Posted Friday, July 20, 2012 --- 6:40 a.m.

MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A change in vehicle titles is effective at the end of July in Wisconsin.

Any vehicle title with a lien will go straight to the lien holder rather than the vehicle owner. The state Division of Motor Vehicles says the lien holder will choose whether they want to receive either a paper or electronic title. The title change was passed by the Legislature last year as part of the state budget.

DMV vehicle services director Mitchell Warren says people will be able to sell their vehicles even if they still have a lien, but they'll have to contact the lien holder so the title can be delivered. And, they would still need to pay off the vehicle loan.

The State Journal (http://bit.ly/MMgUbz ) says Wisconsin is the 38th state in the country to become a title-to-lien holder state.

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Information from: Wisconsin State Journal, http://www.madison.com/wsj

Copyright 2012. The Associated Press.