Current through Vol. 42, No. 1, September 16, 2024
(a)
Definitions. The following
words and terms, when used in this Section, shall have the following meaning,
unless the context clearly indicates otherwise:
(1)
"Business day" means a day
on which State offices are open for regular business.
(2)
"Itemized charges" means
total parts, total labor, total towing fees, total storage fees, total
processing fees and totals of any other fee groups, the sum total of which
shall equal the compensation claimed.
(3)
"Lawfully in possession"
means a person has documentation from the owner or the owner's authorized
agent, or an insurance company or its authorized agent, authorizing the
furnishing of material, labor or storage, or that the property was authorized
to be towed to a repair facility.
(4)
"Property" means any
vehicle, trailer, manufactured home, boat or outboard motor subject to the lien
process described herein.
(5)
"Salvage pool" means any person or business which regularly
conducts a salvage disposal sale.
(b)
Application review and
approval. Any person who wishes to claim a possessory lien and sell
property for storage fees or work done for which they have not been compensated
must comply with the applicable lien filing provisions of Title 42 of the
Oklahoma Statutes and submit proper documentation to Service Oklahoma for
review and title issuance approval. As part of the review process, the record
will be checked against a national stolen vehicle database, such as NCIC or
NICB, for the presence of a stolen property record. If a stolen property report
is on file, the application will be denied and the filer advised of the law
enforcement agency responsible for the report.
(c)
Forms and instructions
available. A packet of instructions and required forms may be obtained
from Service Oklahoma or online at service.ok.gov. There are two (2) types of
possessory lien filings applicable to property under Title 42 of the Oklahoma
Statutes:
(1)
Process One.
Filings pursuant to 42 O.S. §
91, commonly referred to by
Service Oklahoma as Process One, apply to property titled in the State of
Oklahoma, or with a federally recognized Indian tribe, and on which an active
lien is recorded and for which the lien filers are not excluded pursuant to 42
O.S. §
91 (A)(1)(b). Excepting
manufactured homes, if an active lien is present, but is over fifteen (15)
years old, the provisions of 42 O.S. §
91 A apply.
(2)
Process Two. Filings
pursuant to 42 O.S. § 91A, commonly referred to by Service Oklahoma as
Process Two, apply to property titled in another state, or which do not have a
certificate of title or have a certificate of title on which an active lien is
not recorded, or are excluded by 42 O.S. § 91(D) from the process
described in paragraph (1) of subsection (c), or on which the lien is filed by
either a licensed Class AA Wrecker Service, unless the action results from a
consensual tow, or a Salvage Pool, as defined in 47 O.S. §
591.2.
(d)
Procedure for completion and submission of required forms.
Incomplete or altered forms will not be accepted. The forms provide the
applicant with designated areas in which to enter required
information.
(e)
Persons
qualified to file possessory liens. Every person who, while lawfully in
possession of an article of personal property, renders any service to the owner
thereof by furnishing material, labor or skill for the protection, improvement,
safekeeping, towing, storage, or carriage thereof, has a special lien thereon,
dependent on possession, for the compensation, if any, which is due such person
from the owner for such service. Written proof of authority to perform the
work, labor, or service, or, when applicable, claimant's statement that the
property was abandoned by the owner, is required. Those wishing to file Title
42 on behalf of others for profit are required to registered as a Title 42
preparer.
(f)
Manner of
foreclosure. Said lien may be foreclosed by a sale of such personal
property, following proper notification to the record owner and all interested
parties.
(g)
Notice
requirements.
(1)
General
requirements. The content and filing timeframes of required notices are
outlined by statute. Notification of the record owner and all interested
parties, when ascertainable, is always required. Completion and proper posting
of a Notice of Sale (SOk 752-A) is required. With the specific exception of
salvage pools, most lien filers must complete and send a Notice of Possessory
Lien (SOk 752-D) to all interested parties.
(2)
Contact information. All
notices to interested parties must include complete and accurate contact
information for the clamant, as specified by statute.
(3)
Certified mailing
requirements. All written notifications to interested parties must be
sent via certified mail, return receipt requested. Either the returned receipt,
or the postal service approved electronic equivalent of proof of return receipt
requested, shall be required when submitting for title issuance
approval.
(4)
Itemization of
charges. An itemized listing of all charges, as defined by statute,
equaling the total compensation claim, is required.
(5)
Photograph. All filings
pursuant to 42 O.S. § 91 must include a photograph of the property.
Filings pursuant to 42 O.S. § 91A for motor vehicles must include a
photograph of said motor vehicle. For other property, filings pursuant to 42
O.S. § 91A must contain:
(A) Written
confirmation of a visual inspection of the property completed by the filer,
verifying the identification number or serial number assigned the property and
the general condition of such property, or
(B) Photograph of the property.
(6)
Ownership/Lienholder
determination for notification purposes. Within the timeframes
prescribed by statute, the lien claimant must attempt to ascertain record
ownership of the property and the existence of any lienholders on file with
Service Oklahoma or the equivalent office in another jurisdiction.
(A) If the property has an Oklahoma license
plate, registration decal, boat registration number, or is otherwise believed
to have been registered in this state, Service Oklahoma or any licensed
operator shall be contacted for ownership/lienholder information. Provided the
information is available in the computer file, the claimant will be asked to
complete a Vehicle Information Request (SOk Form 769) and pay the applicable
fee. Service Oklahoma or a licensed operator will provide the requested
Oklahoma computer file ownership/lienholder information within ten (10)
business days of receiving the request.
(B) If there is no current
ownership/lienholder record on file, a Vehicle Information Request (SOk Form
769), requesting a title search for the last record owner is to be completed
and submitted to tService Oklahoma, along with the applicable fee.
(C) If the Research Section has no record on
file and the property is over five (5) years old, or over fifteen (15) years
old if a manufactured home, the claimant will be advised that the interested
party notice may be accomplished by publication. Refer to Notice when owner is
unknown.
(D) If the property was
most recently titled and/or registered in another state or with an Indian
Tribe, the appropriate registering authority of that state or tribe must be
contacted for ownership/lienholder information. Letters or computer record
printouts from the applicable state or tribe providing owner and lienholder
information are acceptable. Ownership/lienholder information provided by
entities other than the appropriate registering authority may be acceptable,
provided the accuracy of the information may be verified by Service
Oklahoma.
(E) When no Oklahoma
record is on file, the jurisdiction of titling is unknown and the property,
unless a manufactured home, is five (5) model years or newer, or, if a
manufactured home, is fifteen (15) model years or newer, the claimant or their
agent shall request, in writing, that Service Oklahoma ascertain the
jurisdiction of titling. Within fourteen (14) days of receipt of the request,
Service Oklahoma will provide either the titling jurisdiction, or notice that
no determination was made. If a titling jurisdiction is determined, the
claimant must contact that state's titling authority for ownership and
lienholder information. If no titling jurisdiction determination is made, as
confirmed by Service Oklahoma, notice by publication is required.
(F) When no Oklahoma record is on file, the
jurisdiction of titling is unknown and the vehicle/ATV/commercial trailer boat
or motor is over five (5) model years old, or manufactured home is over fifteen
(15) model years old, notice by publication is required.
(7)
Notice when owner is
unknown. In the event all applicable ownership/lienholder determination
procedures have been followed and resulted in no record found, notice by
publication in an authorized newspaper must be performed as follows:
(A) The newspaper must be authorized to
publish legal notices pursuant to the provisions of 25 O.S. § 106 and must
be published in the county in which the property is located. If no newspaper
authorized by law to publish legal notices is published in that county, the
notice is to be published in some such newspaper of general circulation which
is published in an adjoining county. Eligible newspapers may be verified by
contacting Service Oklahoma.
(B)
The newspaper notice must identify the property by identification number, year,
and make.
(C) The notice must
include the name of an individual who may be contacted in reference to the
sale, including their telephone number or the address where the property is
located.
(D) The notice must run at
least (1) day per week for (3) consecutive weeks. The first date available for
public sale of the property is the day following publication of the final
notice, but no fewer than thirty (30) days after the lien has
accrued.
(E) Upon completion of the
newspaper notification process, an Affidavit of Publication (SOk Form 752-E)
must be completed and included with the Title 42 documentation submitted to
Service Oklahoma.
(h)
Sale and distribution of proceeds
of sale. When the property is sold, the special (possessory) lien
holder, upon satisfying the amounts due to him/her must make arrangements for
the payment in excess of the amounts due to him to be paid to the secured party
or parties and to the owner of the property.
(i)
Effect of foreclosure on
purchaser's title. The purchaser of the property will receive a
Certificate of Title without any liens indicated. [See: 42 O.S. § 91 et
seq.]
(j)
Abandoned property
auction. Any property offered at an abandoned property auction performed
by a Class AA wrecker service or lien claimant is exempt from all prior year
registration fees, title fees, stop flag fees, and any other fees imposed by
the state resulting from the prior ownership of the property. However, if the
purchaser is the registered owner of the property prior to towing, any
outstanding prior years' fees will be due.
(k)
Failure to comply. Failure
by a lien filer to comply with any statutory filing requirements shall result
in denial of the title application. Notification of denial will be returned to
the filer by Service Oklahoma via certified mail.
(1) Applicants filing pursuant to the
provisions of 42 O.S. § 91A are entitled to one (1) resubmission within
thirty (30) business days of receipt of the denial.
(2) Applicants filing pursuant to the
provisions of 42 O.S. § 91 are entitled to one (1) resubmission within
fifteen (15) business days of receipt of the denial.
(l)
Notice of legal proceedings.
Upon receipt of a notice of legal proceedings, Service Oklahoma shall place a
hold on the sale process until notice of resolution of the court proceedings is
received.
