(a) A lienholder may assign, absolutely or otherwise, his security interest in the vehicle to a person other than the owner without affecting the interest of the owner or the validity of the security interest, but any person without notice of the assignment is protected in dealing with the lienholder as the holder of the security interest and the lienholder remains liable for any obligations as lienholder until the assignee is named as lienholder on the certificate in the manner prescribed by the department.
(b) The department shall file each assignment received by the department with the required fee, and note the assignee as lienholder upon the record of notices of security interests maintained by the department.