The lender's signed statement that the loan is paid and the lien is gone. Texas gives three equally valid ways to do it, and this form is only one of them - which is worth knowing before you spend a fortnight chasing a specific piece of paper.
Written against VTR-266 (Rev 10/16), issued under Texas Transportation Code 501.115.
Ask the lender which of the three routes they use before the buyer is standing in your driveway. Some banks will only do letterhead, some only sign the title, and the one you need is whichever they will actually produce this week.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank VTR-266 from the txdmv.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our VTR-266 guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.
This is the actual VTR-266, rendered from the PDF the Texas Department 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
The actual VTR-266. This is one of three routes Texas accepts - the others are the lien release section printed on the front of the title, and the lender’s own letterhead. All three need an original signature and a date, and none of them may be a copy.
Field by field
Every line, in the order you meet it
1
The lienholder fills this in
Vehicle information
VIN, year, make, body style and model, plus the title or document number and plate number where known.
Watch out: Only the first block is required. Both of the second-row fields are marked if known, which is unusual on a Texas form.
2
The lienholder fills this in
Lienholder name
The bank, credit union or finance company that held the loan.
Watch out: The certification underneath is signed by an authorised agent for that lienholder. A loan that has been sold on is released by whoever holds it now.
3
The lienholder fills this in
Date lien satisfied
The day the loan cleared.
Watch out: An undated release is not a release. The form says all three of the ways Texas allows a lien to be released require an original signature and must be dated.
4
The lienholder fills this in
Authorised agent name, phone and email
The individual signing for the lender, with a way to reach them.
Watch out: Where this form goes in with a certified copy of title application, the county also wants a business card, letterhead authorisation or employee ID proving the agent is who they say.
5
The lienholder fills this in
Signature, printed name and date
Original ink, with the printed name matching the signature.
Watch out: A photocopy will not be accepted, on any of the three routes. Ask the lender which one they use before you list the car, because it takes them days rather than minutes.
At a glance
What goes where
On the form
What to put in it
Vehicle information
VIN, year, make, body style, model, plus the title or document number and Texas plate number where you know them - both marked if known rather than required.
Lienholder name and date lien satisfied
Who held the loan, and the day it cleared. That date is what the release certifies.
Address, authorised agent name, phone, email
The lender's details and the individual signing for them.
Lienholder certification
Pre-printed: the authorised agent certifies the lien or encumbrance on the vehicle has been satisfied and is or was released on the date listed above. Under a header noting that state law makes falsifying information a third degree felony.
Signature of authorised agent, printed name, date
Original ink, and the printed name has to match the signature.
What gets this one rejected
•A photocopy. The form is unambiguous: all three release options require an original signature and must be dated, and a copy will not be accepted.
•An undated release. The date the lien was satisfied is the operative fact.
•Using it with a certified copy of title application without the extra proof. Pairing it with a VTR-34 needs a business card carrying the agent's and lienholder's names, letterhead authorisation, or an employee ID - and if the lienholder is an individual, a copy of their government photo ID.
Rules that decide whether it is accepted
•['Three places a Texas lien can be released', "The lien release section printed on the front of the certificate of title, this form, or the lienholder's own letterhead. A letterhead release has to carry the same vehicle information this form asks for."]
Every line here was read off VTR-266 (Rev 10/16) itself —
the PDF is here — and off the Texas 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.
