To get a bill of sale for a car, download your state DMV’s free template from its website, or write your own on a blank sheet of paper. Either works. The document is a short receipt covering who sold the car, who bought it, what the car is, what was paid, and when. It takes a few minutes, costs nothing, and both parties sign it.
Where to Get the Form
Start with your state’s DMV website. Most states post a free downloadable bill of sale template built around that state’s specific requirements, with the right fields already laid out. Using the official template eliminates guesswork about what your DMV will accept when the buyer shows up to register the vehicle.
If your state doesn’t publish one, or you want something more detailed, write your own. No federal law mandates a specific format. A bill of sale just needs to contain the essential information, be legible, and be signed by both parties. Typed or handwritten is fine. Content matters, not letterhead.
One note for private sellers: the FTC’s Used Car Rule, which requires a Buyers Guide disclosing warranty terms and known defects, applies only to dealers who sell more than five vehicles in a 12-month period.1Federal Trade Commission. Dealers Guide to the Used Car Rule Private sellers aren’t bound by it, which is exactly why spelling out “as-is” on your own bill of sale carries more weight in a private sale.
What the Bill of Sale Needs to Include
Whether you use a template or draft your own, the document should cover the people, the vehicle, and the deal:
- Full legal names and current addresses for both buyer and seller.
- Year, make, model, body type, and Vehicle Identification Number. The VIN is the single most important identifier because it’s unique to that car.
- Sale price, written in both numbers and words to avoid ambiguity.
- Date of sale, which establishes when responsibility shifts from seller to buyer.
- Condition disclosure. Nearly every private sale is “as-is,” meaning the buyer accepts the car’s condition and can’t come back to the seller for repairs. Writing this on the form protects the seller.
Some templates include a line for the odometer reading or the vehicle’s color. Neither is required on every state form, but both are useful to have in writing.
A quick point on what this document is not. A bill of sale is a receipt. It is not a title. The title is the government-issued document that declares legal ownership, and ownership transfers when the seller signs the title over to the buyer. The bill of sale records the terms of the sale alongside that transfer. If a seller offers you a car without a title, treat it as a serious warning sign, because without the title you may not be able to register the vehicle.
Even when a car is given rather than sold, a bill of sale showing a purchase price of $0 is typically needed for registration and to set the value for sales tax.
Odometer Disclosure
Federal regulations require the seller to disclose the vehicle’s mileage in writing when ownership changes hands. The disclosure must show the odometer reading, the date of transfer, both parties’ printed names and addresses, and the vehicle’s make, model, year, body type, and VIN.2eCFR. 49 CFR Part 580 – Odometer Disclosure Requirements Under the regulation, this disclosure goes on the title or title reassignment document rather than the bill of sale. Some states combine the two into a single form, and even where they don’t, recording the mileage on the bill of sale as well is a sensible backup.
The disclosure requirement applies to vehicles from model year 2011 and newer, for the first 20 years after manufacture. For transfers happening in 2026, any vehicle from model year 2007 or newer needs the disclosure. Model year 2010 and older fall under the previous 10-year rule and are already exempt.3National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Consumer Alert: Changes to Odometer Disclosure Requirements
If the odometer has rolled over, been replaced, or you know the reading is inaccurate, you have to note that on the disclosure. Passing off a tampered reading is a federal offense.
Signatures, Notarization, and Copies
Both the buyer and seller sign the bill of sale. Each signature should sit next to the signer’s printed name, because signatures alone can be impossible to read.
A handful of states require the bill of sale to be notarized before the DMV will accept it for a title transfer. These include Louisiana, Montana, Nebraska, Maryland, New Hampshire, and West Virginia. Elsewhere, notarization is optional. It still adds a layer of verification if a dispute comes up later, since the notary confirms the identities of both signers.
Print at least two copies of the signed document. The buyer needs one for registration and titling. The seller keeps one as proof the car was sold and when. If you had the document notarized, keep the notarized original and give the other party a copy.
If There’s a Lien on the Car
When the seller still owes money on a car loan, the lender holds a lien on the title, and that lien has to be cleared before the title can legally transfer. A bill of sale alone will not protect a buyer in this situation.
The cleanest approach is for the seller to pay off the loan, get the lien released, and hand over a clean title. If that’s not realistic, the buyer can pay the loan balance directly to the lender as part of the purchase, and the lender releases the title once the debt is satisfied. A few lenders will allow the buyer to assume the existing loan, though most won’t. Whatever arrangement you reach, write it on or alongside the bill of sale.
If you’re the buyer, don’t hand over full payment to a seller who can’t produce a clean title. The bill of sale proves you paid. It will not stop the lender from repossessing the car if the seller later stops making payments.
What to Do After You Sign
The bill of sale is one piece of the sale. Both sides have follow-up tasks.
Seller
Most states require you to notify the DMV that you’ve sold the vehicle, typically within 5 to 30 days. This filing, sometimes called a release of liability or notice of transfer, is separate from the buyer’s title transfer. Without it, you can get billed for tolls or parking tickets, or pulled into civil liability for accidents that happen after the sale. Remove your license plates before handing over the car unless your state’s rules say otherwise, and cancel or transfer your insurance only after the notice of transfer is filed.
Buyer
Take the signed bill of sale, the title signed over by the seller, and your ID to your local DMV to apply for a new title and registration. Most states set a deadline, often 30 days from the purchase date, with a late fee if you miss it. You’ll owe a title transfer fee and sales tax on the purchase price. Don’t drive the car until it’s insured; most states require at least liability coverage, and some won’t complete registration without proof of it.
Hold on to your copy of the bill of sale. Your insurance company, lender, or the DMV may ask for it later, and if any question comes up about what you paid or when ownership changed, that one sheet of paper is the record you’ll want.