Replaces a Texas title that is lost, stolen or mutilated. Texas calls it a certified copy rather than a duplicate, and it does not sit alongside the original - it replaces the original and any certified copy issued before it.
Written against VTR-34 (Rev 10/24), issued under Texas Transportation Code 501.134. Issuing a certified copy cancels the original title and any earlier certified copy. If the original turns up afterwards it is waste paper - do not sign it over to a buyer.
Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank VTR-34 from the txdmv.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today.
| On the form | What to put in it |
|---|---|
| Who may sign it | The owner or lienholder on the department's record, or an authorised agent of theirs. Nobody else. |
| The application checklist | Five tick boxes at the head of the form, each one a requirement rather than a suggestion. Work down them before you post anything. |
| The fee | $2.00 by mail or $5.45 in person. Mailed fees must be a personal cheque, cashier's cheque or money order payable to the TxDMV - not cash, not a card, not a temporary cheque, and not refundable. |
| Photo identification | A copy for each recorded owner and any agent. All IDs must be valid, or expired by no more than 12 months. Photocopies, faxes and scans are acceptable for the ID itself, employee IDs, business cards and powers of attorney. |
| Signatures | Original, in black or blue ink. A jointly owned vehicle needs an original signature from each owner, or a power of attorney for each. |
| Release of lien | An original signed release where the department's record still shows a lienholder - and the form is emphatic that this applies even if the loan was paid in full years ago. Photocopies, scans, faxes and emails are all listed as not acceptable. The department removes the lien from the record on the strength of it. |
| Signature authority | Where an entity is applying, or anyone is using a power of attorney, an acceptable form of signature authority goes with it - the form points to its own Entity Applicant and Using Powers of Attorney sections for what counts. |
Every line here was read off VTR-34 (Rev 10/24) 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.
Back to all Texas seller paperwork, or what selling a car in Texas involves.