Lower your car payment in Nevada

What’s different about refinancing a car loan in Nevada

Vehicle titles in Nevada are issued by the Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles.

• When a Nevada vehicle loan is refinanced, the new lender pays off the existing loan and the current lienholder releases its lien, after which a paper title is mailed to the new lienholder, who must complete and submit it to the DMV to be recorded as the new lienholder.

  Source: Nevada DMV - Electronic Lien and Title

• Nevada law requires a secured party holding a certificate of title to deliver that title, together with proper evidence of the termination or release of the security interest, to the person legally entitled to it within 15 days after the terms of the contract or security agreement have been fully performed.

  Source: Nevada Revised Statutes 482.431

• For liens established before July 1, 2017 that remain on paper, the lienholder signs the title and delivers it to the owner, and the owner must then submit that title to the DMV or the lienholder will continue to appear on DMV records as an active lienholder.

  Source: Nevada DMV - Loan Payoffs and Lease Buyouts

• Under Nevada's retail installment sales law, and notwithstanding any contract term to the contrary, a buyer's default is enforceable only to the extent that the buyer fails to make a payment as required by the agreement or the prospect of payment, performance, or realization of collateral is significantly impaired.

  Source: Nevada Revised Statutes 97.304

• Nevada law overrides any contrary term in the security agreement and requires that everyone liable on a repossessed vehicle's loan be given at least ten days' written notice before that vehicle can be sold or leased again. The notice must state that a right to redeem exists, the total amount needed to redeem as of the notice date, the place where the vehicle will be returned on redemption, and the name and address of the person to whom payment must be made.

  Source: Nevada Legislature, NRS 482.516 (Sale or lease of repossessed vehicle: notice requirements)

• In Nevada a borrower is liable for a deficiency balance after a repossessed vehicle is sold or re-leased only if the required pre-sale notice was given within sixty days after the repossession and itemized the balance owed along with any delinquency, collection, or repossession costs. The same notice must also either compute or estimate any credit for unearned finance charges and cancelled insurance, or state that such a credit may be available.

  Source: Nevada Legislature, NRS 482.516(3) (deficiency liability conditioned on notice)

• Every repossessed vehicle in Nevada must be sold in a commercially reasonable manner, and the statute expressly says no court approval of the sale is required in any case. Sale proceeds must be applied in a fixed statutory order, with any surplus paid back to the debtor, and if the sale was not commercially reasonable the debtor has a right to recover double their actual damages from the secured party.

  Source: Nevada Legislature, NRS 482.5163 (commercially reasonable sale; proceeds; damages)

• When a lender still holds a lien on a Nevada vehicle, the DMV says an owner cannot change the names on the title without the lienholder's approval first, and that the lienholder itself must apply for the new title and supply the owner a letter containing the VIN confirming the change is being processed. The owner then brings that lender letter and the current registration to the DMV, and so-called take-over-payment or subleasing arrangements are illegal.

  Source: Nevada DMV, Vehicle Title and Ownership (Transfer with Lien)

• When a Nevada owner submits a title to record a new secured party, the DMV directs them to complete the Lienholder to Be Recorded section on the back of the title with that party's name and address, or to write None if no new lienholder applies, and states the odometer statement on the front does not need to be completed. The DMV also warns that any alteration or erasure will void a Nevada Certificate of Title.

  Source: Nevada DMV, Loan Payoffs and Lease Buyouts (Submit the Title)

These are general procedural facts about Nevada, not advice about your loan. Rules change, and your lender’s own process may add steps — a licensed specialist can tell you what applies to your situation.