When can a dealer disclose a vehicle's lien status?

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A lien is a lender’s claim on a vehicle that remains until the loan is fully paid, so the title isn’t free and clear until the lien is released. Because of that, buyers need to know if there’s an outstanding lien at the time of sale, so they understand what must be resolved before they take full ownership. The right approach is to disclose the lien status during the sale and ensure the payoff or release is completed before transferring the title to the buyer. This means the dealer may present the payoff amount, arrange with the lender to obtain a lien release, and only hand over a title once it’s free of encumbrances. Options that suggest never disclosing, waiting until after transfer, or saying the lien status doesn’t matter would mislead the buyer and could create ownership problems, since a lien blocks a clear title.