What the lender files when it takes the car back, and the document that decides whether the person who lost it still owes paperwork. It is completed by the repossessing lienholder, not by the former owner, and it certifies two separate things: that the vehicle was taken because the obligation was not met, and that every other lienholder on the record has been told.
Written against 4034 (Rev 4/5/18), issued under S.C. Code Ann. 56-19-390 and 56-19-400. A repossessed South Carolina vehicle does not stop being the former owner's problem the moment it is towed. Until the lender files this and the title moves, the registration is still in the former owner's name - and the plate, which never belonged to the car, is still theirs to hand back.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank 4034 from the dmv.sc.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
This is all 2 pages of the actual 4034, rendered from the PDF the South Carolina Department of Motor Vehicles publishes and completed end to end: letterhead, every field, and the blocks at the foot.
The name of the person swearing the affidavit, written into the opening paragraph.
Watch out: That paragraph carries two certifications, not one, and the second is that every other unsatisfied lienholder has been notified. The Department calls particular attention to it on the reverse.
The former owner and their address, as the certificate holds them.
Watch out: This is the name the registration is still in until the title moves, which is why an out-of-date address here delays the notice reaching the person it concerns.
Make, VIN, title number, year model, current licence number, licence year and body style.
Watch out: The current licence number is the plate that was on the car when it was taken. In South Carolina that plate belongs to the former owner and does not travel with the vehicle.
Terms of lien or mortgage, voluntary, or public sale.
Watch out: A public sale is the one that needs a document attached - the bill of sale of the sheriff or authorized seller - and the instruction to attach it is printed in capitals beside the boxes.
Amount of the original lien, date of lien, lienholder's name and address.
Watch out: The amount asked for is the original lien, not the balance outstanding when the car was taken. They are different numbers and the form wants the first one.
What the vehicle went for and who it went to, for disposition or sale, with a by-line, a date and a sales tax number.
Watch out: The sales tax number belongs here only where tax was actually collected on the reassignment. A blank is correct where it was not.
The whole package: the South Carolina title showing the recorded lien, a Form 400, this affidavit and a secured bill of sale.
Watch out: The affidavit proves how the car was acquired; it does not transfer it. The transfer still happens in the first assignment block on the back of the certificate.
| On the form | What to put in it |
|---|---|
| The perjury opening | A single running paragraph in which the affiant names themselves, certifies the facts are true, certifies that the holders of other unsatisfied liens recorded against this vehicle have been duly notified to protect their interest, and certifies the repossession itself. |
| Name of owner from whom vehicle repossessed | The former owner, with a street, city, state and ZIP row under it. |
| Vehicle identification | Make, vehicle identification (serial) number and title number on one row, then year model, current license number, license year and body style on the next. |
| Method of repossession | Three tick boxes - terms of lien or mortgage, voluntary, and public sale - with a printed instruction to attach the bill of sale of the sheriff or authorized seller where it was a public sale. |
| The lien detail | Amount of the original lien, date of lien, the lienholder's name, and its street, city, state and ZIP. |
| Date of repossession and signature | The date the vehicle was taken, then the lienholder's signature with a title beside it. |
| The assignment paragraph | For value received $___ the above vehicle has been assigned to a named party, with street, city, state and ZIP, for disposition or sale, then a by-line, a date and a sales tax number. |
| The notice | One line in bold across the foot: this form must accompany the Certificate of Title, which must be properly assigned to the new owner on the back of the title. |
| Instructions on the reverse | A four-item list of what a repossession package contains - the South Carolina title showing the recorded lien, a Form 400, this affidavit, and Form 4031, the Secured Bill of Sale - and a warning that an incomplete affidavit will be returned. |
Every line here was read off 4034 (Rev 4/5/18) itself — the PDF is here — and off the South Carolina Department 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.
Back to all South Carolina seller paperwork, or what selling a car in South Carolina involves.