How to Fill Out and Submit the Georgia T-4 Lien Release Form

The Georgia T-4 lien release form is what your lender fills out, signs, and notarizes to tell the Department of Revenue that your vehicle loan is paid off when the paper title isn’t being handed over at the same time. You then take that completed T-4 to your county tag office with a title application and an $18 fee, and the state mails you a clean title.¹

When the T-4 Is the Right Form

Georgia clears liens three ways, and the T-4 is only one of them. Knowing which path fits your situation keeps you from chasing paperwork you don’t need.

If your lender still holds the physical title certificate, the simplest path is for them to complete the “Release of Lien or Security Interest” section printed on the back of the title itself. They sign and date it, and you walk that title into the tag office.¹

If your lender participates in Georgia’s Electronic Lien and Title (ELT) program, no paper form moves at all. The lender transmits the release electronically, and the Department of Revenue mails you a clean title directly. Many banks and credit unions use ELT, so you may receive your title without doing anything.²

The T-4 steps in when neither works: the title has been lost, the lender never held a physical copy, there’s no space left on the back of the title for another release, or the lender isn’t on the ELT system. Private lenders and smaller institutions are where it shows up most often.¹

What Goes on the Form

The T-4 is a single page, downloadable from the Georgia Department of Revenue website.³ Every field has to be filled in, and anything that doesn’t match DOR records will get the application bounced at the counter. Gather this information for the lienholder:

Owner’s full legal name, exactly as it appears on the current title
The 17-character VIN (on the driver-side dashboard at the windshield or on the door jamb sticker)
The current title number and state of issue
Lienholder name as shown on the title (exact match required)
Lienholder street address, city, state, and zip
Loan or account number, if applicable
Lender phone number with area code
Printed name of the authorized representative signing for the lender⁴

Georgia’s administrative rules require the T-4 to be typed rather than handwritten, signed by the lienholder or an authorized representative, and notarized with the notary’s seal and commission expiration date.⁵ Banks and credit unions typically handle the notarization in-house before giving you the form.

Submitting the T-4 at the County Tag Office

Take the completed T-4 to the tag office in the county where you live. Bring:

The original signed and notarized T-4. Photocopies and faxes are not accepted.⁶
The original title certificate, if you have it
A completed title application
$18 for the title fee to remove a lien⁷

Expect the clerk to call the lender’s phone number on the T-4 to verify the release is real. The county reserves that right and uses it routinely.¹ Once your paperwork is accepted, the county forwards it to the Department of Revenue, which prints and mails your new lien-free title in roughly seven to ten business days.⁸

If you can’t go in person, send the documents to your county tax commissioner’s office by certified mail. You’re sending originals that can’t be easily replaced, so the delivery receipt matters.

If Your Lender Is Slow to Release

Once you pay off the debt, Georgia law gives the lienholder ten days to execute a release in the form the DOR commissioner prescribes and either mail or deliver it to both the commissioner and the vehicle owner. Any branch or office of the parent institution can sign.⁹

A lienholder who willfully fails to deliver the release within those ten days commits a misdemeanor.¹⁰ Citing that statute in a written request tends to speed things up. If your lender is on the ELT system and weeks pass without a title arriving, call and ask them to confirm the electronic release actually transmitted.

When the Lienholder Is Out of Business

If the original lender no longer exists, you don’t need a T-4 at all. You present certification from the appropriate regulatory agency confirming the lender is defunct, and the tag office uses that in place of a release.⁹

Which agency depends on the kind of lender:

For a failed bank, check whether another bank acquired it; if so, contact the acquiring bank. If no acquiring bank exists, the FDIC may process the release directly. You’ll need a legible copy of the title or a state vehicle inquiry report showing the owner, lienholder, VIN, title number, year, make, and model.¹¹
For a defunct credit union, contact the National Credit Union Administration (NCUA), not the FDIC.¹¹
For a mortgage or finance company, contact the Georgia Secretary of State’s office about the company’s status and any successor entity.

Bring whatever documentation the agency provides to your county tag office along with your title application and the $18 fee.

Liens That Expire on Their Own

Georgia has a built-in cutoff. Any lien on a vehicle 11 model years old or less is automatically considered satisfied once ten years have passed from the date the title was issued. After that, no release is required.⁹ This does not apply to mobile homes, cranes, or vehicles over 10,000 pounds gross vehicle weight; those go through the standard release process regardless of age.

If your vehicle qualifies, bring the title to the tag office and request a new title without any release paperwork. The clerk can confirm from the title’s issuance date that the ten years have run.

1
Georgia Department of Revenue. How to Release a Lien and Security Interest on Title
2
Georgia Department of Revenue. Electronic Lien and Title (ELT) Program
3
Georgia Department of Revenue. T-4 Satisfaction of MV Title Lien or Security Interest Affidavit
4
Thomson-McDuffie County Georgia. Georgia Department of Revenue T-4 Notice to the Department of Revenue Commissioner That the Lien or Security Interest Described Below Has Been Satisfied
5
Georgia Secretary of State. Georgia Code 560-10-21 – Motor Vehicle Certificate of Title Forms
6
Barrow County Tax Portal. Motor Vehicle Titles
7
Georgia Department of Revenue. Motor Vehicles Fees, Fines, and Penalties
8
DeKalb County Tax Commissioner’s Office. Vehicle Titles
9
Justia. Georgia Code 40-3-56 – Satisfaction of Security Interests and Liens
10
Justia. Georgia Code 40-3-91 – Certain Acts Declared Misdemeanors
11
FDIC. Obtaining a Lien Release