The Texas VTR-264 Repossessed Motor Vehicle Affidavit is the notarized form a lienholder files with a county tax assessor-collector to put a repossessed vehicle into a new name without the defaulting borrower’s signature. You download it free from TxDMV.gov, complete every field, have it notarized, and submit it with the security agreement, the existing title if you have it, and the title fee. Done correctly, it either titles the vehicle in your name as the lienholder or reassigns it straight to a buyer.
When the VTR-264 Is the Right Form
Texas lets the Department of Motor Vehicles issue a new title after a non-judicial lien foreclosure based solely on the lienholder’s sworn affidavit.1State of Texas. Texas Code Transportation 501.074 – Transfer of Vehicle by Operation of Law The VTR-264 is that affidavit. What you can do with it depends on whether your lien is already recorded on the current Texas title.
- If your lien is on the Texas title, you can file the VTR-264 to title the vehicle in your own name or reassign it directly to a buyer.
- If your lien is not on the Texas title, you have to title the vehicle in your own name first. Submit the VTR-264 together with a certified copy of the security agreement. You can transfer to a buyer only after the title issues to you.
- If you are a floor plan lienholder repossessing dealer inventory, the process is different. You file a Form 130-U in the purchaser’s name, supported by the manufacturer’s certificate of origin or certificate of title and the security agreement or UCC Financing Statement.
The form covers three repossession methods, and you’ll check one box on the affidavit:
- Terms of Security (Lien) Agreement. The ordinary case: borrower defaulted and you repossessed under the self-help rights in the security agreement, without a court order.
- Sequestration. A sheriff or constable seized the vehicle under a Writ of Sequestration issued by a judge or justice of the peace.
- Floor Plan Lien. Inventory repossession from a defaulting dealer, handled through Form 130-U rather than the standard title route.
If you have no recorded lien and no written security agreement, this form will not work and the county tax office will reject the application.
Filling Out the Form
Every field on the VTR-264 is required. Blanks come back.2Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. VTR-264 Repossessed Motor Vehicle Affidavit
Vehicle Information
Enter the Vehicle Identification Number, model year, make, body style, and model exactly as they appear on the existing title or registration. One wrong digit in the VIN stalls the whole application. If the vehicle is less than 20 model years old, record the odometer reading as of the repossession date. The federal odometer disclosure window expanded from 10 to 20 years in 2021, so in 2026 any 2007 or newer vehicle needs a mileage entry.3Texas Independent Automobile Dealers Association. Odometer Disclosure Exemption Update – 2026 Is a Timeline Milestone Older vehicles are exempt, though recording a known reading anyway is good practice.
Lienholder and Debtor Information
Give the lienholder’s full legal name, mailing address, and the date of repossession. Then enter the debtor’s full legal name and last known address. The debtor’s information needs to match the security agreement and the existing title record. If the borrower moved and you have nothing current, use the last known address from your loan file.
Method of Repossession
Check one box: Terms of Security Agreement, Sequestration, or Floor Plan Lien. Attach the documents tied to that method, which are covered in the next section.
Signature and Notarization
An authorized agent for the lienholder signs, certifying the statements are true and that the vehicle was repossessed as described. The printed name has to match the signature. A Texas notary public must witness the signing, administer the oath, and apply a notary stamp. An unnotarized VTR-264 will be rejected.
Application for Title
The bottom portion of the form is the title application itself. Enter the applicant’s name (the lienholder, or the buyer if your situation allows a direct reassignment), the mailing address, and the county where the vehicle will be registered. A lienholder titling in its own name before resale lists its business address and county.
Documents to Bring With the Affidavit
The VTR-264 by itself is not enough. Depending on your method of repossession, you’ll also need:
- A certified copy of the security agreement. Required in every case. This proves the lien existed and that default triggered your right to repossess.
- The existing certificate of title, if you have it. If the title was electronic or you don’t have a paper copy, the county office can verify the lien through the state database.
- The original or a certified copy of the Sheriff’s Bill of Sale, if you checked Sequestration.
- A Form 130-U, if you are a floor plan lienholder titling the vehicle directly in a buyer’s name.
- The manufacturer’s certificate of origin or a properly assigned title, plus a UCC Financing Statement, for floor plan situations.
One missing document means a return trip. Call the county tax office in advance to confirm what they want for your specific repossession method.
Where to File, What It Costs, and the Sales Tax Point
Submit the notarized VTR-264 and supporting documents to the county tax assessor-collector’s office. Office locations are listed on the TxDMV website. You’ll pay two kinds of charges at the counter.
The title application fee is set by state law at either $33 or $28, depending on the applicant’s county. Counties in a federal nonattainment area or an affected county under the Texas emissions program pay $33. Everywhere else, it’s $28.4State of Texas. Texas Code Transportation 501.138 – Certificate of Title Fee Most urban counties in the Dallas-Fort Worth, Houston, Austin, and San Antonio metro areas fall in the $33 tier.
Motor vehicle sales tax is 6.25% of the sale price.5Texas Comptroller. Motor Vehicle Sales and Use Tax A lienholder taking title in its own name after repossession, rather than selling the vehicle, owes no motor vehicle tax at that point.6Texas Comptroller. Repossessions – Motor Vehicle Tax Guide The 6.25% is collected later, when you sell the vehicle to a retail buyer. Lienholders who plan to resell should not pay sales tax when they initially title the vehicle.
After You File
Once the county tax office accepts the application, the record goes to the state’s central title system. Allow at least 20 business days for processing. If no title has arrived within 30 business days, contact TxDMV directly.7Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. Buying or Selling a Vehicle The physical title is mailed to the lienholder if a lien remains on the record, or to the applicant’s address if none is recorded.
If the lienholder reassigned the vehicle directly to a buyer when filing, the new title will show that buyer as the owner. If you titled in your own name first, you’ll need a separate transfer and title application when the vehicle is eventually sold.
Before You Repossess: Check Active-Duty Status
This step happens before the VTR-264, but it can void the title transfer if you skip it. Under the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act, a lender cannot repossess a vehicle from an active-duty servicemember without a court order, as long as the borrower signed the loan and made at least one payment before entering military service.8Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 50 USC 3952 – Mortgages and Trust Deeds A repossession without that court order violates federal law and can unwind the entire transfer.
A servicemember can waive the protection, but the waiver has to be in writing, in at least 12-point type, on a document separate from the loan agreement, and signed during or after the period of military service. Pre-service waivers are invalid. If there is any doubt, verify the borrower’s status through the Defense Manpower Data Center’s SCRA site before taking the vehicle.