In many states, you can get a bill of sale from the DMV, either as a downloadable template on the agency’s website or as a paper form at a local office. Not every state offers one. And even where the form is available, the motor vehicle agency’s real job is titling and registration, not supplying transaction paperwork. The bill of sale is a receipt for the sale. It does not transfer ownership of the vehicle, and that distinction matters more than most buyers and sellers realize.
State agencies go by different names depending on where you live: DMV in some states, Bureau of Motor Vehicles, Department of Revenue, or Secretary of State in others. Whatever the name, check the agency’s website first. If your state doesn’t post a form, you have options. You can write one on a plain sheet of paper as long as it includes the details your state requires. Some states have no mandated format at all and accept any written record of the sale. An attorney can draft one if the transaction has unusual terms, like a payment plan or a trade-in. The form itself doesn’t need to look official. What matters is the information on it.
A Bill of Sale Is Not a Title
The single biggest misconception in private vehicle sales is that a bill of sale proves you own the car. It doesn’t. A vehicle title is the state-issued document that establishes legal ownership. The bill of sale is a record of the transaction: who sold what to whom, for how much, and when. Think of the title as the deed to a house and the bill of sale as the closing receipt. You need the title to register the vehicle in your name. You need the bill of sale to document the terms of the deal and, in many states, to prove the purchase price for tax purposes.
Because the title is what actually transfers ownership, the seller must sign the title over to you at the time of sale. If a seller hands you a bill of sale but not a signed title, you have a receipt for a car you cannot legally register. Walking away from that situation is almost always the right call.
What to Include on the Form
Requirements vary by state, but most agencies expect the same core details. A bill of sale that is missing key information can delay your title transfer or create problems with tax assessment. Include all of the following:
- Full legal names and current addresses for both buyer and seller.
- Vehicle description: year, make, model, body type, and Vehicle Identification Number (VIN).
- Odometer reading at the time of sale. Federal law requires a written odometer disclosure on every transfer of a motor vehicle, and many states want it reflected on the bill of sale as well.
- Sale price, meaning the actual amount paid. Understating this number to reduce sales tax is fraud, and state tax agencies routinely flag prices that fall well below fair market value.
- Date of sale. This sets the clock for your title transfer deadline and determines when liability shifts from seller to buyer.
- Signatures from both parties. Some states also require notarization.
“As-Is” Language
Most private vehicle sales are “as-is,” meaning the buyer accepts the car in its current condition with no warranty. A clear statement on the bill of sale that the vehicle is sold as-is, with no guarantees about its condition, protects the seller from claims about mechanical problems discovered after the sale. A sentence or two is enough. The FTC’s Used Car Rule, which requires dealers to post a Buyers Guide disclosing warranty terms, applies only to dealers and not to private sellers, so the bill of sale is often the only place where as-is terms get documented in a private transaction.
Notarization
A handful of states require the bill of sale to be notarized before the agency will accept it. Others require notarization only in certain situations, such as when the vehicle exceeds a certain value or the title is from out of state. Most states don’t require it at all for a standard private sale. Check your state agency’s website before completing the sale so you aren’t scrambling to find a notary after the fact.
How the Sale Price Drives Your Tax Bill
The price you write on the bill of sale directly determines how much sales or use tax you’ll owe when you register the vehicle. Every state that charges sales tax on vehicle purchases uses the bill of sale, dealer invoice, or similar documentation to calculate the amount due. If no bill of sale exists, the agency typically assesses tax based on the vehicle’s fair market value, which is almost always higher than what you’d pay in a private sale.
That is one of the strongest practical reasons to have a bill of sale even in states that don’t technically require one. Without it, you lose the ability to prove you paid less than book value. Writing a fraudulently low price doesn’t help either. State tax agencies compare reported sale prices against valuation guides, and prices that look implausible trigger audits. Some states impose fraud penalties of 100 percent of the unpaid tax or more.
Gift Transfers
When a vehicle is given as a gift rather than sold, many states offer a sales tax exemption if you can document that no money changed hands. The bill of sale for a gift transfer should state that the vehicle was transferred as a gift with no exchange of value. Some states limit the exemption to transfers between immediate family members.
On the federal side, gifts worth more than $19,000 per recipient in 2026 trigger gift tax reporting requirements for the person giving the gift. For a vehicle worth less than that threshold, no federal reporting is needed. Married couples can effectively double the exclusion to $38,000 per recipient.
Using the Bill of Sale to Transfer Title
The bill of sale is one piece of a larger packet you’ll bring to the motor vehicle agency to register the car in your name. You’ll also typically need:
- The signed title. Without it, the agency cannot process the transfer.
- The odometer disclosure, usually completed on the title itself as federal law requires.
- Proof of insurance. Most states require current insurance before issuing registration.
- A government-issued ID for the buyer.
- Payment for title transfer fees, registration fees, and any applicable sales tax.
Many agencies allow you to submit these documents in person, by mail, or online. Title transfer fees vary by state but generally run between $15 and $75. Sales tax is usually the largest cost and depends entirely on the sale price and your state’s rate.p>
The date of sale on your bill of sale starts the clock for completing the transfer. Most state deadlines fall between 10 and 30 days from the date of sale, though some states allow up to 60 days. Miss the deadline and you’ll face late fees that escalate the longer you wait. Letting the transfer slide for several months can push penalties into the hundreds of dollars, on top of the risk of getting pulled over while driving an unregistered vehicle.
What Sellers Should File Separately
Selling a vehicle creates a risk most sellers don’t think about: if the buyer never registers the car, it’s still in your name. Parking tickets, toll violations, and even accident liability can follow you until the record is updated. Many states offer a “release of liability” or “notice of transfer” form that sellers can file with the motor vehicle agency. Filing this form tells the agency you no longer own the vehicle, so future violations won’t be attributed to you.
Filing deadlines for these notices are short, often five to ten days from the date of sale. The form does not transfer ownership on its own, and it doesn’t remove your name from the title record. Only the buyer’s application for a new title does that. What it does do is create a dated record that shifts liability away from you, and it stops the agency from mailing you renewal notices for a vehicle you no longer own. If you sell a car and do nothing else, file this notice at minimum.
If You Have Neither a Bill of Sale nor a Title
Buyers sometimes end up with a vehicle but no documentation, especially with older cars, barn finds, or purchases from someone who couldn’t locate the title. The bill of sale alone won’t solve this, since you need the title to register the vehicle. But the absence of both documents creates a real problem.
Most states have a process for obtaining a title when normal documentation is missing. The most common route is a bonded title, where you purchase a surety bond for the vehicle’s fair market value. The bond protects anyone who might later come forward claiming to be the rightful owner. After a set period, often three to five years with no claims, the bond is released and you receive a clean title. Some states also allow a court-ordered title through a civil proceeding, though that is slower and more expensive. Insisting on both a signed title and a bill of sale at the time of purchase is far easier than fixing it afterward.