Wisconsin Form MV2881: Involuntary Lien Transfer Notice, Sale, and Filing

Wisconsin Form MV2881 is the Department of Transportation’s sworn statement that lets a landlord, mechanic, self-storage facility, or towing company apply for a title to a vehicle left in their possession, or junk it. It is not a form the general public can use to claim a car that looks abandoned on the street or in a lot. If you qualify, MV2881 is one piece of a package you mail to WisDOT’s Special Plates Unit after you have notified the owner and any lienholders by certified mail and waited at least 20 days.¹

Who Qualifies to File

WisDOT limits MV2881 to four kinds of applicants, each with a different legal basis for taking the vehicle:²

Landlords, for a vehicle left on the rental property after the tenant moved out or was evicted. Wisconsin law gives landlords broad authority to dispose of personal property a former tenant leaves behind, including titled vehicles, if the notice procedures are followed.³
Mechanics, enforcing an unpaid repair bill. The shop needs a signed repair order, and for most passenger vehicles the lien applies to charges above $1,500.⁴
Self-storage facilities, when a customer abandons a vehicle in a rented unit and owes storage fees.
Towing companies, when the owner never paid the tow and storage charges.

When you sign MV2881 you are certifying under penalty of law that you fit one of these categories and that you have followed every required step. Filing when you don’t qualify is prohibited.¹

What You Have to Do Before You Sign

Three things have to happen before MV2881 is valid.

Find the Owner and Any Lienholders

You need the name of every legal owner and lienholder, plus the state where the vehicle is currently titled.² Your own paperwork is usually the first place to look: a rental agreement, repair order, storage contract, or tow bill will typically have the customer’s name. If you still can’t identify everyone you need to notify, contact WisDOT’s Special Plates Unit.¹

Send Certified Mail and Wait 20 Days

You must notify every owner and lienholder by certified mail that you intend to sell or junk the vehicle. The notice has to give them the chance to retrieve it, which may mean paying the outstanding charges. You then wait at least 20 days from the date you sent the notice before you can move ahead.² Keep every certified mail receipt. WisDOT requires them in your application package.

Hold a Public Sale or Decide to Junk

If no one claims the vehicle inside the 20-day window, you can sell it at a public sale, sell it privately where appropriate, or junk it. A public sale needs proof the vehicle was offered to the public for bidding, including the date and details of the sale. If you plan to junk it, you have to contact your local police department to notify them.²

Documents You Need to Attach

Every application includes MV2881. The supporting documents vary by how you came to possess the vehicle. If you are re-titling or selling the vehicle, you also include a title application (Form MV1 or MV11); you do not need it if you are only junking the vehicle. For any vehicle with a model year of 2011 or newer, add an odometer disclosure (Form MV2488).²

Landlord

Form MV2881 or MV2882 (either is acceptable)
Signed rental agreement on official letterhead, with the renter’s name and signature, the landlord or property manager’s name and signature, lease dates, and lease fees
Certified mail receipts to the owner and any lienholders
Public sale notice, unless you are junking or selling privately
Lien release, if applicable
Proof of out-of-state titling information, if the vehicle is titled elsewhere

Mechanic

Form MV2881
Signed repair order with the shop name and address, customer name and address, vehicle year, make, model, and plate, itemized prices and descriptions for each repair, the customer’s authorizing signature, the date, and the shop representative’s signature
Certified mail receipts
Public sale notice, unless junking or selling privately
Out-of-state titling proof, if applicable

Self-Storage

Form MV2881
Signed storage rental agreement on official letterhead, with the facility’s name and address, customer name and address, vehicle information, storage dates, fees, and signatures from both parties
Certified mail receipts
Public sale notice, unless junking or selling privately
Lien release, if applicable

Towing

Form MV2881
Signed towing bill on official letterhead, with the company name and address, customer name, vehicle information, service dates, fees, and the company representative’s signature
Certified mail receipts
Public sale notice, unless junking or selling privately

Missing paperwork is the most common reason these applications come back. Check every document for the signatures, dates, and vehicle details before you mail anything.

Filling Out MV2881

The form itself is short. You provide the vehicle identification number along with the year, make, and model so WisDOT can match the vehicle to its title records. You identify yourself as the applicant and state the basis of your claim as landlord, mechanic, storage facility, or towing company.

The signed certification is the heart of the form. By signing, you state under penalty of law that you are an eligible lien holder or landlord and that you have followed every statutory step.¹ If you are re-titling rather than junking the vehicle, the transferee on the new title will be whoever bought the vehicle at the sale, or you if you kept it.

For a model year 2011 or newer vehicle, the federal odometer disclosure requirement means you record the mileage on a separate MV2488. The 20-year disclosure window applies to these vehicles, so a 2011 model year requires odometer reporting through 2031.⁵ Vehicles with a model year of 2010 or older are exempt.

Where to Send It and What It Costs

This is a mail-only process. Online services cannot be used for involuntary lien applications. Mail the completed MV2881, all supporting documents, and your payment to:¹

Wisconsin Department of Transportation
Special Plates Unit
P.O. Box 7911
Madison, WI 53707-7911

The title fee for an original title or transfer is $214.50 as of October 1, 2025.⁶ Pay by check or money order. If you are junking the vehicle instead of re-titling it, you do not pay the title fee and do not submit a title application form.

Processing Time and Result

WisDOT says most mailed title applications are completed in 14 days or less, though an involuntary lien application can take longer because the department reviews it for completeness and checks the vehicle’s history.⁷ Your check is cashed as soon as the application arrives, so a cashed check does not mean the title has been approved.

If the application is approved, WisDOT issues a new certificate of title in the transferee’s name, free of the previous owner’s information. Depending on the circumstances, the new title may also come clear of subordinate security interests under the involuntary transfer provisions of Wis. Stat. § 342.18(2).⁸ If anything is missing or a required step was skipped, the department sends the application back with an explanation of what to fix.

When MV2881 Is Not the Right Form

If you are a private citizen who found a vehicle on your own property and you are not the former owner’s landlord, MV2881 is not available to you. Contact your local police or municipal authorities to have the vehicle declared abandoned and removed.

Municipalities disposing of vehicles left on public highways or property use a separate track under Wis. Stat. § 342.40, not the involuntary lien process. That statute deems a vehicle abandoned after 48 hours unattended without permission in first-class cities, or a period set locally in other municipalities, and requires certified mail notice, at least 10 days of storage, and then sale, donation, or junking under the statute.⁹ WisDOT’s involuntary lien page describes the municipal Abandoned Title process separately from the lien holder track.²

1
Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Disclaimer for Involuntary Lien Transfers and Abandonment of Property to a Landlord
2
Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Involuntary Lien Transfers and Abandoned Title Process
3
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 704.05 – Rights and Duties of Landlord
4
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 779.41 – Mechanic’s Liens
5
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Consumer Alert: Changes to Odometer Disclosure Requirements
6
Wisconsin Department of Transportation. DMV Fees
7
Wisconsin Department of Transportation. Processing Time for DMV Products
8
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 342.18(2)
9
Wisconsin State Legislature. Wisconsin Statutes 342.40 – Vehicle Abandonment Prohibited; Removal; Disposal