{"id":14920,"date":"2020-04-15T15:42:23","date_gmt":"2020-04-15T22:42:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/handbook\/vehicle-industry-registration-procedures-manual-2\/bonds-and-certifications\/unavailable-legal-owners\/"},"modified":"2024-07-10T15:40:16","modified_gmt":"2024-07-10T22:40:16","slug":"unavailable-legal-owners","status":"publish","type":"dmv_handbook","link":"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/es\/handbook\/vehicle-industry-registration-procedures-manual-2\/bonds-and-certifications\/unavailable-legal-owners\/","title":{"rendered":"23.050 Unavailable Legal Owners"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>A motor vehicle bond may be accepted in lieu of the release by the legal owner\/lienholder when all efforts to contact the legal owner\/lienholder to obtain a release of interest or lien satisfied have been exhausted. A bond is <strong>required <\/strong>regardless of the vehicle or vessels value. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>If the legal owner is an individual, the following must be submitted:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Evidence of the applicant\u2019s attempt to obtain the legal owner\u2019s release in the form of a returned and unopened certified letter. The postal receipt acknowledging receipt of the letter by the addressee may be accepted in situations where a certified letter is delivered, but after 30 days the sender has <strong>not <\/strong>received a response.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A Statement of Facts (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/es\/file\/statement-of-facts-reg-256-pdf\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">REG 256 (PDF)<\/a>) form stating the current retail value of the vehicle or vessel and the diligent effort information.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A motor vehicle or vessel bond or bond alternative for the value of the vehicle or vessel.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fees due.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The procedure below must be followed:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Process as a clearing transaction once all required items are submitted.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>If the legal owner is a dealer out of  business (DOB), the following must be submitted:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A lien satisfied from the DOB legal owner <strong>or <\/strong>evidence of their attempt to obtain the lien satisfied in the form of a returned and unopened certified letter.<br>\u2014 If after 30 days the sender has <strong>not <\/strong>received a response, a postal receipt acknowledging receipt of the letter by the addressee may be accepted.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A Statement of Facts (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/es\/file\/statement-of-facts-reg-256-pdf\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">REG 256 (PDF)<\/a>) form, completed by the applicant stating the current retail value of the vehicle and the diligent effort information.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If a lien satisfied from the DOB legal owner is not submitted, a motor vehicle or vessel bond or bond alternative for the value of the vehicle is required.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fees due.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The procedures below must be followed: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Determine that the dealer is out of business by running an Occupational Licensing Lookup (OLL) <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/es\/vehicle-industry-services\/occupational-licensing\/occupational-license-lookup\/\">Occupational License Lookup &#8211; California DMV<\/a> on the dealer name or number. The contact person for a DOB is the owner shown on the record.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Give the applicant the owner\u2019s name and telephone number from the OLL.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Print \u201cDOB MM\/DD\/YYYY see OLL attached,\u201d on line 2 of the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/es\/file\/application-for-duplicate-or-transfer-of-title-reg-227-pdf\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">REG 227 (PDF)<\/a>.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Attach the OLL printout to the application.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Collect a motor vehicle or vessel bond or bond alternative with the application.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Process as a clearing transaction.<br><span role=\"region\" class=\"format-label--note\"><span class=\"format-label__text\">Note<\/span> Do<strong> not <\/strong>use this procedure if the OLL record does <strong>not <\/strong>indicate DOB. Give the applicant the dealer\u2019s address and telephone number so that a lien satisfied from the dealer may be obtained.<\/span><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>If the legal owner is a bank or a financial or lending institution, the following must be submitted: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A lien satisfied from the DOB legal owner or evidence of their attempt to obtain the lien satisfied in the form of a returned and unopened certified letter.<br>\u2014 If after 30 days the sender has not received a response, a postal receipt acknowledging receipt of the letter by the addressee may be accepted.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/es\/file\/statement-of-facts-reg-256-pdf\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">REG 256 (PDF)<\/a> stating the current retail value of the vehicle and the diligent effort information.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Fees due.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>For vehicles two model years old or newer:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Electronic lien and title (ELT) legal owner of record participants must continue to use the appropriate ELT process to release the lien or transfer legal ownership.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If the legal owner of record is not an ELT participant and the original Certificate of Title is lost, the legal owner must apply for a duplicate title using an Application for Replacement Transfer of Title (<a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/es\/file\/application-for-duplicate-or-transfer-of-title-reg-227-pdf\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">REG 227 (PDF)<\/a>) form.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/es\/file\/application-for-duplicate-or-transfer-of-title-reg-227-pdf\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">REG 227 (PDF)<\/a>. The lien can then be released upon receipt of the new title and mailed to the registered owner.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>The address of the legal owner <strong>cannot <\/strong>be changed when applying for a replacement title. This should be done prior to requesting a replacement title.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If the legal owner refuses to assist the registered owner, the registered owner must follow the procedures Diligent Effort Process section in this chapter. Forward the paperwork to DMV headquarters.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The procedures below must be followed: <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If the application is complete, <strong>except <\/strong>for the legal owner\u2019s release, forward the transaction to DMV headquarters.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Inform the applicant that DMV headquarters will research the application to determine whether or not a financial institution or a successor exists and will advise them of any additional requirements.<\/li>\n<\/ul>","protected":false},"featured_media":0,"parent":14887,"menu_order":11,"template":"","dmv_task":[11],"dmv_functional_page_type":[64],"dmv_handbook_category":[946,595],"class_list":["post-14920","dmv_handbook","type-dmv_handbook","status-publish","hentry","dmv_task-educational","dmv_functional_page_type-informational","dmv_handbook_category-bonds-and-certifications","dmv_handbook_category-vehicle-industry-reg-procedures-manual"],"featured_image_src":null,"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.2 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>23.050 Unavailable Legal Owners - California DMV<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dmv.ca.gov\/portal\/es\/handbook\/vehicle-industry-registration-procedures-manual-2\/bonds-and-certifications\/unavailable-legal-owners\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"es_MX\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"23.050 Unavailable Legal Owners - California DMV\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"A motor vehicle bond may be accepted in lieu of the release by the legal owner\/lienholder when all efforts to contact the legal owner\/lienholder to obtain a release of interest or lien satisfied have been exhausted. 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