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

Do you need a separate bill of sale?

It is one of the two ways to sign

Oregon says sign and date EITHER the back of the title OR a bill of sale. So the bill of sale is not an optional extra here, it is one of the two accepted ways to release your interest. DMV publishes form 735-501, and will accept any document carrying the VIN, a statement releasing interest, the printed name and signature of the seller, and the date of sale.

Source: Oregon DMV, Buying or Selling a Vehicle; DMV Vehicle Bill of Sale form 735-501

Does the title need a notary or witnesses?

Neither

Oregon's list of what a seller does is short and contains no notary: sign and date either the back of the title or a bill of sale, make sure any lienholder has released their interest, write the odometer reading on the title where the year range calls for it, and notify DMV within 10 days. You cannot sell the vehicle while a loan on it is unpaid.

Source: Oregon DMV, Buying or Selling a Vehicle, checked Oct 12 2026

What happens to the plates?

Your choice — Oregon says “may”

Oregon says you MAY remove your license plates before selling your vehicle. It does not require it. DMV's own Notice of Sale form says removing the plates when you sell is one way to avoid tickets or towing charges after the sale. The buyer can get a 21-day trip permit from DMV.

Source: Oregon DMV, Buying or Selling a Vehicle; Notice of Sale or Transfer of a Vehicle form 735-6890

Do you have to tell the state you sold it?

10 days — and read what it does not do

Notify DMV within 10 days of selling or gifting, online at DMV2U or on Notice of Sale or Transfer of a Vehicle form 735-6890, and include the buyer's name and address. DMV will note on your record that you sold the vehicle, but YOU STAY LISTED AS THE OWNER until the buyer transfers the title. The notice is for information only and does not release your interest. But Oregon law protects you once you have handed over the vehicle, notified DMV and signed the title over to the buyer: you are not liable under the Oregon Vehicle Code for parking, abandoning or operation of the vehicle by someone else.

Source: Oregon DMV, Buying or Selling a Vehicle; ORS 803.112 and 803.117

Where does the odometer reading go?

On the back of the title, both of you signing

If the vehicle is model year 2011 or newer and under 20 years old, write the odometer reading on the back of the title — and both you and the buyer must sign it. In that year range a lost title has to be replaced before you sell, because the reading has to go on the title itself. No disclosure is needed for model year 2010 or older, vehicles over 16,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating, vehicles that are not self-propelled such as trailers, vehicles made without an odometer, Class I ATVs, or snowmobiles.

Source: Oregon DMV, Buying or Selling a Vehicle; Odometer Disclosure; 49 CFR 580.5(c)

The forms Oregon publishes

• Notice of Sale (735-6890) — Yours to file, within 10 days. Online at DMV2U, or the printed form. Where: DMV2U.Oregon.gov. Revision: not confirmed.
• Vehicle Bill of Sale (735-501) — One of the two ways to release your interest — the back of the title is the other. Where: oregon.gov/odot/forms/dmv/501fill.pdf. Revision: 10-26.

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 Oregon’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 Oregon compares

Counted from the same answers, for all fifty states.

Ready to handle the paperwork?

Get your free documents, set up for a Oregon sale — the bill of sale, and the answers on this page as one printable sheet. Print what you need. Free, no account.

Get my free documents →