How to transfer a car title

A car's title is the state's record of who owns it, and a title transfer has two halves. First, the seller signs ownership over to the buyer in the title's assignment section and records the mileage. Then the buyer takes the signed title to the state, applies for a new title in their own name and pays the tax and fees. Until the buyer finishes that second half, state records can still show the seller as the owner. Oregon, for example, says you stay listed as the owner until the buyer transfers the title.

So the seller's job doesn't end at the handshake. You sign correctly, hand over the right papers, deal with your plates and, where your state has one, file a notice of sale. The steps below show how a car title transfer works, with examples from the official motor vehicle and revenue agencies of 13 states. This is general information, not legal advice. Check your state's agency before you sign, because the rules change at the state line.

Five minutes with the title saves weeks at the DMV:

• The VIN matches. On cars, federal rules put the VIN where you can read it through the windshield at the driver's side pillar, and it's on the door jamb label too. Match all 17 characters to the title.
• The seller is the owner. The name on the title should match the seller's ID, and every owner who has to sign should be there to do it.
• No open lien. If the title lists a lender, get the lender's release before you hand over money.
• Nothing is blank or altered. Don't accept a title with the buyer's name left blank, and be wary of cross-outs or correction fluid, which can mean the state won't accept it.
• The mileage makes sense. Compare the odometer with the reading on the title and with any service records.

The seller's section isn't always on the back, and each state has a detail that trips people up. Here's where the seller signs in the states we've researched. Each state name links to that state's bill of sale page, with the full selling checklist.

Usually not, but check before you sign: where a notary is required, you sign in front of the notary. Among the states we checked:

• Notary required: North Carolina, where the seller signs the back of the title in front of a notary, and Louisiana, where the seller signs the title assignment in front of one.
• No notary: the Texas title manual says title assignments, bills of sale and odometer disclosures don't need one. Alabama's revenue department says it doesn't require the title assignment to be notarized, and Florida says the seller's section needs no notary even when the title has a notary space.
• Depends on the title: New York sellers sign a New York title without a notary, but New York requires a notarized seller's section on titles issued by Alaska, Arizona, Hawaii, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Washington, Wyoming and Puerto Rico.

Bills of sale follow the same pattern. California's DMV and the Texas title manual say a bill of sale doesn't need a notary, New York's form MV-912 has no notary section, and Louisiana asks for a notarized bill of sale when one is used. If you need a notary, bring the title unsigned and sign it in front of them.

The seller hands over:

• The signed title, with the mileage written in where it's required.
• A lien release, if the car ever had a loan. California takes it on Line 2 of the title or on form REG 166, and Oregon takes the lienholder's signature on the front of the title or a separate signed release.
• A separate odometer form, only if the title has no room for the mileage: REG 262 in California, DPSMV 1606 in Louisiana.
• A bill of sale, where your state asks for one or the title has no line for the price.
• State extras: Form 130-U in Texas, form DTF-802 in New York, a smog certificate from the last 90 days in California, and a new passing emissions certificate in Colorado when the car is more than 7 model years old and the buyer lives in an emissions area.

The buyer brings payment for the tax and fees, plus whatever ID and insurance proof their state asks for at the title office.

Need a bill of sale? Fill in the free bill of sale and print a copy for each of you to sign. It adds a notary block where your state requires one. Want a separate signed record of the mileage? Print an odometer disclosure statement to keep with your copy of the title.

The buyer usually pays, when applying for the new title. There are two costs: the title fee, which is often small, and the tax on the purchase, which usually isn't. Examples from the states we checked:

• Georgia: an $18 title fee, plus a one-time title ad valorem tax (TAVT) of 7.0% of the car's fair market value instead of sales tax. Paying TAVT after 30 days adds a 10% penalty plus 1% per month.
• Texas: 6.25% motor vehicle sales tax, due within 30 calendar days. Paying late adds a 5% penalty, or 10% if it's more than 30 days late.
• North Carolina: a 3% highway-use tax instead of sales tax.
• South Carolina: a $15 title fee, plus an infrastructure maintenance fee of 5% of the price, capped at $500.
• Virginia: 4.15% sales and use tax, with a $75 minimum.
• Oregon: no sales tax on a private sale.

Some family transfers skip the tax. New York charges none on a purchase or gift from a spouse, parent, child, stepparent or stepchild. North Carolina exempts gifts between spouses, parents and children, and stepparents and stepchildren, with form MVR-613. Connecticut charges none on a transfer to immediate family if the car was registered in the family member's name for at least 60 days.

• Lost title: get a duplicate before you sell. Florida's form is HSMV 82101, and Oregon says to replace a lost title before selling if the car is model year 2011 or newer and under 20 years old. In Connecticut, if the buyer will register the car there, you can give them signed forms H-6B and Q-1 instead.
• There's still a loan: the lender has to release its lien before the buyer can get a clean title. See how to sell a car with a loan for handling the payoff.
• A mistake on the title: don't cross it out or cover it. Ask your state agency how to fix it before the title changes hands, because a damaged or altered title may have to be replaced.
• Your name doesn't match: sign the way your name is printed on the front. In Colorado, a printed name that doesn't match also needs a Statement of One and the Same (DR 2421), and a first initial with your last name isn't accepted.
• No title at all: some older cars don't have one. A Connecticut vehicle more than 20 model years old has no title, so you give the buyer your last registration and a bill of sale or form Q-1. In Alabama, a bill of sale is the proof of ownership for motor vehicles more than 35 model years old.
• Electronic title: Florida says to go with the buyer to a motor vehicle service center, and Virginia lets qualifying sellers and buyers transfer a title online through DMV electronic titling.

• Keep copies. Copy or photograph the signed title, the bill of sale and any other forms before they leave your hands. New York and Florida both tell sellers to keep copies.
• Report the sale where your state has a notice, and keep the confirmation.
• Handle the plates the way your state says, and keep the receipt. New York mails an FS-6T receipt for surrendered plates, and Connecticut gives you a plate disposition receipt when you cancel the registration.
• Cancel insurance last. New York, North Carolina, Louisiana and Virginia all say to deal with the plates before you drop the insurance. Georgia says to cancel the registration first, and Connecticut says to keep liability insurance until the registration is canceled.
• Keep your records handy. If a toll bill or ticket shows up for a car you've sold, your copies and your notice of sale are your proof of the sale date.

A signed bill of sale is worth having even where it isn't required. Still getting ready to sell? Start with how to sell a car.