The paper release, for the shrinking number of Arizona liens that were never electronic. ADOT is specific about its scope: it is to be used for a private party lienholder to release a lien on a vehicle, and not to be used for Electronic Lien and Title purposes. If your loan came from a bank or a credit union, the release will almost certainly arrive at MVD without anybody signing anything.
Written against 48-9901 (R07/25), issued under A.R.S. 28-2134.
Check the record before you assume you need this form at all. The Title Viewer service on AZ MVD Now shows whether a lien is still recorded against an Arizona vehicle, and a lien that is already released does not need a piece of paper saying so.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank 48-9901 from the apps.azdot.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is the actual 48-9901, rendered from the PDF the Arizona Department of Transportation, Motor Vehicle Division publishes and completed end to end: letterhead, every field, and the blocks at the foot.
Amber — you write it
Grey — not yours to fill
Numbered — explained below
Every field on this form belongs to the lender except the borrower's name. If a seller finds themselves filling it in, something has gone wrong - this is a document you collect, not one you write.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
The lienholder fills this in
Lienholder Name
The lender as it is recorded on the title, not a branch name or a servicing company.
Watch out: If the loan was sold on, the release has to come from whoever is on the MVD record - which may not be who took your last payment.
2
The lienholder fills this in
Certificate of Title Number
The Arizona title number the lien was recorded against.
Watch out: It is on the face of a paper title in the Title Number field, and in AZ MVD Now if there is no paper.
3
You fill this in
Borrower Name
You, as the loan was written.
Watch out: This is the one line on the form a seller can usefully check. A borrower name that does not match the owner name on the title stops the release.
4
The lienholder fills this in
Lien Amount
The amount the lien secured.
Watch out: It is the original recorded amount, not the balance you paid off. The two are rarely the same number.
5
The lienholder fills this in
Vehicle Identification Number, Year, Make
The vehicle the lien sits on.
Watch out: Read the VIN character by character against the title. A release against a mistyped VIN releases nothing.
6
The lienholder fills this in
Representative Name and Lienholder Signature
The individual signing on behalf of the organisation, then the signature and the date.
Watch out: There is no notary block on this form. What makes it valid is that it came from the lienholder, which is why a seller cannot chase it any faster by having it witnessed.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
Lienholder Name (first, middle, last, suffix) and Certificate of Title Number
Who holds the lien, and the title number it is recorded against.
Borrower Name and Lien Amount
You, and the sum the lien secured.
Vehicle Identification Number, Year, Make
Three fields, no model and no plate.
The release sentence
Printed above the signature: I certify that the lien indicated above has been paid in full, that I have no further interest in and release all claims to the vehicle.
Representative Name (if lienholder is an organization), Lienholder Signature, Date
Three fields in one row at the foot. The signature is the lienholder's, never the borrower's.
What gets this one rejected
•A borrower's signature in the lienholder's box. The person releasing the lien is the person who held it.
•Using it for an electronic lien. ADOT's note on the form itself excludes ELT liens, and those are released by the lienholder through the system instead.
•A missing title number where the record has one. It is what ties the release to the right vehicle when a VIN has been mistyped.
•An organisation signature with no representative name. The form asks for the person's name as well as the signature when the lienholder is a company.
•Presenting it after the transfer. ADOT's transfer checklist puts the lien release among the documents required at the time of transfer, not afterwards.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•Electronic liens release themselves. MVD's own note is that electronic liens will be released electronically unless a paper lien release is submitted because of a problem, and that in either case no other documentation is required.
•A released lien is still a title transaction. ADOT charges its title fee on the release of a lien, because releasing one creates a new title record rather than editing the old one.
•Lienholders count as owners in the system. MVD records them that way, which is why a lien still showing on the record can stop a sale even when the loan was cleared years ago.
