To fill out a title when selling a car, complete the seller’s section with your printed name, signature, current address, the sale price, the date of sale, and the federally required odometer reading, then have the buyer fill in and sign their section before you hand the document over. Every field matters. A single stray mark or a swipe of correction fluid can void the title and force you to order a duplicate before the sale can go through. Done right, the signing takes about ten minutes.
What to Have Ready Before You Sign
Gather everything before you pick up a pen: the buyer’s full legal name and current mailing address, the agreed sale price, the exact date of the sale, and the odometer reading taken the day you sign (not the day you listed the car).
Enter the real sale price. Your state’s motor vehicle agency uses that number to calculate the buyer’s sales tax and registration fees. Writing a lower figure to save the buyer money on taxes is fraud, and agencies that spot a suspiciously low price will reassess based on fair market value anyway.
Before you list the car at all, look at the title for a lienholder. If a bank or credit union is printed on it, you still owe money on the vehicle and cannot transfer clean ownership until that lien is released.
Completing the Seller’s Section
The seller’s portion does the heavy lifting. Find the fields for your printed name, signature, and current address. The name you print must match the registered owner name already on the title. If your legal name has changed since the title was issued, contact your state’s motor vehicle agency about updating it before you sell; a mismatch between the printed owner name and your signature will get the transfer rejected.
Enter the sale price in the field provided. Record the date of sale. That date is the moment ownership officially shifts and the point after which you’re no longer responsible for parking tickets, toll violations, or anything else tied to the vehicle.
If two people are listed as owners, look at how their names are joined. An “and” title usually requires both owners to sign. An “or” title generally allows either one to complete the transfer alone. Rules vary by state, so verify with your local motor vehicle office if you’re unsure.
The Odometer Disclosure
Federal law requires you to disclose the vehicle’s mileage every time ownership changes hands. The title has a dedicated odometer section, and it asks for more than the number on the dashboard. You need the mileage at transfer (whole miles, no tenths), the date of transfer, your printed name and address, the buyer’s printed name and address, and the vehicle’s make, model, year, and VIN.1eCFR. 49 CFR 580.5 – Disclosure of Odometer Information
You must also certify one of three statements about the reading:
- Actual mileage, meaning the odometer accurately reflects how far the vehicle has been driven.
- Exceeds mechanical limits, meaning the odometer has rolled past its maximum and cycled back (common on older analog odometers that top out at 99,999 miles).
- Not actual mileage, meaning the reading is unreliable due to a malfunction, disconnection, or replacement. If you check this box, you’re also required to include a warning to the buyer that the displayed mileage doesn’t reflect reality.
Check the box that honestly applies. Tampering with an odometer or misrepresenting mileage with intent to defraud carries civil liability of three times the buyer’s actual damages or $10,000, whichever is greater.2Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 USC 32710 – Civil Actions by Private Persons Criminal prosecution can also follow, with penalties reaching three years in prison and fines up to $250,000 per violation.
When the Odometer Section Can Be Left Blank
Federal regulations exempt several categories of vehicles from odometer disclosure:
- Older vehicles. Any vehicle with a model year of 2010 or earlier is exempt in 2026. For vehicles with a 2011 or later model year, the exemption doesn’t kick in until the vehicle is at least 20 years old, so a 2011 model won’t be exempt until 2031.
- Heavy vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating over 16,000 pounds.
- Non-self-propelled vehicles, such as trailers.
If your vehicle falls into one of these categories, you can leave the odometer section blank or write “exempt.”3eCFR. 49 CFR 580.17 – Exemptions
What to Do If There’s a Lien on the Title
If a lender’s name appears on your title, you cannot transfer ownership until the lienholder formally releases their claim. In practice, that means paying off the remaining loan balance before the sale closes.
Call your lender and request a payoff amount. This figure may differ from your current balance because of accrued interest. Once you pay it off, the lender will either sign off on the existing title or issue a separate lien release document. Some lenders handle this electronically through state motor vehicle systems, which can take a few days to a few weeks depending on the state.
If the sale price covers the loan payoff, some sellers close both transactions at once: the buyer’s payment goes directly to the lender, the lien is released, and the title transfers. This is easier to coordinate at a dealership trade-in than in a private sale. For a private transaction, your lender can walk you through the specific steps they require, and many will work directly with the buyer if you arrange it in advance. Whatever approach you take, the buyer shouldn’t hand over money until there’s a clear path to a lien-free title.
The Buyer’s Section and Notarization
The buyer’s section is shorter. The new owner prints their name, enters their address, and signs to accept ownership. Make sure the buyer completes this before you part ways. A title with a blank buyer section is an invitation for problems, including the possibility that someone else fills it in later.
Roughly a dozen states require notarization of the title for the transfer to be valid. In those states, both parties need to sign the title in the presence of a licensed notary public, who verifies identities and applies an official seal. Notary fees for a title signing typically run $2 to $10. If you’re not sure whether your state requires notarization, call your local motor vehicle office before meeting the buyer. Discovering you need a notary after you’ve already signed is a headache neither of you wants.
Mistakes That Void the Title
This is where most private sales go sideways. A vehicle title is treated as a secure legal document, and any visible alteration (white-out, cross-outs, scribbled corrections, or a stray mark in the wrong field) can render it void. The motor vehicle agency will reject a defaced title, and you’ll need to apply for a duplicate before the sale can proceed. Duplicate titles generally cost between $2 and $20 depending on the state, but the real cost is the delay.
If you make a mistake while filling out the title, do not try to fix it yourself. Take it to your state’s motor vehicle office and explain the error. They’ll either issue a corrected title or apply an official correction to the existing one, usually for a small fee. That’s the only way to fix a title error without voiding the document.
One related practice worth naming: title jumping, where someone buys a vehicle and resells it without ever registering the title in their own name. It’s illegal in every state. If you’re the one selling, this concerns you mainly in reverse: if a buyer asks you to leave the seller’s section blank so they can flip the car, refuse.
After You Sign
Once both sections are complete and any required notarization is done, hand the original title to the buyer in person. Do not mail it later or promise to drop it off. If your state uses electronic titles, the transfer happens through your motor vehicle agency’s online system rather than a paper handoff, but the information you enter is the same.
Photograph or photocopy the completed title before it leaves your hands. That copy is your proof of what you sold and when. If the buyer racks up toll violations or gets into an accident before registering the vehicle, it’s what stands between you and the bill.
File a notice of sale with your state’s motor vehicle agency. Most states offer this as a simple online form. Filing it removes your name from the vehicle’s registration records and cuts off your liability for anything that happens with the car after the sale date. Skipping this step is one of the most consequential seller mistakes, because if the buyer never registers the vehicle, you can remain on the hook for tickets, towing charges, and even accident liability.
Prepare a bill of sale even if your state doesn’t require one. A solid bill of sale includes the date, the sale price, the vehicle description (year, make, model, VIN, odometer reading), an “as is” statement if no warranty is offered, and both parties’ names, addresses, and signatures. Print two copies, one for each of you. The bill of sale backs up the title if any dispute about the terms of the sale ever comes up.
Selling to Family for Less Than Market Value
Fill out the title the same way regardless of the price. Write the actual amount that changed hands. If the car is a pure gift with no money exchanged, write “$0” or “gift” in the sale price field and note it on the bill of sale as well.
One tax wrinkle to know about: if you sell a car to a relative or friend for well below its fair market value, the IRS may treat the gap between the sale price and market value as a gift. A $25,000 car sold to your child for $5,000 produces a $20,000 gift in the IRS’s eyes.4Internal Revenue Service. Gift Tax The 2026 annual gift tax exclusion is $19,000 per recipient.5Internal Revenue Service. Whats New – Estate and Gift Tax If the gift portion stays under that amount, no extra filing is needed. If it exceeds $19,000, you’ll need to file IRS Form 709 to report the gift, though you likely won’t owe actual tax unless you’ve already used a substantial portion of your lifetime exemption. Married couples can combine their exclusions, allowing up to $38,000 per recipient before reporting kicks in.
Some states also calculate the buyer’s sales tax on fair market value rather than the stated price for family transfers, so the buyer should check with their local motor vehicle office before assuming the tax bill will match what’s written on the title.