To fix an error on a Michigan vehicle title, visit any Secretary of State office in person, bring your title and supporting documents, and pay a $15 fee for most corrections. A Michigan title correction cannot be done online, by mail, or at a self-service station, and the corrected title arrives by mail within about 14 days.1Michigan Department of State. Title Correction
What the Secretary of State Will Correct
Four common corrections are handled at the counter, each with its own fee:
- Name correction or change (misspellings, marriage, divorce, court order): $15
- Vehicle information correction (year, make, body style, or VIN): $15
- Lien removal after a loan payoff: $15
- Adding a new lienholder when financing or refinancing: $16
If you need the corrected title in hand the same day, instant title service is available at any Secretary of State office for an extra $5. Every owner listed on the title must appear in person for instant service; you cannot send an agent for that option. Card payments carry an added processing fee.1Michigan Department of State. Title Correction
How the Office Visit Works
Title corrections are in-person only. The office estimates about 20 minutes for the average visit, and the corrected title is mailed within about 14 days unless you paid for instant service.1Michigan Department of State. Title Correction
All owners listed on the title must appear together. If one owner cannot make it, that person can complete an Appointment of Agent form and provide a photocopy of their driver’s license so another person can handle the transaction. The one exception is a standalone lien removal with nothing else on the title changing; only one owner needs to appear for that.1Michigan Department of State. Title Correction
Bring the current title, your registration, a photo ID, and any document that proves the correction you are asking for. Keep a copy of everything you hand over.
Correcting a Name on a Michigan Title
If your name changed through marriage, divorce, or court order, or the name on the title is simply misspelled, bring these to the Secretary of State office:
- The current vehicle title
- The vehicle registration
- Your corrected driver’s license, or an official document showing the change (marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order)
- The $15 fee
The cleanest approach is to update your driver’s license first, then correct the title. If the license and title do not match and you arrive without the legal document bridging the two names, the office will send you back to gather more paperwork.1Michigan Department of State. Title Correction
Removing or Adding a Lienholder
Paper Titles
Once a vehicle loan is paid off, you can clear the lienholder from a paper title in one of two ways. The lienholder can stamp and sign the title itself to show the loan is satisfied, or they can issue a lien termination letter that lists the VIN and states clearly that the loan terms have been met.2Michigan Department of State. Titles FAQ
From there you have a choice. Pay the $15 fee for a clean title with the lienholder removed, or hold onto the lien release letter with your existing title. If you keep the letter and later sell the vehicle, you have to give the buyer both documents.2Michigan Department of State. Titles FAQ
Electronic Titles
If your lender participates in Michigan’s Electronic Lien and Title program, your title only exists in digital form and a paper lien release letter will not work. The lienholder must release the lien electronically. Once all electronic liens have been released, the Secretary of State automatically prints an updated paper title and mails it to you.2Michigan Department of State. Titles FAQ
Corrections to electronic titles, including name and address changes, VIN and vehicle-info fixes, and adding or releasing non-electronic liens, can still be done at a Secretary of State office. Duplicate titles and instant titles are not available for electronically held titles.3Michigan Department of State. Electronic Lien and Title Program
If you are not sure whether your title is paper or electronic, ask your lender before you head to the office. It saves a wasted trip.
Adding a Lienholder
When you finance or refinance, the new lienholder has to appear on the title. All owners visit the office (or send an agent with the appropriate form), and the fee is $16.1Michigan Department of State. Title Correction
When You Cannot Prove Ownership: Bonded Titles
Sometimes the problem is not an error on the title but a missing title entirely. You bought a vehicle at a private sale and never received the paperwork, or the previous owner has disappeared. In those cases a standard correction is not enough, and the Secretary of State may require a bonded title.
A bonded title uses Form TR-121 and involves buying a surety bond equal to twice the vehicle’s fair market value. The bond protects anyone with a valid ownership claim. You submit the bond along with evidence of the vehicle’s value and any documentation showing your connection to the vehicle. The bond stays in effect for three years, and if no one successfully challenges your ownership during that time the bond obligation expires. Vehicles more than 10 years old and worth less than $2,500 may be exempt from the bond requirement.
Bonded titles cost more than a standard correction because you are paying a bond premium on top of the title fee. They are the last-resort path when the ownership chain is truly broken.
Transferring a Title From a Deceased Owner
This is not technically a correction, but it is often what people are trying to do when they search for one. If a vehicle owner has died and the estate is not going through probate, Michigan law lets the surviving spouse or closest next-of-kin apply for a new title without a court proceeding, as long as the total value of the deceased person’s vehicles falls within a statutory dollar limit.4Michigan Legislature. Michigan Compiled Laws Section 257.236 Beginning in 2026 that limit is adjusted annually for inflation, with the Department of Treasury publishing the updated figure each September for the following year.
The Secretary of State provides a set of TR-40 forms for this situation. TR-40a is the certification from the heir claiming the vehicle; if multiple heirs share equal claim, each submits one. TR-40b is used when other heirs with a legal right to the vehicle want to surrender their claim. TR-40c is used when the vehicle is going to someone other than the closest next-of-kin.
All TR-40 forms must be verified at a Secretary of State office. You will also need a certified copy of the death certificate and the existing title. The deceased owner’s plate remains valid through the end of the registration year while the transfer is completed.5Michigan Department of State. Transferring Vehicle Ownership of a Deceased Family Member
If the estate is going through probate, or the vehicle value exceeds the statutory threshold, the personal representative of the estate handles the transfer through probate instead.
What Trips People Up
The most common reason a correction gets rejected is a VIN mismatch. The 17-character VIN on your paperwork has to match the number stamped on the vehicle exactly, which is typically visible through the windshield on the driver’s side of the dashboard. Before you drive to the office, walk out to your vehicle and check the VIN against your documents digit by digit. One transposed number sends you back.
Showing up short an owner is the next most frequent problem. All owners listed on the title need to be there unless an Appointment of Agent form and a photocopy of the absent owner’s license accompany the person who does appear. Couples who both appear on a title sometimes assume one spouse can handle it alone; that only works for a standalone lien removal.1Michigan Department of State. Title Correction
For name changes, insufficient proof is the usual snag. A marriage certificate, divorce decree, or court order works. Nothing informal does. The easiest single document is a driver’s license already updated to the new name.
Ownership gaps in the title chain, where a prior seller never put the title in their own name before selling it to you, may require additional documentation such as bills of sale and affidavits establishing the sequence of ownership. If those cannot be produced, the bonded title route may be the only option left.
Why Errors Are Worth Fixing Now
A small title error can block a sale. Buyers who spot a name mismatch, a VIN discrepancy, or a lienholder the seller says was paid off years ago tend to walk away or lower their offer, particularly in private sales.
Lenders react the same way. When you apply for an auto loan, the lender records a security interest on the title, and if the title contains errors the lender may refuse the loan or require the fix first. That can add days or weeks to a transaction you expected to close quickly.
Insurance carriers use the title to verify ownership when processing claims. After an accident, a title with the wrong owner or an incorrect VIN slows the claims process while the insurer investigates. In a total-loss situation the payout can be delayed until the record is cleaned up. Fixing errors while everything is quiet is much easier than sorting them out while waiting on a claim check.