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

Do you need a separate bill of sale?

Not required

Form 130-U, the title application, is signed by both parties and shows the sales price, so a separate bill of sale is not called for. Keeping a written record of the transaction is still worth doing.

Source: TxDMV, Buying or Selling a Vehicle

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 Texas 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

TxDMV asks for a properly signed title showing the date of sale and the odometer reading. Its own buying-and-selling guidance sets out no notary and no witness requirement for a private sale.

Source: TxDMV, Buying or Selling a Vehicle

What happens to the plates?

They come off, and stay with the seller

Texas law says the seller removes the plates when they sell to a private buyer. The plates can go on another vehicle titled in the seller's name, and TxDMV also lets the seller keep them for a future vehicle. Plates that are not kept or moved must be defaced so they cannot be misused — state law says within 10 days of removal. The transfer form asks outright whether the plates were kept.

Source: Tex. Transp. Code § 504.901(b)–(c); TxDMV; form VTR-346 Rev 09/23

Do you have to tell the state you sold it?

Strongly advised. Within 30 days

Texas law does not require the notice — it says a seller who skips it takes on no liability for skipping it. What it does is protect you. File the Texas Motor Vehicle Transfer Notification, online at TxDMV.gov/VTN or on form VTR-346. Filed within 30 days it protects the seller from liability for what the new owner does — TxDMV states the seller cannot then be held responsible for parking tickets and toll violations. Filed later, the record is still marked but the protection is not guaranteed. The form states that submitting it does not itself transfer ownership.

Source: Tex. Transp. Code § 501.147; TxDMV; form VTR-346 Rev 09/23

Where does the odometer reading go?

On the title

The odometer reading goes on the signed title along with the date of sale. Federal law says the same thing for an owner selling their own vehicle.

Source: TxDMV; 49 CFR 580.5(c)

The forms Texas publishes

• Motor Vehicle Transfer Notification (VTR-346) — File this with the state within 30 days. Nothing in the kit replaces it. Where: TxDMV.gov/VTN, or the paper form. Revision: Rev 09/23.
• Application for Texas Title and/or Registration (130-U) — The buyer files this, not you. It carries the sale price and both signatures. Where: txdmv.gov/forms — Form-130-U. Revision: Rev 05/26.
• Request for Texas Motor Vehicle Information (VTR-275) — Optional. If tickets or tolls still reach you after you file the transfer notification, this shows the month and year the vehicle was transferred. It needs a copy of your photo ID and a fee. Where: txdmv.gov/forms. Revision: Rev 8/2018.
• Limited Power of Attorney (VTR-271) — Only if someone signs for you. If the vehicle is subject to federal odometer disclosure, the secure form VTR-271-A must be used instead — the state says so on this one. Where: txdmv.gov/forms — VTR-271. Revision: Rev 11/20.

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 Texas’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 Texas compares

Counted from the same answers, for all fifty states.

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