Vehicle Bill of Sale

Yes in 30 states + DC for any private motor-vehicle sale (Alaska, Alabama, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Kansas, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming — list varies by year; check current DMV). The other 20 states make it optional but the buyer DMV will almost always demand one anyway to register the car and calculate sales/use tax. Either way, the bill of sale is the only contemporaneous proof of the price, date, parties and odometer reading — and that proof is what protects you against post-sale buyer claims, hidden lien claims and IRS sale-price audits. Federal odometer disclosure under 49 CFR §580 is mandatory on every sub-20-year vehicle nationwide regardless of state bill-of-sale rules.

The TITLE is the state-issued ownership document (paper or electronic e-title via the AAMVA SCTI / ELT network in 26 states). The BILL OF SALE is a private contract proving the sale happened, the agreed price, the date and the odometer reading. You need BOTH for the buyer to register the car in their name at the DMV — the seller signs the back of the title (assignment block + odometer disclosure per 49 CFR §580.5) AND hands over the signed bill of sale. The DMV then issues a new title in the buyer name, typically within 4-8 weeks. The bill of sale is also the document the DMV uses to calculate sales/use tax owed at registration (4-7% of price in most states; 0% in DE, MT, NH, OR, AK).

AS-IS WHERE-IS is a contract-of-sale disclaimer authorized by Uniform Commercial Code §2-316(3)(a) (adopted in all 50 states except Louisiana, which uses LSA-C.C. art. 2474 redhibition equivalent) that defeats both the implied warranty of merchantability under UCC §2-314 (the car is fit for ordinary driving use) AND the implied warranty of fitness for a particular purpose under §2-315 (where the seller knew the buyer specific need). The buyer accepts the vehicle with every defect — known, unknown, latent, patent — and bears the inspection burden going forward. The seller remains liable only for active fraud (knowingly concealing a material defect, e.g. odometer rollback violating 49 USC §32703 + §32710 — civil penalty $11,182 per offense, 2024 NHTSA cap, plus treble buyer damages) or for breaches of express warranty made outside the document. Critical formatting rule: §2-316(2) requires the disclaimer to be CONSPICUOUS (10-pt bold uppercase or larger, contrasting color or font) — we auto-format. A court in Bowdoin v. Showell Growers (Del. Super. 1979) struck a non-conspicuous AS-IS clause buried in 8-pt body copy and held the seller liable for $42K in defects. Magnuson-Moss Warranty Act 15 USC §2308 also bars AS-IS whenever any written warranty appears in the same document — our wizard flags this automatically.

It depends on your state. 16 states REQUIRE notarization on motor-vehicle bills of sale: AL, AZ, GA, ID, LA, MD, MS, MT, NE, NV, NH, OH, OK, WV, WY. The remaining 34 states + DC accept signed-but-unnotarized bills of sale at the DMV window. Notarization is always recommended for sales over $10,000 even if not required — it gives you a presumption of validity under FRE 902(8) and your state evidence code. Remote Online Notarization (RON) is valid in 44 states post-2024 — our partner runs it at $25 flat in about 15 minutes (vs $50-75 in-person at AAA, a UPS Store or a bank branch). The 6 non-RON states as of 2026 are CA, SC, ME, MS, AL, GA — check our wizard for live status.

The federal odometer disclosure (49 CFR §580 + Truth in Mileage Act 49 USC §32705) is mandatory on EVERY motor-vehicle transfer in the US for vehicles under 20 model years old and under 16,000 lb GVWR. Both seller AND buyer must sign the disclosure (NOT just the seller). You record the exact mileage AT the date of sale, and you check ONE of three certification boxes: (1) mileage is actual, (2) mileage exceeds mechanical limits, (3) mileage is NOT actual (warning — odometer discrepancy). Falsifying carries a civil penalty up to $11,182 per offense (49 USC §32710, 2024 NHTSA cap) PLUS treble damages to the buyer PLUS up to 3 years federal imprisonment. Our wizard auto-attaches the disclosure box in the conformed federal language and refuses to print without the buyer signature in addition to the seller.

Yes — if the buyer pays $10,000 or more in cash (or equivalents: cashier check, money order, traveler check), the seller must file IRS Form 8300 with the IRS Detroit Computing Center within 15 days of receiving the cash, AND give the buyer a written statement by January 31 of the following year (IRC §6050I + 31 USC §5331). Penalty for non-filing: up to $290 per form (2024 IRC §6721 cap), intentional disregard $32,000 per form. The CSV we export from your bill of sale pre-fills the Form 8300 data fields. NOTE: this is only triggered for sellers acting in a trade or business (used-car dealer, small lot) — pure private sales between two individuals are exempt unless structured (multiple installments timed to dodge the $10K threshold trigger a separate structuring penalty under 31 USC §5331(c)).

The vehicle bill of sale IS the proof. Most state DMVs use the bill-of-sale sale price to calculate use tax at registration (4-7% in most states; 0% in DE, MT, NH, OR, AK). About 15 states (CA, FL, MI, NY, OH, PA, TX, WI among them) override low bill-of-sale prices with the Manheim Market Report / NADA / Kelley Blue Book retail value when the declared price falls below a state-defined floor (typically 80% of book) to prevent under-reporting. CA Veh. Code §10753 makes intentional under-reporting a misdemeanor + back-tax + 25% penalty. We surface the state floor inline so you know if your declared price will be accepted or recomputed.

Free with a watermark and 0 AI Deep Detect — covers your vehicle bills of sale. Start: $8.99/mo (8 AI Deep Detect/mo) generation, e-signature vault, IRS CSV export, NHTSA VIN decoder + remote online notary partnership at $25/sale (vs $50 in-person at AAA, UPS Store or a bank branch). No credit card on the free plan.