The Michigan TR-114 form, formally titled “Special Mailing of Certificate of Title,” is a one-page instruction telling the Department of State to send your new title to someone other than you — typically a lender, dealer, or family member. You submit it alongside your title application (usually the TR-11L), and only the vehicle or watercraft owner can sign it.1Michigan Department of State. TR-114 Special Mailing of Certificate of Title
What the Form Does
The operative language on the form reads: “I direct the Michigan Department of State to mail or release my new title to the party listed on this form.”1Michigan Department of State. TR-114 Special Mailing of Certificate of Title That is the whole point of the document. Without it, the state defaults to mailing the title to the registered owner’s address.
One consequence worth knowing before you sign: if the party you name is a lienholder, any future duplicate title will also be mailed to that lienholder until the lien is terminated.1Michigan Department of State. TR-114 Special Mailing of Certificate of Title You cannot redirect duplicates to yourself while the loan is active.
When You Actually Need One
The most common reason to file a TR-114 is financing. When you buy a vehicle with a loan, the lender wants the paper title mailed directly to them so they hold the physical document as security for the debt. You name the lender on the TR-114, submit it with your title application, and the state routes the title accordingly.
Other situations that call for the form:
- Refinancing a loan: when you switch lenders, the new lender needs the title, so you file a fresh title application and TR-114 naming the replacement lienholder.
- Dealer or auction transactions where the title needs to reach the business’s mailing address.
- Family transfers, such as a parent helping a child buy a first car and wanting the physical title sent to the parent’s address.
- Out-of-state moves, where you need a Michigan title mailed to an address in another state.
You do not need the form if you want the title to come to your own address. That happens automatically.
How to Fill Out the TR-114
The form has two sections.
The first identifies the vehicle or watercraft: year, make, and Vehicle Identification Number, entered exactly as they appear on your title application.1Michigan Department of State. TR-114 Special Mailing of Certificate of Title A single wrong character in the VIN will stop the form from processing. Copy the number from your registration or the door jamb plate rather than working from memory.
The second section is the “Mail or Release Title To” block. Enter the recipient’s full legal name and complete street address, city, state, and zip code. If the recipient is a bank or credit union, use the exact legal name and mailing address the lender gives you. Many large lenders run centralized title-processing centers whose address is nothing like your local branch, and a title mailed to the wrong office can vanish into internal routing for weeks.
Sign and date the form at the bottom. No lienholder signature is needed, because you are the one giving the mailing instruction. No notarization is required.
Submitting the Form
The TR-114 does not travel alone. It attaches to a title application (usually the TR-11L) along with whatever else your transaction requires: prior title, odometer disclosure, proof of insurance, and applicable fees.2Michigan Department of State. Title Transfer and Vehicle Registration
In Person at a Branch Office
Most title transactions can be handled at any Secretary of State branch. The department recommends scheduling an appointment, which you can book up to six months in advance at michigan.gov/sos or by calling 888-SOS-MICH (888-767-6424). An appointment visit typically runs about 20 minutes. Walk-ins are accepted, but staff assign the next available slot, which may be later that day or the following business day.3Michigan Department of State. Scheduling an Office Visit
If you need the title the same day, any branch can print an instant title for an extra $5.4Michigan Department of State. Electronic Lien and Title (ELT) Program The TR-114 routing instruction still applies, so the instant title goes to the party you named on the form, not automatically into your hands at the counter.
By Mail
You can mail the TR-114, the title application, supporting documents, and payment to:
Michigan Department of State
Internal Services Section
7064 Crowner Drive
Lansing, MI 489185Michigan Department of State. Title Transfer and Vehicle Registration
Duplicate and corrected titles processed by mail generally arrive within 14 days.6Michigan Department of State. Titles If you have not received the new title within 60 days, call the Department of State Information Center at 888-SOS-MICH.7Michigan Department of State. TR-11L Title Application
Fees
The TR-114 has no fee of its own. It is a routing slip, not a transaction. The title application it accompanies does carry fees: a standard title transfer costs $15, and Michigan adds a $15 late fee if the transfer is not completed within 15 days of the sale date.2Michigan Department of State. Title Transfer and Vehicle Registration Paying by credit card at a branch adds a 1.45% convenience fee on the total.4Michigan Department of State. Electronic Lien and Title (ELT) Program
How Electronic Titles Change the Picture
Michigan requires all financial institutions that finance vehicles or watercraft to participate in the Electronic Lien and Title (ELT) program. With ELT, the state stores the title electronically and the lender’s interest is recorded and released digitally. In many financed purchases, no paper title is printed during the life of the loan at all. When you pay off, the lienholder releases the electronic lien and the department mails a paper title to you as the owner.4Michigan Department of State. Electronic Lien and Title (ELT) Program
Because of ELT, the TR-114 matters most when a paper title is actually being generated: transactions with a smaller lender not yet on ELT, out-of-state transfers, dealer or auction sales, and any case where you want the paper document sent to a specific third party.
TR-114 Is Not a Lien Release
Two different documents get confused here. A lien release proves the debt is paid. The TR-114 tells the state where to send the title. They are separate, and one transaction can need both. If you pay off one lender and refinance with another, you need a lien termination from the old lender plus a TR-114 directing the new title to the replacement lender. Filing a TR-114 by itself does nothing to clear an existing lien from the record.