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

Do you need a separate bill of sale?

Required — H-31, or your own version

Give the buyer a bill of sale with the signed title. Form H-31 exists but Connecticut does not insist on it — you may draft your own, but Connecticut's two DMV pages list different items. Include all of them: the buyer's name, address and signature; the seller's name, address and signature; make, model, year, color, VIN and odometer reading; the sale price; and the date of sale.

Source: Connecticut DMV, Sell your vehicle; Get a bill of sale; form H-31

Does the title need a notary or witnesses?

Neither

Sign the reverse of the Certificate of Title and give it to the new owner with a bill of sale. Write the buyer's name and address on the title assignment. No notary. Keep a copy of the completed title and the bill of sale for your records — Connecticut asks for that explicitly, and you will need it if a tax bill turns up. A vehicle more than 20 model years old has no Connecticut title. For that vehicle, the buyer needs your registration and a bill of sale (H-31) or form Q-1.

Source: Connecticut DMV, Sell your vehicle; Get a bill of sale; CGS 14-166, 14-179, checked Oct 12 2026

What happens to the plates?

Off — and cancel the registration

Remove your plates from the vehicle and cancel your registration with the DMV. If you cancel online, print the receipt — Connecticut says so, and the reason becomes obvious below: that receipt is what you show a tax assessor.

Source: Connecticut DMV, Sell your vehicle

Do you have to tell the state you sold it?

Cancel the registration — and the clock is a tax clock

Connecticut has no notice of sale. Canceling the registration is the step that counts. Until you cancel your registration with the DMV, the vehicle remains subject to PROPERTY TAX ASSESSMENT in the town of record. If a further tax bill arrives for a car you have sold, Connecticut tells you what to do: take your canceled plate receipt and a copy of the bill of sale to your local property tax assessor and ask for a prorated bill. To get a tax credit for the sale, file proof of the sale with your assessor by December 31 after the end of the assessment year that follows the one you sold in. Miss it and you lose the credit. And keep the insurance running until the registration is canceled, not before.

Source: Connecticut DMV, Sell your vehicle

Where does the odometer reading go?

On the title and the bill of sale

The mileage is disclosed on the Certificate of Title when you sign the reverse, as federal law requires. Model year 2010 and older vehicles are exempt from federal odometer disclosure. Write the odometer reading on the bill of sale too. Form H-31 has a space for it, and Connecticut lists it for a bill of sale you write yourself.

Source: Connecticut DMV, Get a bill of sale; form H-31; 49 CFR 580.5(c)

The forms Connecticut publishes

• Cancel registration and plates — Do this promptly. The vehicle is subject to property tax until you do. Print the receipt. Where: portal.ct.gov/dmv → Cancel registration & plates. Revision: online service.
• Bill of Sale (H-31) — Required, but your own version is accepted if it carries the listed items. Where: portal.ct.gov/dmv → Forms. Revision: 1-2017.

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 Connecticut’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 Connecticut compares

Counted from the same answers, for all fifty states.

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