Free trailer bill of sale

Federal odometer rules exempt any vehicle that isn't self-propelled, and a trailer has no engine driving it. So federal rules call for no mileage statement on a trailer sale, and this form has none. The same goes for travel trailers and fifth wheels, though the RV bill of sale has room for the camper details.

With no mileage to record, the description does the identifying. A good trailer bill of sale pins down exactly which trailer changed hands: the VIN, the maker, the year, the type, the length and the axles.

• The seller's and buyer's names and addresses
• VIN, maker, model year and color
• Type: utility, enclosed cargo, car hauler, dump, flatbed, boat, horse or livestock
• Length and number of axles
• GVWR, from the certification label
• The plate or registration number, if it has one
• What's included: ramps, a spare tire, a jack, straps, a hitch lock
• Date of sale, price and how the buyer paid
• An "as is" statement and both signatures

This is general information, not legal advice. States handle trailer titles and registration differently, and your state's page in the bill of sale state list has the rules we've confirmed.

Look for the certification label first. Federal rules put a trailer's label on the front half of the left side, where you can read it from outside without moving anything. It lists the manufacturer, the month and year the trailer was built, the GVWR and axle ratings, the VIN and the vehicle type.

The VIN itself has to appear on a part that isn't designed to be removed, or on a plate or label permanently attached to one. Compare it with the title or registration before any money changes hands. A missing or loose label on a factory-built trailer is worth asking about.

A trailer VIN uses the same 17-character federal format as a car's, with trailer details in positions 4 to 8: the make, the type of trailer, the body type, the length and the axle configuration. Position 9 is a check digit and position 10 is the model year.

Small builders show up in the VIN too. A manufacturer that builds fewer than 1,000 vehicles of a type a year gets a six-character identifier: a 9 in the third position, with positions 12 to 14 finishing the maker's code. To see a trailer's VIN broken down, use the trailer VIN decoder.

Some older and homemade trailers have no title or no factory VIN. That doesn't stop a sale, but it puts more weight on the bill of sale:

• No title: if your state doesn't title the trailer, the bill of sale may be the buyer's main proof of the purchase. In Alabama, for example, a bill of sale is the proof of ownership for vehicles that don't need a title.
• No VIN: choose the no-VIN option in the form and describe the trailer fully: who built it, the year, length, number of axles, color and any serial number. Then ask your state's motor vehicle agency what the buyer needs to register it.

Either way, you both sign, date and keep a copy.