Vehicle Bill of Sale: State-by-State Requirements

Last updated: May 7, 2026

A bill of sale records that a vehicle sale happened — who sold what to whom, for how much, on what date — but it does not transfer title. About 18 states require one at registration; the rest accept it as supporting evidence. Notarization is required in only a handful of states, mostly on the title rather than the bill of sale itself. Most state DMVs publish a free official template that meets their requirements.

What a bill of sale does and does not

The bill of sale is a contract memo. It captures the basic facts of the transaction — buyer, seller, vehicle identifiers, price, and date — and serves three purposes: (1) it is admissible evidence in a future ownership dispute; (2) it documents the seller's tax basis (for capital-gains purposes if the seller realized a gain) and the buyer's tax basis for the use tax owed at registration; and (3) in states that require it at registration, it is one of several documents the DMV uses to verify a legitimate sale.

What it does not do is transfer title. Title transfer is a separate step that happens when the seller endorses the back of the existing certificate of title and the buyer (or dealer on the buyer's behalf) submits the endorsed title plus an application to the state DMV. The DMV cancels the seller's title and issues a new one to the buyer. The bill of sale is a supporting document, not a substitute. A buyer who has only a bill of sale and not a signed title typically cannot register the vehicle through the standard process — they would need to follow a bonded-title or court-order path.

States that require a bill of sale

Roughly 18 states explicitly require a bill of sale at registration of a private-party purchase. Other states accept it as supporting documentation but do not require it. The list below is current per the 2026 publication cycle of each state's DMV.

Source: each state's DMV/MVD/DOR publications, 2026.

Required fields

State templates differ in formatting but converge on a core set of fields. Any document containing these fields and signed by both parties typically qualifies as a bill of sale:

• Vehicle Identification Number (VIN) — 17 characters for vehicles built after 1981. Verify against the dashboard plate, the door jamb sticker, and the title — all three should match.
• Year, make, model — exactly as printed on the title.
• Body type (sedan, SUV, pickup, etc.) and color in some states.
• Sale price — actual amount paid. Used as the basis for sales tax in most states. Writing a falsely low number is sales-tax fraud.
• Odometer reading — required by federal law for vehicles up to 20 years old (NHTSA's 2021 expansion of 49 CFR 580). Mark "Actual," "Exceeds Mechanical Limits," or "Not Actual."
• Date of sale — the date possession transferred.
• Buyer's full legal name and address.
• Seller's full legal name and address.
• Buyer and seller signatures.
• Title number in some states (AL, ID, NH, OK).
• Driver's license numbers in some states (CO, ID).

Notarization rules

Most states do not require the bill of sale itself to be notarized, but seven require notarization of the title transfer endorsement (the signed back of the certificate of title): Louisiana, Maryland, Montana, Nebraska, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, and West Virginia. In these states, the seller signs the title in front of a notary public, and the notary stamps the signature. Most banks, AAA branches, UPS Store locations, and shipping centers offer notary services for $5-$25.

New Hampshire is the unusual case where the bill of sale itself must be notarized when it is being used as the proof of ownership for a vehicle that does not have a title (typically vehicles older than 15 years, which NH does not title). Maryland requires notarization on Form VR-181 (used for low-value sales below NADA book value). For all other states, a printed and signed bill of sale without notarization is sufficient.

Free state DMV templates

Every state DMV publishes its preferred bill-of-sale form online for free. Using the official form prevents rejection at the registration counter. Look up your state's official document on the DMV website — the form numbers in the table above are the search terms (e.g., "Texas Form 130-U", "California REG 135", "New York MV-912"). Most states also accept a generic bill of sale as long as the required fields are present.

The form is functionally identical across states. The most useful element of using the official template is the language — courts and DMV officials recognize the form, and it includes the right disclaimers (odometer attestation, "as-is" sale language, federal Truth-in-Mileage Act compliance). Self-drafted bills of sale are valid but require care to include each required field exactly.

Private vs dealer sales

The split:

• Dealer sales handle the bill of sale internally. The dealer's F&I (Finance & Insurance) office prepares the buyer's order and sale documents. Most dealer transactions also include a "We Owe" form documenting any post-sale items the dealer agreed to deliver. The dealer files title and registration with the DMV, often as part of the closing.
• Private-party sales are buyer's responsibility. The seller endorses the title; the buyer prepares the bill of sale (or uses a state-published template), files for title transfer, pays sales/use tax, and registers the vehicle. See our dealer-vs-private-party guide for the full sequence.

Private buyers should keep two original signed bills of sale — one for the buyer's records, one filed with the DMV. The seller should also keep a copy as evidence of the sale date, which is when the seller's liability for any future incidents involving the vehicle ends.

Out-of-state purchases

For an out-of-state purchase, use the buyer's home-state form. The seller's state cares only about transferring its title; the buyer's state will register the vehicle and collect use tax. A New York resident buying from a Pennsylvania seller, for example, fills out NY Form MV-912 (or any document with the required fields) for the eventual NY DMV submission. The PA seller endorses the PA title, the buyer gets a temporary tag if needed (see our temporary-tag rules), and the buyer registers in NY using the PA title plus the NY-format bill of sale. See our out-of-state purchase guide for the full sequence.

For dealer sales across state lines, the dealer's paperwork system usually generates the buyer's-state-format bill of sale automatically. Out-of-state private sales require the buyer to take the form to the buyer's home state for registration.

Common errors that delay registration

• VIN mismatch. The VIN on the bill of sale must match the title, the vehicle, and the registration application. Even one transposed character is a rejection. Use copy-paste from the title rather than retyping.
• Missing odometer. Federal law requires odometer disclosure on any vehicle up to 20 model years old. Forgetting this field is the most common rejection reason. Mark "Actual" if the odometer is accurate, "Exceeds Mechanical Limits" for rolled-over odometers, or "Not Actual" if you suspect tampering.
• Missing signatures. Both buyer and seller must sign. In notarization states, both signatures must be witnessed and stamped at the same time.
• Sale price disputes. Some buyers and sellers agree to write a low price to reduce sales tax. State DMVs catch this with a NADA / Kelley Blue Book check; in 22 states the DMV will assess use tax on the higher of the bill of sale price or the book value (see used-car sales tax guide).
• Date of sale mismatch. The bill of sale date and the title-endorsement date should match. A gap raises questions about who possessed the vehicle in between, which matters for liability and inspection deadlines.
• Wrong form. Some states reject generic forms even though their statute does not require a specific one. When in doubt, use the state's official template.

Tax implications

The bill of sale establishes the buyer's tax basis. Most states impose sales or use tax on private-party purchases at the same rate as dealer purchases. The bill-of-sale price is what the DMV uses to compute the tax — except in 22 states that compare the price to NADA / Kelley Blue Book and use the higher value if the bill-of-sale price looks artificially low. Five states impose no sales tax at all (AK, DE, MT, NH, OR), so the bill-of-sale price has no tax consequence at registration there.

For the seller, the bill-of-sale price establishes the proceeds for any capital-gains analysis. Most private-party vehicle sales involve a loss (you paid more than you sold for), so there is rarely tax to pay. The bill of sale documents the fact that the seller no longer owns the vehicle, which ends the seller's liability for any subsequent tickets, accidents, or registration matters.

Sources

• NHTSA — Odometer disclosure (49 CFR 580)
• AAMVA — Title and registration best practices
• FTC — Used Car Rule (Buyers Guide)
• Each state's official DMV — see linked individual state pages above