > > You will pay: > > ``` > * State sales tax of 4.225 percent, plus your local sales tax on the purchase price, less trade-in allowance, if any. Local sales taxAdobe Acrobat PDF is the rate where you live, not where you bought the vehicle; > * $8.50 title fee; and > * $2.50 title processing fee. > > ``` > > To title and register (obtain license plates for) a newly purchased motor vehicle, please refer to our “buying a vehicle” information. > **[Missouri Department of Revenue](https://dor.mo.gov)** > > Missouri Department of Revenue Home Page, containing links to motor vehicle and driver licensing services, and taxation and collection services for the state of Missouri. and see [Missouri Department of Revenue](http://dor.mo.gov/mvdl/motorv/titleman/Section6.pdf) ---
**Author:** ![bauble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f6c823/32.png) [@bauble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bauble)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 6:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-lien-and-selling-a-car/468758/5 "2008-10-20T18:21:36Z")
**Gfactor** , does that imply that I’m supposed to do anything other than provide the Lien Release to the new owner of the car? Is it stating it explicitly and I’m too think to realize it? I don’t think the new owners are going to license it for some time (it’s not really road-worthy right now). I just tried calling the DMV, but they didn’t answer. ---
**Author:** ![Gfactor](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/9de053/32.png) [@Gfactor](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gfactor)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 6:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-lien-and-selling-a-car/468758/6 "2008-10-20T18:27:21Z")
This makes it a bit more clear: > [@](#): > > When you sell a vehicle in a private transaction, between individuals, you have certain legal responsibilities. > > **You must provide the following to the vehicle buyer:** 1. Properly assigned Certificate of Title; > 2. \*Safety inspection certificate, less than 60 days old; > 3. \*An emissions inspection not more than 60 days old, if you reside in St. Louis City or the following counties: Franklin, Jefferson, St. Charles, or St. Louis; and > 4. **Lien Release (DOR-4809), notarized, if applicable**. > > \*If the buyer is an out of state resident, please contact that state for the inspection requirements. [Missouri Department of Revenue](http://dor.mo.gov/mvdl/motorv/selling.htm) (Emphasis added.) ---
**Author:** ![bauble](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/f6c823/32.png) [@bauble](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/bauble)\ **Post date:** [October 20, 2008, 6:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-lien-and-selling-a-car/468758/7 "2008-10-20T18:35:47Z")
Thank you, that’s clear enough that even I get it! ---
**Author:** ![UltraVires](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/ecccb3/32.png) [@UltraVires](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/UltraVires)\ **Post date:** [October 21, 2008, 1:29am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/release-of-lien-and-selling-a-car/468758/8 "2008-10-21T01:29:25Z")
Wow, this is all new to me. In the states that I have lived in, you don’t see a title to a vehicle until it is paid off. The bank or the lending agency holds it until you pay off the note. When you do pay it off, you get the original title, with the original lien listed and subsequently released. In FL, we also don’t have safety inspections or emissions inspections, but you do need to deliver a clean title to a buyer.