Arkansas car bill of sale Do you need one? And what else does Arkansas require?

Do you need a separate bill of sale?

The buyer needs one to register

The transfer runs on the endorsed certificate of title. Arkansas does publish a combined Vehicle Bill of Sale / Odometer Disclosure Statement, and a separate Bill of Sale (Credit for Vehicle Sold) used when claiming the sales-tax credit for a vehicle you have sold. The state lists a bill of sale among the documents the buyer needs to register, so give them one. Keep the credit form too, because it is about your money.

Source: Arkansas DFA, Motor Vehicle Forms; DFA DSMV FAQs

Does the title need a notary or witnesses?

Neither

Nothing in Arkansas's transfer statute or on its own Notice of Transfer form calls for a notary or a witness. The seller endorses and delivers the certificate of title to the buyer, and certifies on the notice — if they file one — that they have properly endorsed and delivered it.

Source: Ark. Code Ann. § 27-14-902; DFA Notice of Transfer of Ownership form

What happens to the plates?

They come off, and can move to your next vehicle for $1, plus any higher registration fee

Ark. Code Ann. § 27-14-902 is explicit: on transfer the registration expires, the owner shall remove the plates, and may have them assigned to another vehicle on payment of a one dollar transfer fee, plus the difference if the new vehicle costs more to register. You can display them on the replacement vehicle before registering it, within the time the statute allows.

Source: Ark. Code Ann. § 27-14-902(a) and (b)(1)

Do you have to tell the state you sold it?

Optional — and the sale already protects you

In Arkansas the law protects you once you sell and hand over the vehicle, even if you file nothing. § 27-14-911 provides that an owner who has made a bona fide sale or transfer and has delivered possession to the purchaser is not liable for any damages thereafter resulting from another person's negligent operation of the vehicle. The same section also protects you if you hand the buyer the title signed and dated with the date you signed it, or if you file the notice. § 27-14-916 then says the owner MAY notify the Office of Motor Vehicle, and the state's own form says the seller may file it at their option. The registration expires on transfer regardless. Filing is still worth doing — it puts the date in the state's records — and you can file it online through AR MyDMV (Release of Liability), by post, or in person at Little Rock. There is no deadline.

Source: Ark. Code Ann. §§ 27-14-911 and 27-14-916; DFA Notice of Transfer of Ownership form

Where does the odometer reading go?

On the title

If the vehicle is titled in your name, federal law says the reading goes on the title, not on a separate reassignment document. Alongside it, Arkansas's own Vehicle Bill of Sale / Odometer Disclosure Statement records the reading and the sale on one page. Vehicles of model year 2010 or older are exempt from the federal disclosure in 2026.

Source: Arkansas DFA, Motor Vehicle Forms; 49 CFR 580.5(c) and 580.17(a)(3)

The forms Arkansas publishes

• Notice of Transfer of Ownership — Yours to file, and optional. Online through AR MyDMV (Release of Liability), by post, or in person at Little Rock. Where: dfa.arkansas.gov/wp-content/uploads/NoticeofTransferOwnership.pdf. Revision: not stated on the form.
• Bill of Sale (Credit for Vehicle Sold) — For claiming the sales-tax credit on the vehicle you just sold. This one is about your money. Where: dfa.arkansas.gov → Motor Vehicle Forms. Revision: 10/01/2021.
• Vehicle Bill of Sale / Odometer Disclosure Statement (10-313) — The state lists a bill of sale and an odometer statement among the documents the buyer needs to register. This form is both on one page. Where: dfa.arkansas.gov → Motor Vehicle Forms. Revision: not stated on the form.

Selling here, registering somewhere else

These are the rules where you are selling, not where the buyer is taking it. The title is signed under Arkansas’s rules, and the plate and the notice are yours to handle here.

Registering it and paying tax falls under the buyer’s own state’s rules.

How Arkansas compares

Counted from the same answers, for all fifty states.

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