Vehicle titles will be sent to lien holders starting July 30, 2012

July 19, 2012

Vehicle owners will receive titles when a loan is paid off

Wisconsin soon joins 38 states in becoming a title-to-lien holder state. This means that any title with a lien (loan) listed on or after July 30, 2012 will be sent to the lien holder rather than the owner. Lien holders may choose to receive either paper or electronic titles. The advantage to electronic delivery is that Wisconsin does not issue a paper title to the lender or owner of the vehicle until the lien is satisfied. This process eliminates most of the paper handling involved in vehicle titling and results in greater convenience and lower costs. These changes implement provisions included in the 2011-2013 state budget passed by the legislature last year.

As far as vehicles titled before this date are concerned, Mitchell Warren, director of the DMV Bureau of Vehicle Services wants people to know that "if you already have your title, even if it lists a lien holder, nothing changes. You can keep it. Titles will only be issued to lien holders on or after July 30, 2012."

Owners of vehicles with liens purchased on or after July 30, 2012 will receive a Confirmation of Ownership and will receive the actual title when all liens are paid off. Warren notes that "a confirmation of ownership does not replace a vehicle title. What it does do is confirm that a person owns the vehicle and specifies that there is a lien on that vehicle."

More information can be found at the WisDOT web site.