If somebody else has the lien release for my car, but my name is the?
It is not at all clear to me how someone else could have a lien release for your car. The actual lien release is normally a reissued title that removes the name of the lien holder, and not a separate piece of paper. If you financed the car in your name only, then the title is issued in your name only with a notation that a lien is held by XYZ Bank. You always hold the title. When the loan is paid off, a new title is issued to the person who contracted with the bank and whose name is on that original sales contract and title, but with no notation of lien. Perhaps the bank sends a notice of lien release under separate cover, but that is a formality only. It has no legal standing. Please note that sometimes people confuse registration and title documents. It has happened that the registration document is issued to the first name on a sales contract when there are two names on that contract. The title almost always indicates the two names. Mistakes are known to happen, human beings are involved in this. Registration is just proof that you have paid the requisite fees to the state to be able to drive on public roadways. The title is your proof of ownership, with or without a lien. If there is a lien, that must be satisfied (paid off) before you can sell or otherwise dispose of the car. Once the lien is satisfied, a new title is issued to the legal owner. What determines the legal owner in the eyes of the former lien holder? The person whose name is on the sales and financing contracts. If two people signed a sales and financing contract, then it boils down to the words and or or. If two names are separated by the word and then both names appear on the title as John Doe and Mary Doe and both have to agree and sign any documentation, such as selling the car or refinancing, etc. The lien holder remains the same and is also annotated on the title. If the two peoples names are separated by the word or then either can sign documentation, sell, refinance, etc. Both names still appear on the title, John Doe or Mary Doe, and the lien holder is also there. A long shot is that somebody else financed that car and sold it to you, then paid off the loan with the proceeds of the sale. In the meantime you were able, somehow, on the basis of the sales contract I suppose, to register and transfer title of the car. A paperwork delay, perhaps, caused the seller of the car to get a piece of paper saying the lien was released while you have already transferred the title to your name. The title is proof of ownership of a vehicle in the US.