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Email templates · Bank and credit union

Email template to request a loan payoff letter

You are selling a car that still has a loan on it, refinancing, paying a loan off from savings, or a buyer or title company has asked you for "the payoff." A payoff letter, sometimes called a payoff statement, is the lender's official written figure for what it takes to close the loan completely as of a specific date, plus the small amount of interest that keeps adding up each day after that date. The balance in your banking app is not the same number and nobody handling a sale will accept it. Asking by email gets you a document you can forward to the buyer, the dealer, or the title company, and it dates your request in case the letter is slow.

Before you send

  • The loan type and the last four digits of the account. The lender will likely verify your identity before releasing the letter; that is normal.
  • The date you want the letter to be good through. Pick a date a couple of weeks out so it does not expire while the sale or refinance closes.
  • Who else needs a copy. If a dealer or title company should get it directly, have their name and email or fax ready; the lender may ask you to authorize that in writing.
  • How the payment will be made: wire, cashier's check, or a transfer from your own account. The letter should include instructions for the method you will use.
  • For a car loan, a note to ask about the title. The lender holds a lien on it and you want to know how and how fast that is released once they are paid.
Subject Payoff letter request, loan ending [last four digits] 
Hi [bank name] loan servicing team,

I'd like a written payoff statement for my [auto / personal / mortgage] loan, account ending in [last four digits].

Please make it good through [date], and include:

- The total payoff amount as of that date
- The daily interest amount that applies after that date
- Where and how to send payment, including wire instructions and a mailing address for a check
- Any prepayment fee, if one applies
- For a vehicle, how the title or lien is released after payment and how long that takes

Please send the letter to me at this email address. [If a dealer or title company should also receive it, name them here with their email or fax.] I'm [selling the car / refinancing / paying the loan off from savings] and need the letter by [date].

If you need to verify my identity first, let me know the best way to do that.

Thanks,
[Your name]
[Your phone number]

Everything in brackets is yours to fill in. Keep the rest as it is or change the tone to match how you write.

After you send

  • The letter usually arrives within one to three business days. Check that the good-through date is far enough out and that the daily interest figure is on it.
  • If someone offers you the number over the phone, ask for the letter anyway. A buyer, dealer or title company will not act on a verbal figure.
  • Read the letter for a prepayment penalty line. Most car and personal loans do not have one, but if yours does, you want to know before you wire the money.
  • After you pay, ask for a paid-in-full letter and, for a car, the lien release or title. A few weeks later, check that your credit report shows the loan closed with a zero balance.

Or don't send it yourself

Forward the job to myagent@standinfor.me and let StandIn run the whole thread.

StandIn is an email assistant that handles conversations with businesses for you. You write it one email saying what you need. It writes to the business, waits for the answer, follows up when they go quiet, pushes back on the number when it should, and brings the results back to your inbox for you to decide. You don't need to install an app or sign up. The first email you send is already the start of the task.

Hand this to StandIn opens an email to myagent@standinfor.me with the job already written out

To myagent@standinfor.me Subject Get a payoff letter for my loan 
Hi StandIn,

Please get a written payoff letter for my loan and make sure it reaches the right people.

Lender: [bank or credit union name].
Loan: [auto, personal or mortgage, and the last four digits of the account].
Good-through date: [date].
Why: [selling the car, refinancing, paying it off].
Who else needs a copy: [dealer or title company name and contact, or nobody].
When I need it: [date].

Request the letter, check that it includes daily interest and payment instructions, follow up if it has not arrived within a few business days, and forward it to me. If the lender needs me to verify my identity, tell me exactly what to do.

Thanks,
[Your name]

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