When you carry the note and take a car back, the state won't put the title in your name, or your buyer's, on your word alone. It wants its repossession affidavit. This guide lists the form each state uses, what goes with it, and which ones need a notary. It covers the title paperwork only, not the rules for the repossession itself.
The title still shows your customer as the owner and you as the lienholder. The affidavit is how you tell the title agency the car came back to you. States name it differently: affidavit of repossession in Georgia, Arkansas, Illinois and Massachusetts, certificate of repossession in California and Indiana, certification of repossession in North Carolina, repossessed motor vehicle affidavit in Texas and Alabama.
It gets used two ways. You title the car in your own name, then retail it like any other unit. Or you sell it and the affidavit supports the buyer's title application. Some forms cover both. California's REG 119 has a disposition block (auction, sale, lease or retained). Arizona's 48-0902 has a bill of sale on the same page. Tennessee's RV-F1312101 asks who bought it and for how much.
What goes with it, according to the forms themselves:
Several forms also ask you to certify that the repossession followed the law, and a few name specific notices: California's REG 119, Illinois's VSD 609 and New Jersey's OS/SS-57 among them. Those statements come from state law, which this guide doesn't cover. Read the certification before you sign it.
On a buy-here-pay-here deal, DealerVLO fills your state's repossession title form with the car, the buyer, and your dealership as lienholder. $29/month, free to try — cancel any time.
Each form number and name below is taken from the agency's current PDF. The notes repeat what the form or the agency says. A state that isn't listed either has no separate form or we haven't verified it yet, so check with the state agency.
| State | Form | Name on the form | Key notes | Official PDF | Walkthrough |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | MVT 15-1 Fills in DealerVLO | Repossessed Motor Vehicle Affidavit and Disposition of Vehicle Under Lien | The form says it must be submitted as a supporting document when you apply for an Alabama title for a repossessed vehicle. Signed by an authorized representative. | Box by box | |
| Arizona | 48-0902 | Repossession Affidavit | One page: the lienholder's certification on top, a bill of sale with an odometer statement below. The form says sequential bills of sale won't be accepted. | Box by box | |
| Arkansas | (unnumbered) Fills in DealerVLO | Affidavit of Repossession of Motor Vehicle | Attach a copy of the contract, chattel mortgage or security agreement. | Box by box | |
| California | REG 119 Fills in DealerVLO | Certificate of Repossession | Signed under penalty of perjury. If the legal owner isn't on DMV records, the original or a certified copy of the contract must go with it. | Box by box | |
| Florida | HSMV 82040 Fills in DealerVLO | Application for Certificate of Motor Vehicle Title | No separate repo form. The lienholder applies on the title application with Repossession (Section 5) and the Section 10 repossession declaration checked (FLHSMV procedure TL-23). | — | |
| Georgia | T-16 Fills in DealerVLO | Affidavit of Repossession | Notarized. Goes to the county tag office with the current Georgia title and the MV-1 title application. | Box by box | |
| Illinois | VSD 609 | Affidavit of Repossession | Notarized. Has a box for a lost title. The SOS fact sheet (VSD 608) lists it with the title application for the buyer of the repo. | Box by box | |
| Indiana | State Form 39738 Fills in DealerVLO | Certificate of Repossession | For titling in the primary lienholder's name. The owner must be the most recent owner on BMV records. No title? The form asks for proof of lien (UCC filing or court order). | Box by box | |
| Kentucky | TC 96-192 Fills in DealerVLO | Affidavit Supporting Repossession and Disposition of a Vehicle | Notarized. Attach it to the title or registration application and deliver it to the county clerk, within 15 days after you dispose of the vehicle (KRS 186.045). | Box by box | |
| Maryland | VR-048 Fills in DealerVLO | Application for Duplicate Security Interest Filing | The Certification of Repossession itself is on the back of the paper Security Interest Filing from MVA. VR-048 gets you a duplicate when the lien was recorded electronically. | — | |
| Massachusetts | TTL105 Fills in DealerVLO | Affidavit of Repossession | Notarized. The form says to keep the completed affidavit with the original certificate of title. | — | |
| Massachusetts | MVU-30 Fills in DealerVLO | Affidavit in Support of a Claim for Exemption from Sales or Use Tax for a Motor Vehicle Transferred by Repossession | Only when you title the repossessed vehicle in your own name. | — | |
| New Jersey | OS/SS-55 Fills in DealerVLO | Notice of Seizure of Motor Vehicle | The form says to file it immediately with MVC's central office, by whoever made the seizure. | — | |
| New Jersey | OS/SS-57 Fills in DealerVLO | Application for Repossession Certificate of Ownership | After the sale. The form says to present it with the New Jersey title papers within 10 days, or pay a $25 penalty on top of the title fee. Include the security agreement and notice of sale. | — | |
| North Carolina | MVR-3 Fills in DealerVLO | Certification of Repossession | Notarized. Goes with the surrendered title. | Box by box | |
| Pennsylvania | MV-217A Fills in DealerVLO | Application for Certificate of Title by a Financial Institution or Dealer After Default by Owner | Only for financial institutions and dealers licensed by the PA Department of Banking and Securities. The title must be attached. | Box by box | |
| Tennessee | RV-F1312101 Fills in DealerVLO | Certification of Sales Under Special Conditions | Check "Repossession." The form lists a true copy of the lien instrument and of the notice of sale as attachments, not required if the lien is noted on the title. | Box by box | |
| Texas | VTR-264 Fills in DealerVLO | Repossessed Motor Vehicle Affidavit | Notarized. Filed at the county tax assessor-collector's office with the title application. | Box by box |
Ohio has no repossession form. You apply for title at the county clerk of courts, on the back of the title or the BMV 3774, with a copy of the security agreement.
Virginia needs no repossession form for a Virginia-titled vehicle, just a REPO title. The VSA 98 is only for vehicles titled in another state.
Checked against each agency's PDF in October 2026. States revise forms, so confirm you have the current revision before you file.
It doesn't file anything with the state, and it doesn't handle the repossession. You (or your repo agent) take the car back, sign the form, get it notarized where required, and take it to the agency. When an outside lender holds the note, the deal says so: the lender, not the dealership, handles any repossession.
DealerVLO tracks every BHPH payment on the deal and prints the payoff letter, lien release and repo title form from the same record. $29/month, free to try — cancel any time.
It's the lienholder's sworn statement to the title agency that it repossessed the vehicle after the owner defaulted. The agency uses it to issue a title in the lienholder's name, or in the name of whoever the lienholder sells the vehicle to. Some states call it a certificate or certification of repossession. On a buy-here-pay-here deal, the dealership is the lienholder, so the dealership signs it.
Form VTR-264, the Repossessed Motor Vehicle Affidavit from TxDMV. It's notarized, and the form says it's submitted to a county tax assessor-collector's office along with the other title documents. You pick the method of repossession on the form, such as under the terms of the security (lien) agreement, and attach whatever that method requires.
Form T-16 from the Georgia Department of Revenue. It's sworn before a notary and goes to the county tag office in the county where you reside, with the current Georgia title and the title application. The form says that if the repossessor isn't shown as the lienholder, a copy of the contract with the person it was repossessed from has to go with it, and it lists an $18 title fee plus any penalty and TAVT that apply.
ADOT form 48-0902, Repossession Affidavit. The lienholder certifies it is the legal owner and a lienholder of record, that the vehicle is physically in Arizona, and that it was repossessed on default. The same page carries a bill of sale and odometer statement for selling the vehicle to a buyer. The form has no notary block, and it says sequential bills of sale won't be accepted.
California's form is the REG 119, Certificate of Repossession, from the DMV. The legal owner signs it under penalty of perjury, and it records the repossession and how the vehicle was disposed of (auction, sale, lease, or retained). If the legal owner isn't shown on DMV records, the original or a certified copy of the contract must go with it.
Form VSD 609 from the Secretary of State. The lienholder signs it under penalties of perjury in front of a notary. The SOS fact sheet VSD 608 lists it among the documents for titling a repo in the buyer's name, with the title application and the assigned title. If the title is lost, the fact sheet says to file an affidavit of repossession stating the title is lost and a copy of the loan contract, with a title application in the lienholder's name.
Form MVT 15-1, Repossessed Motor Vehicle Affidavit and Disposition of Vehicle Under Lien, from the Alabama Department of Revenue. The form says it must be submitted as a supporting document when applying for an Alabama title for a repossessed vehicle. An authorized representative of the lienholder signs it.
It depends on the form. Texas VTR-264, Georgia T-16, Illinois VSD 609, Kentucky TC 96-192, Massachusetts TTL105 and North Carolina MVR-3 have notary blocks. Alabama MVT 15-1, Arizona 48-0902, California REG 119 and Indiana State Form 39738 don't. For attachments, the title is the usual one. Arkansas asks for a copy of the contract every time, California and Georgia when you aren't the lienholder on record, and Pennsylvania's MV-217A must have the title attached. The table on this page lists each form's own instructions.
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