If you’ve done work on a vehicle, or furnished storage space for a vehicle, and the vehicle’s owner won’t pay you, you have a lien on the vehicle. If you have a lien, you may sell the vehicle, and keep the proceeds of the sale as your pay for the work you performed. (To find out the legal definition of “lien” read my earlier post here.) In this blog, I’ll tell you how to sell a vehicle on which you have a lien.
Do you have a lien?
You have a lien on a vehicle if you are legally in possession of the vehicle, and you have provided service to the vehicle’s owner by:
· Storing the vehicle
· Providing rental space for the vehicle
· Furnishing material for the vehicle
· Providing labor or skill for the protection, improvement, towing, or right to occupy storage space for the vehicle
If you have a lien on a vehicle
First, ask the following questions:
1. Does the vehicle have a certificate of title?
2. If the vehicle has a certificate of title, is there an active lien on the certificate of title?
3. If the vehicle has a certificate of title and there is an active lien of the certificate of title, is the lien less than 15 years old?
4. If the vehicle has a certificate of title, is the title issued by Service Oklahoma or by a federally recognized Indian tribe in Oklahoma?
If the answer to all of the above questions is “Yes” then follow Process 1, below. If the answer to any of the above questions is “No” then follow Process 2, below.
How to Find out the Above Information
Go to any Oklahoma Tag Agency. Fill out a “Vehicle Information Request Form” available here. They should be able to tell you any ownership of lienholder information.
If the tag agency can’t tell you ownership of lienholder information, then send the Vehicle Information Request Form to Service Oklahoma, Motor Vehicle Title Research Section, P.O. Box 11415, Oklahoma City, OK 73136. (Note: Throughout this post, I’ll be using the term “Service Oklahoma.” Service Oklahoma is a new agency of the state of Oklahoma, created in 2022. Service Oklahoma performs the functions formerly performed by the Oklahoma Department of Public Safety in issuing driver’s licenses. Service Oklahoma also performs the functions formerly performed by the Oklahoma tax Commission in issuing motor vehicle titles. All Oklahoma tag agencies, which used to be under the control of the Oklahoma Tax Commission, are now under Service Oklahoma.)
If the vehicle is registered with an Indian tribe, contact the Indian tribe for ownership and lienholder information.
After you’ve found out title ownership and lienholder information, you’re ready to decide whether you need to follow Process 1 or Process 2.
Process 1
· Fill out Form 752-D, Notice of Possessory Lien. A copy of this form is available at the end of this packet here. Follow the instructions on this form. With this notice, include a photograph of the vehicle.
· Send this form via certified mail to:
o All owners of the vehicle (you should have found this information from the tag agency, or from Service Oklahoma, or from the Indian tribe if the vehicle was registered with an Indian tribe)
o All lien debtors
o All lienholders whose lien appears on the certificate of title
o Any other person that you know of, who has an interest in the vehicle.
· You must send this form no later than 60 days after you first performed work on the vehicle. If you provided storage service, you must send this form no later than 60 days after the beginning of the period for which storage costs have not been paid.
· Between ten and thirty days after you send the Notice of Possessory Lien, you must fill out Form 752-A, Notice of Sale. A copy of this form is available at the end of this packet here. With this notice, include a photograph of the vehicle.
· Post this Notice of Sale in two public places in the county where the vehicle is to be sold. Also, mail the Notice of Sale via certified mail to:
o All owners of the vehicle (you should have found this information from the tag agency, or from Service Oklahoma, or from the Indian tribe if the vehicle was registered with an Indian tribe)
o All lien debtors
o All lienholders
o Any other person that you know of, who has an interest in the vehicle.
o If the vehicle is a manufactured home, you must also send the notice of sale via certified mail to the county treasurer and the county assessor in the county where the manufactured home is located.
· You must hold the sale at least ten days after you have sent the notice of sale. You can’t hold the sale on a Sunday.
· After the sale, fill out Form 752-B and Form 752-C. Copies of these forms are available at the end of this packet here.
· Send these forms to Service Oklahoma. Wait for Service Oklahoma to send you an approval or a denial. If Service Oklahoma sends you a denial, they will explain the reasons for the denial, and they will give you an opportunity to correct your mistake and resubmit your forms. If Service Oklahoma sends you an approval, the buyer will have to take this approval to the tag agency within 30 days after the approval, and transfer title into his name.
Process 2
· Within five business days after performing work on the vehicle, send a “Vehicle Information Request Form” to Service Oklahoma.
· Fill out Form 752-D, Notice of Possessory Lien. A copy of this form is available at the end of this packet here. With this notice, include a photograph of the vehicle.
· You must send this notice within seven business days after you receive ownership and lienholder information from Service Oklahoma. Send this notice via certified mail to:
o All owners of the vehicle
o Any secured party who has an active financing statement on file with the Oklahoma County Clerk listing one or more owners of the vehicle by legal name as debtors and indicating a collateral description which includes the vehicle
o Any lienholder of the vehicle
o Any lien debtor of the vehicle
o Any person who you know of who has an interest in the vehicle.
· Fill out Form 752-A, Notice of Sale. A copy of this form is available at the end of this packet here. With this notice, include a photograph of the vehicle. You must fill out this form within “twenty days after the lien has accrued.” The state statute does not specifically define when a lien “accrues”, but one court case holds that a lien “accrued” when default occurs.
· Post this Notice of Sale in two public places in the county where the vehicle is to be sold. Also, mail the Notice of Sale via certified mail to:
o All owners of the vehicle
o Any secured party who has an active financing statement on file with the Oklahoma listing one or more owners of the vehicle by legal name as debtors and indicating a collateral description which includes the vehicle
o Any lienholder of the vehicle
o Any person who you know of who has an interest in the vehicle.
· If you’ve been unable to find any information about the ownership of the vehicle, publish notice of the sale in a newspaper authorized to publish legal notices in the county where the vehicle is located. If you want to know which newspapers are authorized to publish legal notices in your county, contact Service Oklahoma. Publish this notice once a week for three consecutive weeks. Include the year, make, vehicle identification number or the vehicle, if this information is available. Also include your name and telephone number, and the address where the vehicle is located.
· You must hold the sale at least ten days after you have sent the notice of sale. If you have published notice of the sale in a newspaper, you must hold the sale at least one day after the last publication of the notice. Also, if you’ve published notice of the sale in a newspaper, you must hold the sale at least thirty days after the lien has accrued. You can’t hold the sale on a Sunday.
· After the sale, fill out Form 752-B and Form 752-C. If you’ve published notice of the sale in the newspaper, fill out Form 752-E. Copies of these forms are available at the end of this packet here.
· Send these forms to Service Oklahoma. Wait for Service Oklahoma to send you an approval or a denial. If Service Oklahoma sends you a denial, they will explain the reasons for the denial, and they will give you an opportunity to correct your mistake and resubmit your forms. If Service Oklahoma sends you an approval, the buyer will have to take this approval to the tag agency within 30 days after the approval, and transfer title into his name.
If there are legal proceedings brought
If, before the sale is completed, someone brings legal proceedings and notifies Service Oklahoma, Service Oklahoma must postpone the sale process until legal proceedings are concluded. This rule applies to either Process 1 or Process 2. If someone brings legal proceedings but does not notify Service Oklahoma, the sale may proceed.
Need help? Contact Persaud Law Office
The process for claiming and foreclosing on a motor vehicle lien can be difficult. Under state law, any person who charges fees to help prepare lien notices must either be 1) a licensed attorney, or 2) a person registered with Service Oklahoma to perform such preparation of forms. Because I am a licensed attorney, I can help you prepare the forms.
We can also help you if you own of a vehicle, and someone else claims a lien on the vehicle, and you want to contest the lien. If you need our help, please do not hesitate to give us a call today.
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