How to Fill Out and Submit an Odometer Disclosure Statement

To fill out an odometer disclosure statement, write in the vehicle’s make, model, year, body type, and full seventeen-character VIN, record the current odometer reading in whole miles, choose one of three mileage certifications, and have both the seller and buyer sign and print their names and addresses. The completed statement then travels with the title to the buyer’s motor vehicle agency. Federal rules at 49 CFR Part 580 set what goes on the form and who signs it.¹

Check Whether Your Vehicle Needs a Disclosure at All

Several categories of vehicle transfers are exempt from the federal disclosure requirement. If your sale falls into one of them, you can mark the mileage field as “exempt” on the title and skip the rest.

Vehicles with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating above 16,000 pounds.
Non-self-propelled vehicles such as trailers and camper shells.
Model year 2010 and earlier vehicles, all of which are exempt as of 2026.
Model year 2011 and newer vehicles become exempt twenty years after January 1 of the corresponding calendar year. A 2011 model, for example, isn’t exempt until 2031.
Vehicles sold directly by the manufacturer to a U.S. government agency under contract.

Everything else needs the full disclosure.²

Where to Get the Form

In many states, the disclosure section is printed directly on the back of the certificate of title. You fill in the mileage and certification in that space when you sign the title over to the buyer, and no separate document is needed. If the title has no disclosure area, or the space was used in a prior transfer, your state motor vehicle agency provides a supplemental odometer disclosure form for download or pickup at a local office. Dealerships handle the paperwork as part of closing and must give the buyer a copy. Auctions and brokers carry the same obligation.

Fill In the Vehicle Information

Enter the make, model, year, body type, and the complete seventeen-character VIN. Copy the VIN exactly as it appears on the dashboard plate or the driver’s-side door jamb. A single transposed digit can bounce the entire title application back. Add the date of transfer in the same section.¹

Record the Odometer Reading and Pick a Certification

Write the odometer reading at the moment of transfer in whole miles. Drop any tenths. Then choose one of three certification statements:

Actual mileage — the reading reflects the true distance the vehicle has traveled, to the best of your knowledge.
Mileage exceeds mechanical limits — the odometer has rolled past its maximum display (typically 99,999 or 999,999) and started over, so the shown number is only a partial count.
Odometer reading is not actual mileage — the display is unreliable because the odometer was broken, replaced, or tampered with. This option carries a warning to the buyer that the reading should not be relied on.

This is where sellers most often create problems for themselves. If the odometer was replaced at a shop and you aren’t confident the new one reflects the true total, use the third option. Claiming “actual mileage” when you know it isn’t accurate is a false statement that triggers penalties.¹

Sign, and Have the Buyer Sign

The seller signs first and prints their name and current address. If the title lists more than one seller, only one needs to sign the odometer disclosure, though both typically sign the title assignment itself. The buyer then signs, prints their name and address, and receives a copy of the completed statement. One person cannot sign as both seller and buyer in the same transaction unless a secure power of attorney applies.¹

If You Make a Mistake

The disclosure is a legal document, and most motor vehicle agencies reject forms with cross-outs, white-out, or other visible corrections. Start over on a fresh form rather than trying to patch a bad entry. If the disclosure is printed on the back of the title itself and you err in that space, your motor vehicle agency can issue a supplemental disclosure form. Some states have specific correction forms when the discrepancy has already been submitted, so check with your local office.

Special Situations

Leased Vehicles

When a lease ends and ownership transfers, the lessee completes the disclosure, not the lessor. Before executing any transfer-of-ownership document, the lessor must notify the lessee, electronically or in writing, that the lessee is required to provide the disclosure. The notice must reference federal law and warn that a false statement or a failure to complete the disclosure can bring fines or imprisonment. The lessee then fills in the odometer reading in whole miles, picks a certification, adds the vehicle’s identifying information, and signs. The lessor receives the completed statement, signs it, and records the dates the notice went out and the statement came back.³

Secure Power of Attorney

A secure power of attorney lets the seller delegate the disclosure to the buyer in three specific situations: a lienholder holds the physical or electronic title and it isn’t available at the sale; the physical title has been lost; or the electronic title cannot be accessed. A regular power of attorney will not work. The secure version must be printed on tamper-resistant, state-issued paper and must contain the same fields as a standard disclosure — vehicle identification, odometer reading, certification, and both parties’ printed names and addresses. The seller fills in the mileage and certification, the buyer signs to acknowledge receipt, and the buyer then copies the mileage onto the title exactly as stated on the form and submits the original to the state along with the title.⁴ NHTSA has said that a general power of attorney is insufficient because it strips away the fraud protections built into the process.⁵

Replaced or Repaired Odometers

If an odometer is serviced, repaired, or replaced and cannot be set to the vehicle’s actual mileage, the repair shop must reset it to zero. The owner, or the shop acting as agent, must then attach a written notice to the left door frame stating the mileage before the repair and the date of the work. Removing or altering that notice with intent to defraud is a federal violation.⁶ When you sell a vehicle whose odometer has been replaced, choose the “not actual mileage” certification unless the replacement was set to reflect the true total. If you’re the buyer, look for the door-frame sticker; its absence on a car with suspiciously low mileage is a warning sign.

Submit the Signed Disclosure

The signed disclosure goes with the title to the buyer’s motor vehicle agency when the buyer applies for a new title and registration. Most states accept the paperwork in person or by mail, and a growing number now accept electronic odometer disclosures with electronic signatures under a 2020 NHTSA final rule that set federal standards for digital systems.⁷ Processing times vary. Some walk-in offices print a title on the spot; mailed applications can take several weeks. An incomplete or incorrectly completed disclosure is one of the most common reasons a title application gets rejected, so check every field before you send it.

Keep a Copy

Dealers and distributors must retain each disclosure they issue or receive for at least five years, stored so records can be retrieved systematically and, if electronic, in a format that shows any attempt to alter them.⁸ Private sellers have no set federal retention period, but keeping your copy for five years mirrors the dealer standard and gives you documentation if a dispute over the vehicle’s mileage surfaces later. A photocopy or scan of the signed statement is your strongest evidence that you reported the mileage accurately at the time of sale.

What’s at Stake if the Disclosure Is False

Anyone who knowingly and willfully violates the odometer statutes — by rolling back a reading, filing a false disclosure, or removing a door-frame repair notice — faces criminal fines and up to three years in prison. For a corporate violation, the same penalties reach any director, officer, or agent who authorized or performed the act.⁹ On the civil side, a defrauded buyer can sue and recover three times actual damages or $10,000, whichever is greater, plus attorney fees. The $10,000 figure is a floor. If actual loss on a rolled-back odometer is $15,000, trebling brings the award to $45,000.¹⁰

1
eCFR. 49 CFR 580.5 – Disclosure of Odometer Information
2
eCFR. 49 CFR 580.17 – Exemptions
3
eCFR. 49 CFR 580.7 – Disclosure of Odometer Information for Leased Motor Vehicles
4
eCFR. 49 CFR 580.13 – Power of Attorney
5
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Interpretation of Secure Power of Attorney and Odometer Disclosure
6
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 U.S. Code 32704 – Service, Repair, and Replacement
7
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. NHTSA Announces Final Rule on Electronic Odometer Disclosures
8
eCFR. 49 CFR 580.8 – Dealer Record-Keeping Requirements
9
Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 49 U.S. Code 32709 – Penalties
10
GovInfo. 49 U.S. Code 32710 – Civil Actions by Private Persons