How to fill out West Virginia DMV-34-TR

The sworn apology for a botched assignment, and a checklist of every way sellers actually botch them: seller assigned title to self, seller signed off on title in the wrong place, seller assigned the title to the wrong buyer, seller inserted their name in place of the lien, seller inserted mileage incorrectly, buyer's name inserted in the seller's place - eleven printed mistakes and an other line. Tick the one that happened, swear it before a notary, and the Division reads the explanation beside the spoiled certificate. Two of the ticks bring their own homework, printed in brackets on the form itself.

Written against DMV-34-TR (Rev 8/21), issued under W. Va. Code 17A-3-4. The commonest seller mistake on the list - signing in the wrong place - usually means signing a dealer reassignment block instead of the owner's assignment. Whether an affidavit cures it or the certificate is void depends on what the examiner sees, so file this promptly and honestly and let the Division decide; discovering the problem months later, when the buyer's application bounces and you have moved, is the expensive version.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank DMV-34-TR from the webapps.transportation.wv.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our DMV-34-TR guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Every line, in the order you meet it

1. 1
   You fill this in

   Owner and vehicle blocks

   Your name, address, county and phone; the model year, make, title number and VIN into the combs.

   Watch out: One character per printed box in the VIN comb. The affidavit about an error is a bad place to introduce another one.

2. 2
   You fill this in

   The correction tick

   One checkbox matching what actually went wrong, or the other line with a plain explanation.

   Watch out: Read all eleven before choosing - several describe near-identical slips in different directions, and the examiner will compare your tick to the certificate line by line.

3. 3
   You fill this in

   The attachments, if your tick has brackets

   The notarised odometer statement for a mileage slip; the lien holder's letter for a lien entered in error.

   Watch out: Collect the attachment before the notary visit so the packet swears together - an affidavit filed bare and completed later moves at half speed.

4. 4
   You fill this in

   Sign, then the notary block

   Owner signature and date - both owners on an AND title - then the notary completes the certification.

   Watch out: Bring the spoiled certificate with you unfiled. The affidavit explains it; the Division still needs to see the thing being explained.

What gets this one rejected

• •Fixing the certificate first and explaining second. Marking out, whiting out or erasing voids the title outright - this affidavit exists so the error stays visible and explained, not painted over.
• •The wrong-mileage tick without its attachment. The bracket is part of the form: requires a notarized odometer statement, sworn separately.
• •The phantom-lien tick without the lender's letter. Same pattern - a lien inserted in error only comes off the record on the lien holder's own word.
• •The buyer filing it for you. This is the owner's affidavit; the parallel dealer version, the DMV-35-DL, is stamped for dealer or license service use only.
• •Vague ticking. Each box describes one specific mistake, and an examiner matching your tick against the certificate needs them to be the same mistake.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

• •It cannot resurrect a voided title. An alteration on the certificate itself is past this form's reach - that is a duplicate title. The affidavit covers the signature in the wrong box, the name in the wrong slot, the transposed figure.
• •Corrections are verified, not taken on trust. The Division's dealer seminar says any requested corrections to vehicle information will be verified through the Division's records - the affidavit starts the check, it does not end it.
• •Electronic titles correct differently. Where the title is held electronically there is no paper to have botched - the seminar notes those run a different process entirely.

Every line here was read off DMV-34-TR (Rev 8/21) itself — the PDF is here — and off the West Virginia Division 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 West Virginia seller paperwork, or what selling a car in West Virginia involves.