What happens to your car title when it’s financed? Well, this entirely depends on whether or not you live in a title-holding state or a non-title-holding state.
What is a title-holding state vs. a non-title-holding state?
Title-holding state: A title-holding state will send the vehicle title with the owner’s name and lienholder’s name directly to the vehicle owner to hold until the loan is paid off.
Non-title-holding state: A non-title-holding state means that this particular state requires that the lienholder hold the title until the loan is paid off. Most states in the US are non-title-holding states.
What states are non-title-holding states?
There are currently 41 non-title-holding states:
| Alabama | Idaho | New Hampshire | Tennessee |
| Alaska | Illinois | New Jersey | Texas |
| Arizona | Indiana | New Mexico | Utah |
| Arkansas | Iowa | North Carolina | Vermont |
| California | Kansas | North Dakota | Virginia |
| Colorado | Louisiana | Ohio | Washington |
| Connecticut | Maine | Oregon | West Virginia |
| Delaware | Massachusetts | Pennsylvania | Wisconsin |
| Florida | Mississippi | Rhode Island | |
| Georgia | Nebraska | South Carolina | |
| Hawaii | Nevada | South Dakota |
What states are title-holding states?
There are currently 9 title-holding states:
| Kentucky | Minnesota | New York |
| Maryland | Missouri | Oklahoma |
| Michigan | Montana | Wyoming |