Do you need help locating or contacting the lienholder on your vehicle title? We put together this alphabetical listing of banks, credit unions, and financial/lending institutions that may have gone out of business, merged, changed their name, or been acquired by another financial institution.
Financial Institution Listings
These listings contain:
- The bank, credit union, or financial/lending institution’s name.
- A possible successor (the company that acquired them).
- The financial institution’s address (if available).
- The financial institution’s telephone number (if available).
Other Ways to Find Your Vehicle’s Legal Owner/Lienholder
- Check the Electronic Lien and Title (ELT) Program for participating lienholders.
- Review your loan documents, which may include your financial institution’s main corporate office information.
- Explore the Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council website.
- Explore the California Department of Business Oversight website.
- Search the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) Failed Bank List.
- Reference your telephone company’s directory assistance or yellow pages.
Contacting Your Financial Institution
When you contact your financial institution, have the following:
- The loan or account number.
- Social security number (SSN) or name of the borrower.
- The name of the registered vehicle owner.
- The vehicle or vessel’s make, model, and vehicle identification number (VIN) or hull identification number (HIN).
Frequently Asked Questions
Follow these steps:
- Provide evidence of your attempt to obtain a lien release by sending a certified letter requesting the release to the lienholder’s address shown on your vehicle/vessel registration.
- Submit the unopened, returned certified letter or postal receipt to DMV after 30 days with no response from the lienholder.
- Complete Section G of a Statement of Facts (REG 256), outlining the steps taken to obtain a lien release from the lienholder. State how, when, and from whom the vehicle/vessel was acquired, that it is free of liens, and how the current value was determined. If appraised, the appraisal must accompany the REG 256.
- Include a motor vehicle bond purchased for the current retail (fair market) value of the vehicle.
- The bond must be purchased from a business currently licensed to do business in California.
- The purchaser (principal) must sign the bond.
- Keep a copy of all documents for your records.
Mail all completed documents to:
Department of Motor Vehicles
Registration Operations Division, MS D273
P.O. Box 942869
Sacramento, CA 94269-0001
DMV will contact you within 4–6 weeks.
- Request a notarized statement on the financial institution’s letterhead stating that they have no record and no interest in the vehicle or vessel.
- Include a motor vehicle bond purchased for the current retail (fair market) value of the vehicle.
- The bond must be purchased from a business currently licensed to do business in California.
- The purchaser (principal) must sign this bond.
Need something else?
Titles
Everything you need to know about California Certificates of Title, title transfers, and title changes.
Electronic Lien and Title (ELT) Program
The ELT Program keeps titles in an electronic format on our database.
Insurance Requirements
Wondering about the insurance requirements for your vehicle?