North Carolina MVR-5 Title Application: Filing, Notarization, Fees

The North Carolina MVR-5 form is the Division of Motor Vehicles application you use to correct information on an existing vehicle title or get a substitute title issued. Download it from the NC DMV website or pick one up at any license plate agency, complete the vehicle, owner, and (if needed) lien sections, check the box for your reason, sign in front of a notary, and submit the form with the current title, any supporting documents your reason requires, and a $25.50 fee.¹²

When the MVR-5 Is the Right Form

The form itself lists nine reasons for requesting a correction or substitute title. Check that your situation matches one of them before you go further:

The owner’s name is misspelled on the title.
The owner’s legal name changed by court order.
The model year on the title is wrong.
The Vehicle Identification Number on the title is wrong.
The body style is wrong.
The lienholder recorded on the title is wrong.
The motor or body has been replaced.
A title was assigned to a buyer but no sale actually took place and the assignment needs to be voided.
Co-owners want the title reissued as joint tenants with right of survivorship.

The form also has a lien section, so it can be used to add or correct a lienholder on an existing title.¹

One boundary worth stating up front. If you are financing a vehicle through a bank, credit union, or finance company, that lender records its lien electronically through North Carolina’s mandatory Electronic Lien and Title system, not on an MVR-5. The paper lien section of this form really only comes into play for private-party secured loans, where an individual lender has no access to the electronic system.

What to Gather Before You Start

The MVR-5 by itself is rarely enough. What you need to attach depends on your reason:

Name change by court order: a certified copy of the order.
VIN correction: a pencil rubbing of the actual VIN plate on the vehicle. If the plate can’t be read, written verification from law enforcement or a licensed dealer.
Engine replacement with a new motor: a bill of sale for the engine.
Engine replacement with a used motor from an NC-registered vehicle: the title for the donor vehicle, properly assigned to you.
Body replacement: titles for both vehicles, the one receiving the body and the one the body came from.
Voiding an incorrect assignment: affidavits from all parties confirming no sale took place.
Wrong lienholder: a signed confirmation from the lienholder currently on the title acknowledging the error.
Lost title: file a duplicate title application alongside the MVR-5. The duplicate title fee is also $25.50.

In every case where the existing title is available, send it in with the form. Submitting without the current title when it hasn’t been reported lost or stolen is one of the most common reasons applications come back.¹

Filling Out the Vehicle Section

The top of the form asks for the year, make, body style, series model, existing title number, and full VIN. Every entry here needs to match what the DMV already has on record, except for the field you’re correcting. If you’re fixing a VIN error, write both the incorrect number and the correct one, and attach that pencil rubbing from the VIN plate.¹

Below the vehicle details, check the box for your reason. If the reason is a motor or body change, write in the former identification number of the part that was replaced, the date you acquired the replacement, where you got it, and whether it was new or used. An engine swap on a vehicle registered by identification number (most vehicles from 1954 forward) still requires a corrected title whenever the replacement motor carries a different serial number.

Filling Out the Owner and Lien Sections

Enter the registered owner’s full legal name and mailing address exactly as you want them to appear on the new title. List every co-owner if there is more than one.

The lien section sits below. Leave it blank if the vehicle has no lien. If a lien exists or you’re adding one, fill in the date of the lien, the maturity date, the account number, the lienholder’s DMV-issued identification number, and the lienholder’s name and full mailing address. When your reason for filing is a wrong lienholder, the lienholder whose name currently appears on the title must complete the Certificate of Confirmation by Lienor on the back of the form, acknowledging the change.¹

Signatures and Notarization

Every registered owner on the title has to sign. The signature block carries a certification that the information is true and accurate, and in the standard paper process those signatures must be acknowledged in front of a notary public. The notary signs, prints their name, applies the official seal, and writes in the commission expiration date.¹ NC notaries typically charge $5 per acknowledgment.

When co-owners are joined by “and” on the title, every co-owner must sign. If one cannot appear, attach a properly executed power of attorney naming the signer, and write “by POA” on the signature line.

There is one exception for lien filings. Under North Carolina General Statute 20-58, a licensed or regulated lender holding a DMV lienholder identification number can submit a lien notation application with the debtor’s electronic signature and no notarization, with the lender taking full responsibility for that signature.³ If you’re an individual owner filing a paper MVR-5, plan on visiting a notary.

Where to Submit and What It Costs

You have two options. Bring the completed, notarized form, your supporting documents, and the fee to any North Carolina license plate agency, or mail the package with a check or money order to:⁴

Vehicle Titles/Liens
3148 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27697-3148⁵

The fee for a corrected or substitute certificate of title is $25.50.² If a duplicate title is needed because the original is lost, add another $25.50. If you’re recording a supplementary lien on top of the correction, that carries a separate $25.00 fee under NC General Statute 20-85.⁶ Payment must accompany the form. The DMV returns the whole package if the fee is missing or short.

Processing Time and What Happens Next

Standard processing runs 10 to 15 business days from when a complete application reaches the DMV. If you need the title faster, the DMV offers an expedited titling service that produces titles the same day or the next business day, available in person at designated offices.⁴

Where the corrected title ends up depends on whether a lien is recorded. If there’s a lienholder on the title, the DMV mails the new certificate to the lienholder, not to you, and the lienholder holds it until the loan is paid off.⁷ If the title is lien-free, it goes to the registered owner at the address on the application.

If something is wrong, the application comes back with a letter explaining the fix. The most frequent problems are a missing original title, a VIN that doesn’t match DMV records, an incomplete notary acknowledgment, and a missing lienholder confirmation when a lienholder correction is requested. Returning the corrected paperwork with the rejection letter doesn’t require a new fee.

Using the Lien Section for a Private-Party Loan

Because licensed lenders in North Carolina record their liens electronically, the paper lien section of the MVR-5 is really a tool for private secured loans. If a family member lends you money and takes your car as collateral, they can’t use the Electronic Lien and Title system. Getting their security interest noted on the title through an MVR-5 (or a similar paper filing) is what makes the loan a recorded claim on the vehicle rather than a private handshake. The application has to be signed by the debtor (the owner) and include the date of the security interest along with the secured party’s name and address, as required by GS 20-58.³

1
North Carolina Division of Motor Vehicles. Corrected or Substitute Title Application
2
North Carolina Department of Transportation. Vehicle Title and Registration Fees
3
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 20-58 – Perfection by Indication of Security Interest on Certificate of Title
4
North Carolina Department of Transportation. Vehicle Titles
5
North Carolina Department of Transportation. Mailing Addresses
6
North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 20-85 – Schedule of Fees
7
North Carolina Department of Transportation. Vehicle Registration Section Title Manual