What procedures need to be completed after paying off a car loan?
2 Answers
After paying off the car loan, the borrower needs to go to the local vehicle management office to cancel the mortgage registration and retrieve the vehicle title certificate, so that the car will truly belong to the owner. Here are the details: Required materials: When applying for the cancellation of mortgage registration, the borrower must prepare valid identification documents of the applicant and the vehicle owner, the loan contract signed with the bank, the loan repayment card, the original vehicle registration certificate, and other relevant materials. Cancellation of mortgage business: After the loan is fully repaid, the borrower needs to obtain the vehicle registration certificate from the bank, along with the power of attorney and the organization code certificate provided by the bank. Then, the owner should personally bring the registration certificate to complete the cancellation of mortgage business. After the cancellation of mortgage is processed, the registration column on the registration certificate will indicate the cancellation of mortgage, and the car will officially belong to the owner.
I remember the first thing I did after paying off my car loan last year was to get the loan clearance certificate from the bank. This document is extremely important as it proves the debt is cleared. Then, I had to contact the auto loan company to obtain the release documents—they usually send you some forms or emails. The next step was to go to the DMV to complete the release procedures, bringing along my ID card, the vehicle registration certificate (the big green book), and those documents. The DMV might have a bit of a queue, so going during off-peak hours can save time. The whole process was quite smooth. Once the release was completed, the lien information on the big green book was cleared, and the vehicle ownership truly belonged to me. Also, don’t forget to update your car insurance records and notify the insurance company that the loan is paid off to avoid any issues with claims. This can’t be delayed—if you find lien problems when selling or transferring the car later, it could cause delays. That time, I got it all done in half a day and was really happy—finally free!
