Lost Title Louisiana: Getting a Duplicate

By Mohamed SkhiriUpdated November 10, 2026Checked against Louisiana OMV's FAQs, vehicle application and title policies

How to file for a lost title in Louisiana

OMV issues a Louisiana duplicate title when the original has been lost, destroyed, mutilated or never received. The process:

1. Complete the Vehicle Application, form DPSMV 1799. It's the form OMV uses for title and registration transactions. For a duplicate, check one reason: lost, mutilated or never received.
2. Sign the affidavit. The owner's duplicate title affidavit must be notarized, or signed in front of an OMV or public tag agency employee, who can witness it.
3. Bring ID and the fee to an OMV office or a public tag agency. A public tag agency may charge a handling fee on top of OMV's fee.

Confirm the current fee with the office before you go; OMV's fee policies are revised from time to time, and we haven't found a single official figure we'd quote for every case. A mutilated title should be surrendered with the application.

If there's a loan on the vehicle

When a lien is still open, the lienholder takes over part of the process: it completes a notarized Affidavit of Non-Possession of Title by Lienholder, and the duplicate goes to the lienholder rather than to you. If the loan is paid off but the lien is still on record, get a lien release from the lender before you apply, so the duplicate can be issued in your name alone. Skipping that step is the most common reason a replacement ends up at a bank.

A title that never arrived

If you titled a car and the title never reached you, check "never received" on the application. OMV materials say a title that hasn't arrived within 30 days is worth a call to your local OMV office, and its policy has provided for a free replacement within 60 days of the issue date. Act quickly; after that window, a never-received title is handled like any other lost title in Louisiana.

Need a title history instead?

If you're trying to see a vehicle's past owners rather than replace your own title, that's a separate OMV request, the Title History Request (DPSMV1958), at $10 per vehicle. Our Louisiana plate lookup guide explains it and the privacy rules around owner information.

Selling after the duplicate

Replace the title before you sell, since the buyer needs it signed over to register the car. Once the Louisiana duplicate title is issued, the old one is void, so don't sign over the original if it turns up later.

Louisiana duplicate title FAQ