Lien release.
In plain English
A lien release is the official document a lender provides when you finish paying off your auto loan, proving they no longer have a legal claim (a lien) on the car. While you owe money, the lender is listed on the title as a lienholder, which keeps you from selling the car free and clear. Once you pay the balance, the lender sends a lien release (or signs off on the title) and reports the loan as satisfied to your state's titling agency. You then apply for a clean title in your name only.
01Why it matters
Until the lien is released, you cannot sell or fully own the car outright, and a release that never gets filed can haunt you years later when you try to sell.
02The math, step by step
You finish paying off a five-year loan. The lender mails a lien release and notifies your state DMV. You take that document to the DMV, pay the title fee, and receive a new title listing only your name, so you can now sell the car or use it however you want.
03What this is NOT
Paying off the loan does not by itself clear the title. The lien release is the paperwork that removes the lender's claim, and you usually have to file it with your state to get a clean title.
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