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How to get a lien release from a bank that no longer exists

You paid the loan off years ago, the bank is gone, and the lien is still on the title. Who can release it depends on one thing: whether the bank merged or failed. Look the bank up first.

If the bank merged or was bought

Start with the bank at the end of the chain today. In a merger the surviving bank takes over the other bank's loans, so it is the bank to ask for a release; if the loan was sold along the way, it can tell you to whom. If that bank later merged again, follow the chain to the one that is open now; each bank's page here does that for you.

The FDIC is explicit that it cannot process lien releases for "banks that merged without government assistance" or "were acquired without government assistance," unless the successor itself failed.

If the bank failed

The FDIC may be able to help when the lender was a bank or savings and loan that failed and was placed in FDIC receivership, and the loan was paid off to the bank before it failed or to the FDIC afterward. If another bank took over the failed bank, the FDIC says the records in most cases went to that acquirer, which may be able to help as well.

Requests go through the FDIC Information and Support Center. The FDIC does not accept them by phone or email; people without a computer can mail the request to FDIC, DRR Resolution Inquiries, 600 North Pearl Street, Suite 700, Dallas, TX 75201. Do not send a Social Security number.

What the FDIC asks for (a house or land)

The recorded mortgage or deed of trust, legible, showing the recording information
Recorded copies of any assignments leading to the failed bank
A title search, title commitment or attorney's title opinion from the last six months
Proof of payoff: the note stamped "PAID," a signed settlement statement, a copy of the payoff check or similar. A credit report is not accepted.

For a car or truck: a copy of the title showing the owner, lienholder and VIN (or a state title report if the title is lost; a registration is not enough), and proof of payoff.

The FDIC says to allow 30 business days after it has every document. Questions: FDIC Resolution Inquiries, 888-206-4662, 8am–4pm Central, Monday to Friday.

If the bank closed on its own, or wasn't a bank

The FDIC also cannot process releases for banks that closed voluntarily, for credit unions (see the NCUA credit union lookup) or for mortgage and finance companies (it points to the Secretary of State's office). For a voluntary closure with no successor, our suggestion (not the FDIC's) is a title company or real-estate attorney in the county where the lien is recorded; they will know how that state clears it.

Then record it

A release only clears the title once it is recorded with the same office that recorded the original mortgage or deed of trust, such as the county clerk or recorder of deeds.

This guide is drawn from the federal sources below, read on November 15, 2026. It is not legal advice, and BankBranches is not a bank or a government office.