Seven numbered statements on one page, covering the things that go wrong in an assignment: signing in the wrong space, a buyer who backed out, the wrong date of sale, a misspelt name, two names that are the same person, a lienholder recorded in error - and, first on the list, releasing an interest in a plate or a vehicle. You tick the one that happened and sign under it.
Written against VSD 393 (VSD 393.11, May 2026), issued under 625 ILCS 5/3-116.
This is the reason nothing on an Illinois certificate is ever crossed out. The state's answer to a mistake in the assignment is a second signed document, not an amended first one - so a slip costs a form and a signature from the other party, which is much easier to get on the day than a fortnight later.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank VSD 393 from the ilsos.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is the actual VSD 393, rendered from the PDF the Illinois Secretary of State 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
Completed for statement 4, the wrong date of sale, which is the commonest of the seven. Notice which signature boxes are used: statement 4 asks for each buyer and seller, so both columns are signed. The other six statements are washed out - you tick one, not several.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
You fill this in
The vehicle row
Year, make, VIN and plate number across the top.
Watch out: The plate number is not optional here even though the row looks like a formality. On a plate release the office asks for it specifically.
2
You fill this in
Statement 1 - releasing an interest
Tick the statement, then tick licence plate or vehicle or both, then write in who the interest goes to.
Watch out: Read the sentence under it before you use it to move a plate. Each person releasing an interest signs in the signature grid, so a two-name registration needs two signatures.
3
You fill this in
Statement 2 - signed in the wrong space
Seller or purchaser, check one or both, signed their name in the incorrect space.
Watch out: This is the one for a seller who signed on the buyer's line. Only the person who made the mistake has to sign it.
4
You fill this in
Statement 3 - the buyer walked away
The purchaser changed their mind and did not take possession, plus a box for who actually bought it.
Watch out: Each seller and the incorrect purchaser sign. Getting the signature of a buyer who has changed their mind is the hard part, and it is easier on the day than after the argument.
5
You fill this in
Statement 4 - the wrong date of sale
Two boxes: the correct date, and the date that was entered in error.
Watch out: Both, in that order. Writing only the correct one leaves the department unable to tell which entry is being replaced.
6
You fill this in
Statements 5 and 6 - names
A misspelling on the Assignment of Title that is spelled correctly on the application; or two names that belong to one person.
Watch out: Statement 6 is where a married name and a maiden name are reconciled, and it is also where a beneficiary whose name does not match their own paperwork is sent.
7
The lienholder fills this in
Statement 7 - not the lienholder
My name was entered in error as the lienholder. I do not hold any interest or lien on this vehicle.
Watch out: Signed by the person wrongly named, which means chasing a business rather than a person. Start early.
8
You fill this in
The signature grid
Seller or transferor and co-seller in the left column, buyer or transferee and co-buyer in the right, with a date under each.
Watch out: Which boxes are needed depends entirely on which statement you ticked - the instruction is printed in brackets under each one. And note the odometer restriction before you sign anything: this form cannot be used for that.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
The vehicle row
Year, make, VIN and plate number across the head of the form.
Statement 1, release of interest
A tick, then two further ticks for licence plate or vehicle or both, then the name the interest passes to.
Statement 2
Seller or purchaser - check one or both - signed their name in the incorrect space.
Statement 3
The purchaser changed their mind and did not take possession, with a box for who the vehicle was actually sold to.
Statement 4
The correct date of sale, and the date that was entered in error. Two separate boxes.
Statement 5
The name of the seller or purchaser was misspelled on the Assignment of Title, and is spelled correctly on the application.
Statement 6
Two name boxes and the words are the same person between them.
Statement 7
My name was entered in error as the lienholder. No further boxes - the statement is the whole of it.
The signature grid
Six boxes in two columns: seller or transferor and co-seller, buyer or transferee and co-buyer, and a date on each side.
What gets this one rejected
•Using it for the odometer. The note in the middle of the form is short and absolute: this affirmation cannot be used for odometer disclosure or corrections.
•The wrong people signing. Each numbered statement names who has to sign it - some need only the person making the statement, statement 3 needs each seller and the incorrect purchaser, statement 4 needs each buyer and seller.
•Leaving the plate number off a plate release. The Secretary of State asks for the Illinois licence plate number on an affirmation that releases an interest in plates.
•Using statement 1 to sell a plate. The text under it is the warning, not the permission: selling an active license plate in Illinois is unlawful and will result in revocation of the plate.
•Ticking two statements that contradict each other because both look nearly right.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•It carries liability, not just a correction. The certification is longer than most: under penalties of perjury, the undersigned declares the statements are true and correct and will assume all liability and costs for any legal action that may result from the issuance of this Certificate of Title. You are not tidying a form, you are indemnifying the state.
•Statement 6 is the beneficiary fix too. Where a beneficiary named on a title does not match the name on the beneficiary's own paperwork, the Secretary of State sends them here - to item number 6, the one that says two names are the same person.
Every line here was read off VSD 393 (VSD 393.11, May 2026) itself —
the PDF is here — and off the Illinois Secretary of State pages.
This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ,
theirs governs.
