Question 1

California: Do you need a separate bill of sale?

Accepted Answer

Expect one — DMV's checklist lists it. DMV's title transfer checklist lists a bill of sale under required documents: use the Bill of Sale (REG 135) to record the price and date. DMV's procedures manual leaves it off its list of basic transfer documents. Any bill of sale that identifies the vehicle is accepted, and it does not need a notary or a witness. Section 2 of the Vehicle/Vessel Transfer and Reassignment Form (REG 262) is also a bill of sale. The REG 262 is accepted in place of the registered owner's signature on line 1 of the title, and it carries the odometer disclosure too.

Question 2

California: Does the title need a notary or witnesses?

Accepted Answer

Neither — but who signs is exact. No notary and no witness on the title. One exception: if the title is missing and a lender is on record, section 5 of the replacement title form (REG 227) must be notarized. What California does police is WHICH owner signs. Co-owners joined by “and” — every owner signs. Joined by “or” or “and/or” — one signature is enough. Joint Tenants with Right of Survivorship — every owner signs. A business entity needs the entity name and an authorized representative's countersignature; a trust needs the trust's name and the signature of every trustee shown on the title.

Question 3

California: What happens to the plates?

Accepted Answer

They stay with the car. California's standard, sequentially issued plates go with the vehicle when it is sold — they are not owner-issued and they are not yours to remove. Only special and personalised plates are: a special-plate owner may reassign them to another vehicle registered to them. Most cannot go to another person. They can stay on the sold vehicle only if the plate owner releases them and the buyer wants to keep them. A personalised plate owner may also keep the plates off any vehicle by paying the retention fee each year.  If you have special plates, deal with them before the sale; if you have ordinary plates, leave them on.

Question 4

California: Do you have to tell the state you sold it?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Within 5 calendar days. VC §§ 5602 and 5900: the registered owner, or the person in physical possession of the vehicle being sold, must submit a completed Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability — form REG 138 — to DMV within five calendar days of the sale. File it online or mail the form.  What it buys: an owner who has transferred and delivered possession AND a properly endorsed title is not subject to civil or criminal liability for the parking, abandonment or operation of the vehicle by another — but only if the notice was filed, or the papers and fees to transfer ownership were sent to DMV.  And DMV cannot update the record at all if the transfer date is missing. Submitting the notice is NOT itself a transfer of ownership; the buyer still has to do their part.

Question 5

California: Where does the odometer reading go?

Accepted Answer

On the title, or on REG 262. For a vehicle less than 20 model years old, the mileage disclosure must be entered on a complying title, or on a Vehicle/Vessel Transfer and Reassignment Form (REG 262). Federal rules exempt a 2010 or older model year vehicle, a vehicle rated over 16,000 pounds, and a vehicle that is not self-propelled. You will also need the reading a second time — the release of liability notice asks for the odometer at the time of sale, so write it down before the ${nounIt()} leaves.

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

Do you need a separate bill of sale?

Does the title need a notary or witnesses?

What happens to the plates?

Do you have to tell the state you sold it?

Where does the odometer reading go?

The forms California publishes

Selling here, registering somewhere else

How California compares

Ready to handle the paperwork?

What this page is