How to Get a Replacement Title in Kansas: Steps, Fees, and Timing

To get a replacement title in Kansas, file Form TR-720B (Application for Secured/Duplicate/Reissue Title) at your county treasurer’s motor vehicle office or by mail to the Division of Vehicles in Topeka, pay the $10 state fee, and wait 10 to 40 days for processing.¹ If a lender is still listed on the vehicle, the replacement stays electronic until the lien is cleared; you only receive a paper title once the record is lien-free.

What You Need to File

The form is the TR-720B, available from the Kansas Department of Revenue website or any county treasurer’s motor vehicle office.² It asks for the vehicle identification number, year and make, license plate number, the county where the vehicle was last titled, and the current odometer reading.¹ Check the box that describes your situation: lost, illegible, or mutilated. If the title is damaged but you still have it, attach it to the application.³

A phone number is required; applications submitted without one are rejected. If two or more owners are listed on the title with “and” between the names, every owner has to sign. Missing signatures void the application.³

Bring a valid Kansas driver’s license, state-issued ID, or the FEIN for a business-owned vehicle. That is how the state confirms you are the person named on the title record.³

One point that trips people up: you do not need a lien release to get a replacement title. If you still owe on the vehicle, the state processes the request and holds the new title electronically until the loan is paid off. No paper copy is printed while a lienholder is on the record.¹

If the loan is already paid off and you want the replacement to come back as a clean paper title, you can remove the lien on the same application. You will need satisfactory evidence of payoff, such as a lien release letter from the lender on their letterhead.³ Kansas law requires proof of payoff any time a lienholder is removed from a title.⁴

Fees

The state fee depends on what you are asking the Division of Vehicles to do:

Replacement only: $10
Add a lien: $11.50
Replace and add a lien: $21.50
Remove a lien: $10
Replace and remove a lien: $20

The $10 title fee is set by K.S.A. 8-135 and applies to duplicate titles as well as originals.⁴ If you mail your application, pay by check or money order. Do not send cash.³

How to File

In Person

The simplest route is walking into any county treasurer’s motor vehicle office with your completed TR-720B, your ID, and payment.⁵ Staff review the form on the spot and check the information against state records. Minor errors, like a transposed VIN digit or a missing signature, get caught and fixed at the counter rather than triggering a rejection letter weeks later.

By Mail

If an office visit is not practical, mail your completed TR-720B, any supporting documents (damaged title, lien release, power of attorney), and your check or money order to:

Titles and Registrations
P.O. Box 2505
Topeka, KS 66601-2505⁶

Use a mailing method with tracking. The envelope contains ownership documents, payment, and personal identifying information, and losing it would create more problems than the missing title. Kansas does not currently offer an online option for a duplicate title application; the TR-720B must be filed in person or by mail.³

How Long It Takes and Whether You Get a Paper Title

Once the Division of Vehicles has your verified application, processing runs 10 to 40 days depending on volume and whether the state needs anything else from you.¹ During that window, staff check your application against the master title database for conflicts or discrepancies.

Kansas uses an electronic title system. If a lienholder is still on the record, the title stays electronic and no paper copy is printed. A paper title is only generated and mailed when the vehicle is fully lien-free.¹ Paper titles go to the mailing address the state has on file, so confirm that address is current before you apply. A title returned because of a bad address means starting over.

Sending Someone Else to File for You

If you cannot file the application yourself, an agent can act on your behalf using Form TR-41, the Power of Attorney for vehicles.⁷ Fill in the vehicle information, name your agent, sign and date, and attach the completed TR-41 to the TR-720B when your agent files.

Starting January 1, 2025, any replacement title application submitted with a simple Power of Attorney or TR-41 must also include a copy of the driver’s license or state-issued ID for the owner who signed the power of attorney.³ Applications without the ID copy will be rejected.

Updating Your Name at the Same Time

If your legal name has changed through marriage, divorce, or a court order, you can update it on the replacement title in a single transaction. Bring a copy of the marriage license or court order along with your TR-720B to the county treasurer’s office.¹

If a lienholder is currently on the vehicle, there is an extra step. The lender must complete and notarize a Lienholder’s Consent to Transfer Ownership (Form TR-128), using the assignment section to show the new name. Submit the TR-128 with your registration receipt or E-Title verification.¹

When a Replacement Title Is Not the Right Fix

Two situations look like lost-title problems but are handled differently, and applying for a duplicate will not solve them.

The owner has died. A replacement title cannot be issued to someone other than the owner on the record. If the deceased owner set up a transfer-on-death beneficiary directly on the title, that beneficiary applies for a new title at the county treasurer’s office with a certified death certificate, subject to any existing liens, and probate is avoided.⁸ When there is no TOD designation and the estate subject to probate does not exceed $75,000 (a threshold raised from $40,000 effective July 1, 2023), heirs can use the Small Estates Affidavit, Form TR-83b, to transfer the vehicle without probate court, attaching a certified death certificate and affirming that no executor petition is pending and that estate debts and taxes have been or will be paid.⁹ Larger or probated estates go through the executor with additional forms.¹

You never had a title to begin with. If you bought a vehicle and the seller never signed one over, a duplicate is not the answer, because you are not on the record. For a vehicle at least 15 years old or with a fair market value of $3,000 or less, file an Affidavit of Ownership, Form TR-134, and attach a bill of sale or other proof of purchase if you have one.¹⁰ Vehicles that do not qualify for the affidavit require a quiet title action: filing a petition in court and getting a judge to order the Department of Revenue to title the vehicle in your name. Most people will need an attorney for that route.¹

1
Kansas Department of Revenue. Frequently Asked Questions – Titling a Vehicle
2
Kansas Department of Revenue Division of Vehicles. Vehicles Forms and Publications
3
Kansas Department of Revenue. TR-720b – Manual Title Application
4
Justia. Kansas Statutes 8-135 – Transfer of Ownership of Vehicles
5
Kansas Department of Revenue. Vehicle Tags, Titles and Registration
6
Kansas Department of Revenue. Contact Titles and Registration
7
Kansas Department of Revenue. Power of Attorney TR-41
8
Justia. Kansas Statutes 59-3508 – Motor Vehicles; Transfer-on-Death
9
Kansas Department of Revenue. Small Estates Affidavit TR-83b
10
Kansas Department of Revenue. TR-134 Authorization to Receive Title