How To File a Lien

Filing a lien is a process that involves using a motor vehicle title for collateral. Lien-holders may be companies or individuals whom an applicant owes money, and where the title will be held by the lien-holder until the debt has been paid in full.

Lien-holder Filing Process

Lien-holders should submit the following documentation according to the instructions below:

  1. Ensure that you submit a properly assigned title or Manufacturers Statement of Origin (MSO/MCO).
  2. Make sure the mortgage paperwork and vehicle description agree with the title or MSO.
  3. Mail the documents to the county where the buyer resides.
  4. Enclose all sales tax receipts for the purchase of the motor vehicle and sign all checks or money orders for calculated sales taxes due (9.15% of the purchase price) and proper filing fees.
  5. Remember that sales tax is only required for newly purchased vehicles; if the vehicle is being refinanced no sales tax is due as they have already been paid.
  6. Check for required signatures on each document.
  7. Include powers of attorney, VIN inspections, and weight slips where required.
  8. Properly release previous liens.

Fees

$7.20 Title fee (per title) 
Beginning July 1, 2025, Denver Motor Vehicle (DMV) collects a flat $40 fee for filings concerning manufactured homes and vehicle liens/mortgages. The filing fee date is the date the lien paperwork is received by DMV.

Purchases prior to July 1, 2025, DMV collects a flat $5 per printed page for security agreements up to 14” in length and 8 ½ in width and $10 per printed page for security agreements longer than 14” in length or 8 ½ in width.

Mail-in requests:
Make checks payable to Denver Manager of Finance.

2855 Tremont Place
Denver, CO 80205

Please note: Acceptable copies of the security agreement include the original or carbon copy. All copies must be certified as a true and exact copy of the original “pursuant to C.R.S. 12-55-110”. This statute gives the notary the power to certify without having witnessed the original signatures.

A properly assigned title or M.S.O. is accompanied by an application for title (DR 2395), chattel mortgage/security agreement and sales tax receipts, are sent with filing fees. When all processing has been completed, customers will receive a post card notifying them that their paperwork is done.

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