A lienholder's sworn statement that it took a car back lawfully, and the document that lets ownership move without the previous owner ever signing anything. A seller meets it from the wrong end: this is what happens if the loan is not paid, and it is also the form to ask about if a car you are trying to sell turns out to have been repossessed and returned years ago.
Written against TTL105 (TTL105_1119, November 2019), issued under M.G.L. c.90D s.17.
Section 17 also says something a seller should know: if the lienholder succeeds to the owner's interest and holds the vehicle for resale, it need not take out a new certificate of title in its own name - it passes the old certificate, the affidavit and the supporting documents straight on. That is why a car can arrive with a certificate in a stranger's name and a notarised affidavit attached, and why that stack has to stay together.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank TTL105 from the mass.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is all 2 pages of the actual TTL105, rendered from the PDF the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles 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
Page 1 of 2. The lienholder's certification. Two boxes and only one may be ticked - the debtor handed the car back, or the lienholder seized it without process of law under the security agreement.Page 2 of 2. The notarisation, greyed throughout because it belongs to the notary. This is one of only two Registry title forms that require one, and the other is the affidavit for correcting an assignment.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
The lienholder fills this in
Whose form this is
The lienholder named on the certificate of title, and nobody else.
Watch out: A private seller never completes it. If a car you own is repossessed, this is the document the lender uses to move it on without your signature.
2
The lienholder fills this in
The parties and the debt
Lienholder name and address, debtor name and address, the sum due and the date of the valid lien.
Watch out: The lien date matters as much as the amount - it is what establishes that the security interest existed before the default.
3
The lienholder fills this in
The vehicle
The year, the make, the model, the identification number and the title number of the car being taken back.
Watch out: The title number ties the affidavit to the certificate it has to be retained with.
4
The lienholder fills this in
Tick one box
Voluntary surrender on a date, or seizure without process of law on a date.
Watch out: Sworn under the penalties of perjury either way, and certified as not in conflict with chapter 90D section 17b.
5
The lienholder fills this in
Sign, then notarise
Signature, date and printed name in section A; the notary completes section B on page two.
Watch out: Signed in front of the notary, not before. What the notary certifies is that the person who signed stood in front of them and swore to what the affidavit says.
6
The lienholder fills this in
Keep it with the certificate
The completed affidavit is retained with the original certificate of title.
Watch out: If you are ever offered a car whose certificate is in a name that is not the seller's, this affidavit is the document that should be stapled to it.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
A, Lienholder Certification and Signature
The lienholder's name and address, the debtor's name and address, the sum due, the date of the valid lien, and the vehicle's year, make, model, vehicle identification number and title number.
The two boxes
One says the debtor voluntarily surrendered possession on a stated date. The other says the lienholder seized the motor vehicle without process of law on a stated date under the authority of the conditions of the security interest contract. One or the other, never both.
The certification
That the vehicle was lawfully repossessed under the terms of the valid agreement and not in conflict with the laws of the Commonwealth, and in particular chapter 90D section 17b.
B, Notarization
The notary records the date, the name of the document signer, the identification produced, their own signature and commission expiry, and applies the seal.
What gets this one rejected
•Anybody other than the lienholder swearing it. The statute requires an affidavit made by or on behalf of the lienholder named in the certificate of title.
•An unnotarised affidavit. Step 2 of the form's own instructions is to have the application notarised.
•Both boxes ticked. Voluntary surrender and seizure without process of law are alternatives.
•Filing it without the last certificate of title. The statute asks for the certificate, the application for a new one and the affidavit together.
•Discarding it after the transaction. The instruction is that the completed affidavit must be retained with the original certificate of title.
Every line here was read off TTL105 (TTL105_1119, November 2019) itself — the PDF is here — and off the Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles pages.
This is plain-language help with a form, not legal advice, and where our wording and the agency's differ,
theirs governs.
