Lost or destroyed certificates.

(1) If a certificate of title is lost or destroyed, application for a duplicate copy thereof shall be made to the department by the owner of the motor vehicle or mobile home or the holder of a lien thereon upon a form prescribed by the department and accompanied by the fee prescribed in this chapter. The application shall be signed and sworn to by the applicant. Thereupon the department shall issue a duplicate copy of the certificate of title to the person entitled to receive the certificate of title under the provisions of this chapter. The duplicate copy and all subsequent certificates of title issued in the chain of title originated by such duplicate copy shall be plainly marked across their faces “duplicate copy,” and any subsequent purchaser of the motor vehicle or mobile home in the chain of title originating through such duplicate copy shall acquire only such rights in the motor vehicle or mobile home as the original holder of the duplicate copy himself or herself had.

(2) Any purchaser of such motor vehicle or mobile home may at the time of purchase require the seller to indemnify him or her and all subsequent purchasers of the motor vehicle or mobile home against any loss which he, she, or they may suffer by reason of any claim or claims presented upon the original certificate. If the original certificate of title is recovered by the owner, he or she shall forthwith surrender the original certificate to the department for cancellation.

(3) If, following the issuance of an original, duplicate, or corrected certificate of title by the department, the certificate is lost in transit and is not delivered to the addressee, the owner of the motor vehicle or mobile home, or the holder of a lien thereon, may, within 180 days of the date of issuance of the title, apply to the department for reissuance of the certificate of title. An additional fee may not be charged by the department or a tax collector, as agent for the department, for reissuance under this subsection.

(4) An application for a duplicate copy of a certificate of title may be fulfilled by the tax collector acting as an authorized agent of the department. Upon the applicant’s request, the duplicate copy may be issued by the tax collector and provided to the applicant at the tax collector’s office or mailed by the tax collector to the applicant’s address.

(5) The department shall implement a system to verify that the application is signed by a person authorized to receive a duplicate title certificate under this section if the address shown on the application is different from the address shown for the applicant on the records of the department.