How to fill out West Virginia DMV-4-TR

The way back when the certificate is gone - lost, destroyed, defaced, never received, or stranded at an old address - and the form a West Virginia seller most often needs before a sale can even start. Its header states its own terms: a copy of the owner's valid government-issued photo ID must accompany it, the registration card comes too if available, section D must be completed if the lost title showed a lien release, and there is a $15.00 fee for your duplicate title. The affidavit is sworn - the applicant, being duly sworn upon oath, deposes and says they are the owner - with a penalty the form prices at $100.00 or thirty days.

Written against DMV-4-TR (Rev 04/2022), issued under W. Va. Code 17A-3-19 and 17A-10-11. The sworn statement and the ID rule mean this form cannot be quietly done for a relative whose name the title carries - the owner swears, or an attorney-in-fact swears with the power of attorney attached. And on any car that was ever financed, start with the lender: section D wants their officer and a notary, and the discharge is the slow half of every duplicate that involves one.

Two documents, and they are not the same thing. Take the blank DMV-4-TR from the webapps.transportation.wv.gov copy so you get the revision that is current today, then print our DMV-4-TR guide and keep it beside you while you fill theirs in.

Step 1 · the form itself Blank DMV-4-TR — Affidavit of Duplicate Title for a Vehicle or Watercraft PDF at webapps.transportation.wv.gov · new tab Step 2 · how to fill it in Our filled-in DMV-4-TR guide PDF · print and keep beside you

Filled in

What a completed one looks like

This is the actual DMV-4-TR, rendered from the PDF the West Virginia Division 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 West Virginia DMV-4-TR duplicate title affidavit filled in: owner Rosalie M. Burdette of St. Albans requests a duplicate for her lost 2014 Ford Escape title, the lost box checked, and section D naming Tygart Valley Federal Credit Union, whose officer and notary complete the discharge lines. — The pre-sale duplicate for this section's story: title lost, one reason box ticked, and section D routed to the credit union because the car once carried its loan - the condition is EVER had a lien, not currently has one.

Field by field

Every line, in the order you meet it

1
You fill this in
Which title, and why
Tick vehicle title, give the title number if any record of it survives, and choose the one reason that is true.
Watch out: Defaced has its own homework - the damaged certificate must be attached. It is the one reason where you still hold the paper.
2
You fill this in
Owner and vehicle blocks
Your name and address as the record holds them, then make, year, VIN, plate and body style.
Watch out: If you have moved since the title issued, say so by ticking change of address rather than quietly writing the new street - the mismatch is otherwise read as an error.
3
You fill this in
The sworn certification
Sign - both owners on an AND title - under the oath and the printed penalty.
Watch out: A signer who is not the owner needs the power of attorney form riding along. The Division reads section C's signature against the record's names every time.
4
The lienholder fills this in
Section D, if a lien ever existed
The lienholder's authorised agent deposes the lien is discharged, signs with a title, dates it, and a notary completes the block.
Watch out: Without this, the duplicate is not refused - it is issued and mailed to the lien holder on record, which for a defunct lender is a black hole. Do D first.
5
You fill this in
ID, fee, envelope
The photo ID copy, the registration card if available, the $15.00, and the packet to Receiving and Processing in Charleston.
Watch out: Alternate delivery needs the stamped self-addressed envelope. Otherwise the duplicate goes to the address on file - which, if you ticked change of address, is the old one.

At a glance

What goes where

On the form	What to put in it
The reason boxes	Vehicle title or boat title, the title number if known, and select reason for requesting duplicate, check only one: lost, destroyed, never received, defaced with the instruction to attach the defaced title, or change of address.
A) Owner(s) information	Name(s) as the record holds them, then address, city, state and zip.
B) Vehicle/watercraft information	Make, year, VIN or hull number, plate or registration number, and body style or hull material.
C) Owner/applicant certification	The sworn statement - owner of the vehicle described, information correct, perjury acknowledged, the Division held harmless - with the fine of not more than $100.00 or thirty days in the county jail, or both, printed inside it. Two applicant signature lines, the AND rule repeated, and a note that anyone signing other than the owner needs a power of attorney.
D) Discharge of lien holder(s)	The gate: if the vehicle or watercraft has EVER had a lien against it, section D must be completed by the lien holder before a clear title can be issued - otherwise the duplicate is mailed directly to the lien holder on record. The lienholder's agent deposes that the lien is discharged, names the lienholder, signs with a title, dates the satisfaction, and a notary signs beneath with a commission expiry.
E) Release affidavit	The hand-off line: the owner authorises a named dealership, lien holder or individual to receive my duplicate title, signed, with the checklist beside it - a copy of valid government-issued photo ID and the $15.00.

What gets this one rejected

•No photo ID in the envelope. The header makes the copy a condition of the application, not a nicety.
•Two reasons ticked. Check only one - a title both lost and defaced is a phone call, not a double tick.
•Section D skipped on a car that ever had a loan. The form's word is EVER: an old, paid-off, forgotten lien still routes the fresh certificate to the lien holder on record unless the discharge is completed and notarised.
•A helper signing without authority. The certification requires a power of attorney for any signer other than the owner, and section E only redirects delivery - it does not authorise signing.
•A duplicate posted to a new address with no envelope. The Division's rule for alternate delivery is a self-addressed stamped envelope matching the desired destination.

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

•The duplicate kills the original. Once the duplicate issues, the old certificate - wherever it is - is dead paper. Selling on a found original after a duplicate issued passes the buyer a void document.
•Change of address is a listed reason. West Virginia treats a title that never followed you to a new house as this form's problem too - the never received and change of address boxes cover the certificate that went astray between addresses.
•Section E is for the trade. Dealerships and payoff lenders use the release affidavit to collect a duplicate on your behalf. In a private sale it is the box to leave alone - the buyer should never be collecting your title for you.

Every line here was read off DMV-4-TR (Rev 04/2022) 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.

How to fill out West Virginia DMV-4-TR

What a completed one looks like

Every line, in the order you meet it

Which title, and why

Owner and vehicle blocks

The sworn certification

Section D, if a lien ever existed

ID, fee, envelope

What goes where

What gets this one rejected

Rules that decide whether it is accepted

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