How to Fill Out Colorado Form DR 2539A: Duplicate Title Request

Colorado’s duplicate title form DR 2539A replaces a vehicle title that has been lost, stolen, destroyed, or damaged, and it also handles requests for a clean title after a lien is paid off. You file it at your county motor vehicle office, or by mail if you live out of state, pay an $8.20 fee, and receive a replacement copy of your recorded certificate of title.¹

When to Use DR 2539A

Use this form any time your original Colorado certificate of title is illegible, lost, stolen, mutilated, or altered.¹ Colorado law authorizes the Division of Motor Vehicles to issue a duplicate copy of the recorded certificate when the title owner, lienholder, or mortgagee has lost, misplaced, or accidentally destroyed the original.² Typical reasons: you need to sell or trade in a vehicle and cannot find the paper title, or you paid off an auto loan and need a fresh title without the lienholder listed.

The form covers motor vehicles and off-highway vehicles titled in Colorado. If the vehicle was never titled in Colorado (for example, you bought it in another state and never transferred it), DR 2539A is not the right form — you would apply for an original Colorado title instead.

Who Can Sign the Application

Three categories of people can file the form:³

The titled owner named on the recorded certificate.
A lienholder with a recorded lien on the vehicle.
An authorized agent acting under a Power of Attorney (or, for a business, a Letter of Authorization).

Whoever signs certifies under penalty of perjury that the original title has been lost or destroyed, has not been assigned to anyone else, and is subject only to liens already shown in state records. Read that certification before you sign; misrepresenting any of it exposes you to perjury charges.

What to Gather Before You Start

Have these ready:¹

The vehicle identification number (VIN) and, if you have it, your Colorado title number. The VIN appears on registration cards, insurance cards, and loan paperwork. The title number appears on your registration receipt.
Secure and Verifiable identification. This is required for all vehicles with titles issued on or after July 1, 2006. Common accepted IDs include a Colorado driver license, permit, or ID card (current or expired no more than one year); an out-of-state photo driver license or ID; a U.S. passport or passport card (current or expired less than 10 years); a U.S. military ID; a tribal ID with an intact photo; and a Certificate of Naturalization or U.S. Citizenship with an intact photo. Certain immigration documents also qualify, including a valid Permanent Resident card (I-551) and a valid Employment Authorization Card (I-766). The full list is on Colorado’s DR 2841 form.⁴
The $8.20 duplicate title fee. If you are only removing a paid-off lien from a title you still have, the fee is $7.20 instead.⁵³
Lien release documentation if the loan on the vehicle has been paid off.
A Power of Attorney or Letter of Authorization if someone other than the titled owner is submitting the application.

Filling Out the Form

Download the current DR 2539A from the Colorado DMV forms page or pick one up at your county motor vehicle office. It runs one page for the application and one page for the receipt.³

On the first page, enter your name and address exactly as they appear on the recorded title. Fill in the vehicle’s year, make, and VIN. Check the box for the capacity in which you are applying: owner, agent, or lienholder. The person signing also provides identification details, including the type of ID used, the ID number, its expiration date, and their date of birth.

Sign the certification section at the bottom. This is the perjury-penalty attestation about the missing original and the state of any liens. The second page collects information about the vehicle owner if that person is different from the signer, and the county office completes the receipt portion when processing the application.

Lien Release Requirements

If a lien is on record but the loan is paid, you need a lien release from the lienholder before a clean duplicate title can be issued. Once accepted, the duplicate is issued with no reference to that lien.¹

The lien release must:

Be printed on the lienholder’s letterhead (not required if the lienholder is an individual rather than a company).
Include the vehicle year, make, VIN, and the titled owner’s name.
Be signed and dated by the lienholder’s agent.
Be signed under penalty of perjury in the second degree or include a notarized declaration.

Photocopies and faxed copies are accepted as long as all required information is present. If your lender has already filed an electronic lien release with the state, the county office can verify it in the system; bring your paperwork anyway in case they cannot.

Any liens still active in state records will be noted on the new certificate when it is issued.²

Filing on Someone Else’s Behalf

An authorized agent must submit a Power of Attorney signed by the owner or lienholder.³ If the Power of Attorney form you use does not include a space for the grantor’s identification information, you also submit a DR 2842 (Supplemental Secure and Verifiable Identification Information and Attestation Clause).

A VIN-specific Power of Attorney has to be submitted as the original document, though you can ask for it back. A general Power of Attorney can be submitted as a photocopy or fax, but the notary seal must be visible on the copy. A business can authorize its agent with either a Power of Attorney or a Letter of Authorization.

A lienholder whose lien is not filed in Colorado must include a Power of Attorney from the owner. The one exception is repossession: in that case, submit a Statement of Repossession together with a certified copy of the security agreement.

Where to Submit

Where you file depends on where you live:¹

Colorado residents bring the completed DR 2539A, identification, the $8.20 fee, and any supporting documents to their county motor vehicle office. Locations are listed on the DMV website’s county offices page.
Nonresidents mail the completed form and all supporting documents to the Colorado Division of Motor Vehicles, following the mailing instructions printed on the form.

The Colorado DMV says using myDMV.Colorado.gov produces the fastest processing. Check whether your county office supports online or mail-in duplicate title requests through that portal before making a trip in person.

The state does not publish a guaranteed processing timeline. In-person applications at a county office are often handled during the visit or within a few business days. Mailed applications take longer because they depend on postal delivery and the Division’s processing queue. Once issued, the duplicate carries the same legal weight as the original and can be used for selling, trading, or transferring the vehicle.

1
Department of Revenue – Motor Vehicle. Duplicate Title
2
FindLaw. Colorado Revised Statutes Title 42 Vehicles and Traffic 42-6-135
3
Colorado Department of Revenue. DR 2539A Duplicate Title/Lien Request and Receipt
4
Colorado Department of Revenue. DR 2841 Secure and Verifiable ID
5
Justia Law. Colorado Code 42-6-137 – Fees