QUIET TITLE STATUTE - K.S.A. 60-1002: Quieting or determining title or interest in property.
(a) Right of action An action may be brought by any person claiming title or interest in personal
or real property, including oil and gas leases, mineral or royalty interests, against any person who
claims an estate or interest therein adverse to him or her, for the purpose of determining such
adverse claim.
(b) Action to bar lien claim, when When a lien on property has ceased to exist, or when an
action to enforce a lien is barred by a statute of limitation or otherwise, the owner of the property
may maintain an action to quiet title.
RELATING TO PERSONAL PROPERTY, SUCH AS CARS, TRAVEL TRAILERS,
MANUFACTURED HOMES (may also be known as mobile homes or trailers), ETC.
When a person or business applies for a title with the Division of Motor Vehicles (DMV), there may
be a problem that needs to be fixed.
• Often this is because the initial owner of the vehicle did not sign the title when handing it over
to the new owner, and the new owner can’t find the person to fix the problem.
• From time to time it is because a wrecked or abandoned vehicle is restored and the owner
can’t be found.
• These are just a couple of possible reasons.
To fix these snags, you would file a QUIET TITLE ACTION /CASE.
• If you need to transfer a vehicle belonging to a family member who is deceased, you can do
so with these forms: http://www.ksrevenue.org/pdf/tr83.pdf or http://www.ksrevenue.org/pdf/
tr83b.pdf if either is proper.
• Kansas is a “lien holding” state.
This means that the Kansas Department of Revenue holds the title on any vehicle that is
bound by a lien.
• The lien is not available to the owner until payment is made in full on the purchase price or
other loan in which the vehicle is a collateral.
• If the seller cannot provide a title, it may be because there is still a lien on the vehicle.
• If you “buy” a vehicle with a “lien” on the title, your ownership is not clear until the lien has
been paid. This may call for you to pay off this lien to get title of the vehicle.
• Even if the seller tells you they have lost the title and will apply for a new one, you can see if
the vehicle has a lien by looking at the annual registration form gotten when the property
taxes and tag renewal are paid.
• If you buy a car and do not get title at the time of the sale, or if agreed within 60 days of the
sale, the sale is void and untrue, per KSA 8-135. You can cancel the sale and get your money
back, if you can find the seller.
Notes on Filing a Quiet Title Action
• A Quiet Title Action can be used to clear up the ownership of any vehicle on which a Title is
given by the State of Kansas.
• This can include a car, motorcycle, travel trailer, or manufactured home. These things will be
referred to together as ‘vehicle’ in this guide.
• The first step, before filing any court action, is to check to be certain that the vehicle hasn’t
been reported as STOLEN. You can do this by checking on this free website, provided by the
National Insurance Crime Bureau.
https://www.nicb.org/vincheck. This doesn’t guarantee that the car isn’t stolen, but it a good
start on that process. You get this information by entering the Vehicle Identification Number
(VIN) for the vehicle.
• If the vehicle is reported stolen, you won’t be able to file a quiet title action and obtain
ownership of the vehicle.
• For more information on how to get the Vehicle Identification Number look here:
• For vehicles built after 1968, the VIN might be found on the lower-left corner of the
dashboard, in front of the steering wheel. You can read the number by looking through the
windshield.
QUIET TITLE PACKET WITH INSTRUCTIONS
July 2020