Lost Your Louisiana Vehicle Title? How to Get a Duplicate
Quick Answer: Louisiana issues a duplicate title when the original is lost, destroyed, mutilated, or never arrived in the mail. You file a completed Vehicle Application (DPSMV 1799) with the duplicate title affidavit section filled in and notarized, and only the registered owner, the owner’s agent, or the lienholder can apply. You can start a duplicate title order online with Title Authority instead of standing in an OMV line.
TLDR:
- A duplicate title covers four situations: the original was mutilated, lost, destroyed, or never received.
- Only the registered owner, the registered owner’s agent, or a recorded lienholder may apply.
- The core document is the Vehicle Application (DPSMV 1799) with the duplicate title affidavit section completed and notarized.
- Instead of notarizing, you may sign the application in front of an OMV employee or a Public Tag Agency employee.
- The OMV title fee is $68.50 and the handling fee is $8.00. The OMV fee schedule does not list a separate duplicate title line item.
- If a lien is still recorded, the lienholder completes a notarized Affidavit of Non-Possession and the duplicate title gets mailed to the lienholder.
- A duplicate title cannot be issued in a deceased owner’s name unless the duplicate title affidavit was completed and notarized before death.
Most people find out the title is missing at the worst possible moment. A buyer is sitting in the driveway with cash. The credit union wants the title before it releases the loan. The estate attorney needs it this week. Louisiana has a clean path for this, and the paperwork is short once you know which parts of it have to be notarized and who is allowed to sign.
When Louisiana will issue a duplicate title
Louisiana OMV Policy 15.00, adopted under R.S. 32:713, allows a duplicate certificate of title in four specific situations. If your circumstances fit one of them, you are filing a duplicate. If they do not, you are probably filing something else, and the section further down explains which.
Who is allowed to apply for a duplicate title
Louisiana limits this to three parties: the registered owner, the registered owner’s agent, and the lienholder. That short list is the reason so many duplicate title requests stall. A relative, a mechanic holding the car, or a buyer who paid but never got the paperwork cannot simply request a duplicate on their own.
OMV policy does allow other parties to sign the application in place of the registered owner, but each one has to be documented:
- Power of attorney. A person holding the original power of attorney or mandate, or a certified true copy of the original, may sign. The document itself has to be provided with the file. We handle powers of attorney and affidavits in the office.
- Court order. A curator or curatrix for an interdicted owner may sign, provided a copy of the current court order is submitted.
- Bankruptcy trustee. A trustee for the bankruptcy court may sign, provided a copy of the referee’s order appointing the trustee is submitted.
- Company or corporation. A representative may sign for a company or corporation as long as the representative’s position with that company is shown on the application.
- Lienholder. The recorded lienholder may request a duplicate title without the owner’s signature when the lien is going to stay on the title. The Affidavit of Non-Possession of Title by Lienholder section has to be completed on the application.
What paperwork the OMV actually requires
The centerpiece is one form. The Vehicle Application, form DPSMV 1799, carries the duplicate title affidavit section, and that section has to be completed and notarized. Louisiana gives you three acceptable ways to execute it.
- Sign in front of a notary. The standard route. Bring current photo ID and do not sign the form ahead of time.
- Use witness acknowledgment. Acknowledgment by a witness before a notary works only if the witness has signed the DPSMV 1799 indicating the owner or lienholder signature was witnessed on the appropriate section of the form.
- Sign in front of the right employee. In place of notarization, the application may be signed in front of an Office of Motor Vehicles employee or a Public Tag Agency employee. Title Authority is a Public Tag Agent, so a single visit covers the signature and the filing.
Two more details catch people. If you want the duplicate mailed somewhere other than the registered owner’s address on file, the owner has to submit a notarized statement or complete the DPSMV 1799 section authorizing that mailing. And if there is proof of lien satisfaction in play, it goes in the same packet.
What a duplicate Louisiana title costs
The OMV publishes one fee schedule for titles and registrations, and it does not carry a separate duplicate title line. The amount you pay to have a replacement title issued is the standard title fee, plus handling, plus anything your specific file requires such as re-recording a mortgage. Confirm the current amounts on the OMV Vehicle Registration, Title and Plate Fees schedule before you budget.
| Line item | OMV amount | When it applies |
| Title fee | $68.50 | Charged for issuing the certificate of title, including a replacement. |
| Handling fee | $8.00 | Standard OMV handling charge on the file. |
| Record mortgage with UCC | $15.00 | Only when a lien has to be recorded with a UCC filing. |
| Record mortgage other than UCC | $10.00 | Only when a lien is recorded without a UCC filing. |
| Notarial act | Varies | Notary fees depend on the act and document type. |
| Public Tag Agent convenience charge | Varies | Separate charge authorized by La. R.S. 47:532.1. Ask for the exact amount before filing. |
Amounts shown come from the OMV fee schedule current as of publication. Fees change, so treat the schedule as the authority rather than any figure you find on a forum.
If the vehicle still has a lien on it
This is where duplicate title files spend the most time sitting. When the record shows an unsatisfied lien, the lienholder completes a notarized Affidavit of Non-Possession, and the OMV mails the duplicate title to the lienholder rather than to you. Plan around that, especially if you are trying to sell.
- Lienholder moved. The lienholder has to submit the address change on letterhead stationery or on a UCC3 form.
- Loan was sold. A lienholder name cannot be changed while a duplicate title is being processed. That has to be handled separately.
- Loan is paid off. Submit either the original note stamped paid, or a satisfaction of lien executed by the lienholder. Letterhead with the lienholder name, address, and telephone number is acceptable. A notarized affidavit of satisfaction of lien signed by a representative also works.
- Describe the vehicle. Whichever proof you use, it has to show the make, model year, and vehicle identification number, and the lienholder representative has to list their position on the application.
If the payoff already happened and the record was never cleared, start with lien additions and releases so the duplicate title comes out clean instead of coming out with a dead lien printed on it.
How to order a duplicate title online in Louisiana
Title Authority now takes duplicate title requests through an online intake form, so you can get the file started from your kitchen table instead of taking off work. The form collects the vehicle and owner details we need to open the file. It does not take payment, and it does not replace the notarized signature the OMV requires.
You can start the online order form or read what the online registration and duplicate title service covers. If you would rather walk in and finish it in one visit, our duplicate title request service page explains what to bring.
When a duplicate title is the wrong filing
Several situations look like a lost title and are not. Filing the wrong request costs you the fee and the wait.
- The owner has died. A duplicate title cannot be issued in a deceased owner’s name unless the duplicate title affidavit section was completed and notarized before death. Otherwise this becomes a succession matter. See how to retitle a vehicle after a loved one passes away or our successions and inherited vehicles service.
- The name on the title is wrong. That is a title correction, not a duplicate, and the correction fee is its own line. Read how to fix a misspelled name on a Louisiana title or go straight to title corrections.
- You bought the car and the seller never gave you the title. You are not the registered owner yet, so you cannot request a duplicate. That is a transfer problem. Start with what documents a Louisiana title transfer needs.
- You lost the registration certificate, not the title. Those are two different documents with two different requests. The registration replacement is handled separately by the OMV.
Common questions about lost titles in Louisiana
These are the questions that come across our counter most often when someone walks in without a title. If your situation is not covered here, call us at (985) 590-4400 and we will tell you exactly what your file needs before you make the trip.
How long does a Louisiana duplicate title take?
Processing time depends on the OMV workload and on whether your file is complete when it is submitted. A packet with a clean DPSMV 1799, a properly notarized duplicate title affidavit, and any required lien documents moves faster than one the OMV has to send back. Ask us for the current turnaround when you file rather than relying on an old estimate.
Can I sell my car while waiting on a duplicate title?
You need the physical title in hand to sign it over to a buyer. If a lien is still recorded, the duplicate goes to the lienholder, not to you, which adds another step before you can complete a private sale. Handle the duplicate first, then the transfer.
Does a duplicate title cancel the original?
Yes. The duplicate becomes the operative certificate of title. That is exactly why the OMV requires a sworn, notarized affidavit stating what happened to the original, and why only the owner, the owner’s agent, or the lienholder can request one.
Can a lienholder get a duplicate title without me?
Yes, when the lien is going to remain on the title. The recorded lienholder can request the duplicate without the registered owner’s signature by completing the Affidavit of Non-Possession of Title by Lienholder section on the application.
Do I have to use a notary, or can I sign at your office?
Either works. Louisiana allows the Vehicle Application to be signed in front of an Office of Motor Vehicles employee or a Public Tag Agency employee in place of notarization. Title Authority is a Public Tag Agent and also a notary office, so you can complete the signature and the filing in the same visit.
What if the title was never mailed to me in the first place?
That still qualifies. Louisiana lists “never received” alongside mutilated, lost, and destroyed as a reason to issue a duplicate. Bring whatever proof you have that the transaction was completed, and we will confirm what the OMV record shows before filing.
Lost your Louisiana title? Start the request online, or come see us at 73015 Highway 25 in Covington. We are a Public Tag Agent and a notary office, so the affidavit, the DPSMV 1799, and the OMV filing all happen in one stop.
