To make a bill of sale for a vehicle, write a single document that identifies the buyer and seller, describes the vehicle in enough detail to match its title, states the price and the odometer reading, records the date, and carries both signatures. That’s the whole job. A few states want it notarized; most don’t. Requirements vary, so confirm with your state motor vehicle agency before you file anything.
The bill of sale isn’t always legally required, but writing one protects both sides. It fixes the date ownership changed, the price paid, and the condition the vehicle was in when it changed hands.
What Has to Be on the Document
Before you write anything, pull the title out and copy from it. Every field on the bill of sale needs to match the title exactly, because a mismatch in the VIN, a name, or the vehicle description can get the buyer’s title application rejected.
- Full legal names and current addresses for the buyer and the seller, verified against a government-issued photo ID.
- The vehicle’s year, make, model, body type, and color.
- The 17-character Vehicle Identification Number, copied directly from the title or the vehicle itself. One wrong digit is enough to cause a rejection.
- The odometer reading at the moment of sale.
- The purchase price in dollars. This figure is what the buyer’s sales tax will be calculated against at registration.
- The date of sale, which is the date both parties sign.
Fill in every field. If something doesn’t apply, write “N/A” rather than leaving a blank. Use ink or type it. Some state templates also include a damage or salvage disclosure line, which the seller must complete honestly if the vehicle has ever been totaled, salvaged, or rebuilt.
Most state motor vehicle agencies publish a fill-in template on their websites, and using the official form is the simplest way to be sure nothing is missing. If your state doesn’t provide one, a plain typed document with the items above is fine.
The Odometer Disclosure
Federal law requires the seller to disclose the vehicle’s mileage in writing when ownership transfers. Under 49 U.S.C. § 32705, the seller has to give either the actual cumulative mileage or a statement that the true mileage is unknown when the odometer is inaccurate.1Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 32705 – Disclosure Requirements on Transfer of Motor Vehicles The disclosure is usually printed on the title itself; some states also put it on the bill of sale. The implementing regulations, at 49 CFR Part 580, require the form to carry a warning that a false mileage statement can result in fines or prison time.2eCFR. 49 CFR Part 580 – Odometer Disclosure Requirements
Odometer fraud carries civil and criminal penalties under federal law, and a buyer who discovers the fraud can also sue the seller directly under 49 U.S.C. § 32710 for treble damages or $10,000, whichever is greater, plus attorney’s fees, if brought within two years of discovery.3Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 32710 – Civil Actions by Private Persons
Older vehicles are exempt. Under 49 CFR § 580.17, vehicles from the 2010 model year and earlier drop out of the disclosure requirement ten years after January 1 of the model year, so for transfers in 2026 they are all exempt. Vehicles from model year 2011 and later have a twenty-year exemption window and won’t begin dropping out until 2031. Recording the mileage on the bill of sale is still worth doing even when the federal disclosure isn’t required.
The “As-Is” Line
Private used-car sales are almost always “as-is.” Writing “sold as-is, with all faults” on the bill of sale tells the buyer they are accepting the vehicle in its current condition, with no promise from the seller that anything on it will keep working after the keys change hands.
Some of this protection already exists in the background. Under UCC § 2-314, the implied warranty of merchantability only applies when the seller is a merchant who regularly deals in that kind of goods.4Legal Information Institute. UCC 2-314 – Implied Warranty: Merchantability; Usage of Trade A private individual selling a personal car isn’t a merchant, so that warranty generally doesn’t attach. Writing the as-is line anyway removes any ambiguity and gives the seller something in hand if the buyer comes back with complaints.
What the as-is line does not do is cover fraud. A seller who lies about a specific fact, say by claiming the transmission was just replaced when it wasn’t, can still be sued regardless of the as-is language.
Deal With Liens and Missing Titles First
If the seller still owes on a car loan, the lender holds a lien on the title, and the loan has to be paid off and the lien released before ownership can transfer. A buyer should ask to see the title before agreeing to anything; if a lienholder is listed on the face of the title, that’s the first thing to resolve. Buyers can also pull a vehicle record from the state motor vehicle agency to check for liens independently.
If the seller has lost the title, they’ll need to order a duplicate from the state motor vehicle agency and pay the replacement fee before the sale can close. Fees and processing times differ by state. Selling without a title is difficult or impossible in most states, because the buyer can’t register the vehicle without one.
Signing, Notarization, and Electronic Signatures
Both parties sign, and each signature is dated with the date of sale. That is enough in most of the country. A small number of states, including Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, and West Virginia, require the bill of sale to be notarized before the title transfer will be accepted. Everywhere else, notarization is optional but adds a layer of identity verification if a dispute comes up later. A notary confirms each signer’s identity and witnesses the signatures; fees for a standard notarial act run roughly $2 to $25, with most under $15. Remote online notarization by video is available in many states, sometimes at a slightly higher cost.
Electronic signatures generally have the same legal effect as handwritten ones under the ESIGN Act, which provides that a signature cannot be denied legal effect solely because it’s electronic.5Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 15 USC 7001 – General Rule of Validity State motor vehicle agencies set their own rules for what they’ll actually process, though, so confirm your agency accepts an electronically signed bill of sale before relying on one.
If the Vehicle Is a Gift
A gift still uses a bill of sale. List the purchase price as $0 and note that the transfer is a gift. Many states also want a separate affidavit of gift signed by both parties, which can exempt the transfer from state sales tax where family gifts qualify.
Federal gift tax is unlikely to be an issue for most vehicles. The annual gift tax exclusion for 2026 is $19,000 per recipient.6Internal Revenue Service. What’s New – Estate and Gift Tax If the vehicle’s fair market value is higher than that, the giver may need to file a gift tax return, but no tax is actually owed unless the giver has already used up the lifetime exclusion, currently $15,000,000 for 2026.
Close Out the Seller’s Liability the Same Day
Signing the bill of sale doesn’t automatically remove the seller from the state’s registration records. Until the buyer retitles the vehicle, the seller may still be the registered owner on paper, which can pull them into parking tickets, toll violations, or accident claims that happen after the sale. Do these on the day of the sale:
- File a notice of sale, notice of transfer, or release of liability with your state motor vehicle agency if your state offers one. This creates an official record that you no longer own the vehicle, even if the buyer stalls on registering.
- In states where the plates stay with the owner rather than the vehicle, remove your plates before handing over the keys. Return them to the agency, move them to another vehicle, or dispose of them as your state directs.
- Call your auto insurer to drop the vehicle from your policy. Do this after the sale closes, not before, so you are still covered during any test drives that day.
- Keep your signed copy of the bill of sale, the notice of sale confirmation, and any correspondence with the buyer. That is your proof of the transfer date if anything comes up later.
Once the buyer has the signed title and the bill of sale, they can take both to their state motor vehicle agency to apply for a new title and registration in their name, pay the sales tax owed on the purchase price, and put the vehicle on their own insurance. Most states set a window of roughly ten to thirty days from the sale date for the buyer to complete that transfer, with late fees after.