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

Not required — the notice does the work. Below: the title signature, the plates, telling the state, and the odometer — each with the source it came from.

Do you need a separate bill of sale?

Not required — the notice does the work

Hawaii asks for the assignment on the title and the Notice of Transfer rather than a bill of sale. Keep your own record regardless: your protection here depends on the notice being recorded by the county, and if it is not, the copy in your hand is what shows when you sold and to whom.

Source: Hawaii County VRL, Ownership Transfer

Not required. Still worth having.

The title transfers ownership — and the buyer leaves with it. A separate bill of sale gives both of you something to keep.

It records who bought and who sold, the agreed price, when the vehicle changed hands, and any other terms you write into it, such as what was included or that it was sold as-is.

It does not replace the signed title or any notice Hawaii requires. You may not need one for the state. You may still want one for your own records.

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Does the title need a notary or witnesses?

Neither

The seller completes the assignment on the certificate of title and hands it over. No notary is required, but Hawaii County recommends signing Section A in front of a notary, or going with the buyer to complete the transfer. Hawaii is administered county by county rather than by a state DMV, so check your own county's requirements — Honolulu, Hawai‘i, Maui and Kaua‘i each publish their own. Hawaii County checks every seller's signature and will not complete the transfer if they do not match.

Source: Hawaii County Vehicle Registration & Licensing, Ownership Transfer, checked Oct 12 2026

What happens to the plates?

They stay with the vehicle

Hawaii plates go with the car rather than the owner — the buyer keeps the plates already on it and re-registers in their own name. Give the buyer the signed title, the last registration and the State of Hawaii Safety Inspection Certificate. The buyer must hand in a current safety inspection certificate to transfer the title, so make sure it is current before you hand it over.

Source: Maui County, Ownership Transfer - Seller; Hawaii County VRL, Ownership Transfer

Do you have to tell the state you sold it?

10 days — and a fine if you do not

Hawaii fines the seller for not filing. HRS § 286-52: every person other than a dealer, on transferring a motor vehicle by sale, lease or otherwise, shall WITHIN TEN DAYS give notice of the transfer to the director of finance on the official form — and anyone who violates it shall be fined not more than $100. Hawaii County says: “Seller will not be released from liability until this notice is recorded.” The law says otherwise: HRS § 286-52(k) relieves you of liability as the registered owner once you have given the notice and handed the buyer the title you signed. Under § 286-52(o), a copy of the filed form is proof of filing, so keep one. The notice must carry the new owner's name and address, the date of sale and the vehicle description. The form is attached to the title; if it has already been detached, download your county's form. Honolulu's is CS-L(MVR)53; the other counties publish their own.

Source: HRS § 286-52; Hawaii County VRL, Notice of Transfer

Where does the odometer reading go?

On the title

Write the mileage in the spaces on the certificate of title. Honolulu requires it for 2011 and newer model years; 2010 and older are not required to have it. Note the buyer's clock, because it affects what they will chase you about: they have 30 days to transfer. The fee is set by each county — $10 in Honolulu, $5 in Hawaii County — and a $50 late fee is added after 30 days.

Source: Hawaii County VRL, Ownership Transfer; Honolulu Dept. of Customer Services, Vehicle Ownership Transfer

The forms Hawaii publishes

  • Notice of Transfer (CS-L(MVR)53 (Honolulu)) — Yours to file within 10 days. Attached to the title, or download your county's form. A fine if you skip it. Where: your county's Vehicle Registration office. Revision: 02/2026 (Honolulu).

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 Hawaii’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 Hawaii compares

Counted from the same answers, for all fifty states.

See how Hawaii compares with the other 49 states
  • Hawaii is with the majority: no notary or witnesses on the title signature. Only 7 states want one — Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Wyoming.
  • Hawaii is one of 4 states where the plates stay with the vehicle. The others are Alaska, California and Minnesota. Almost everywhere else they stay with the seller or go back to the state.
  • Hawaii gives the seller 10 days to notify the state. 15 states set a day count for that notice: the shortest is 5 days (California, Colorado, Idaho, Nevada and Washington) and the longest 30 (Florida, Missouri, Texas and Wisconsin).

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What this page is

Every answer above was checked against Hawaii’s own published material on Oct 12, 2026. It describes the rules; it is not advice about your sale. State forms get revised — the agency’s current page is what governs.