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

Do you need a separate bill of sale?

Required with no title; with a title, only as needed

With a title, the buyer needs the signed title, plus bills of sale where needed to show the chain of ownership. The buyer's form VD-119 has a seller block; you sign it only if no other bill of sale exists. With no title, Vermont specifies what the bill of sale must carry: enough to identify the vehicle — make, year and VIN — plus the purchase price, the mileage, the seller's signature and the date of sale. The buyer's tax is 6% of the price or the J. D. Power clean trade-in value, whichever is greater. Vermont's own form VT-005 is a bill of sale on the front and an odometer statement on the back.

Source: Vermont DMV, Title; Vehicle Taxation; forms VD-119i and VT-005

Does the title need a notary or witnesses?

Neither

Vermont runs the transaction on the Registration, Tax & Title Application, form VD-119, which the buyer completes for almost every scenario. No notary. If the vehicle is a 2009 or older and registered in your name, there may be no title: DMV says to give the buyer your registration certificate and a signed bill of sale. Vermont law says to return the certificate to DMV, and DMV does not say how to do both. Vermont title law changed on 1 July 2024 under Act 165, so check the date on any guidance you rely on.

Source: Vermont DMV, Title; form VD-119, checked Oct 12 2026

What happens to the plates?

Off — return them within 5 days, or move them to your next car

Take the plates off when you sell. You may move them to another unregistered vehicle you own if you apply to transfer them within 24 hours. If not, return them to DMV within 5 days. The law says to return the registration certificate too. For a refund, send form VD-170, Registration & Plate Cancelation Request. DMV needs the registration certificate to consider a refund; without it, you may return the plates and request a refund instead.

Source: 23 V.S.A. §§ 321–322; Vermont DMV, Cancellation

Do you have to tell the state you sold it?

Yes — return the registration certificate right away

Vermont law says the registration expires when you sell. Return the registration certificate to DMV right away, with the sale date and the buyer's name and address written on the back. To ask for a refund, send form VD-170 with it. A refund is paid only in set cases, such as cancelling within 30 days of issue before the stickers go on the plates, or before the second year of a two- or five-year registration. A $5.00 fee may apply.

Source: 23 V.S.A. § 321; Vermont DMV, Refund of Registration; form VD-170

Where does the odometer reading go?

On VT-005 or the back of the title, for 2011 and newer

An Odometer Disclosure Statement is required where the vehicle is model year 2011 or newer, self-propelled, with a registered weight of 16,000 lbs. or less. Federal and state law both require you to furnish the buyer with a WRITTEN odometer disclosure on transfer, and the form carries the standard warning that failing to complete it or giving a false statement may result in fines or imprisonment. A 2011 or newer vehicle needs one for 20 years. Use form VT-005, or you and the buyer both sign the back of the title.

Source: Vermont DMV, forms VT-005 and VD-119i; 49 CFR 580.5(c)

The forms Vermont publishes

• Registration & Plate Cancelation Request (VD-170) — With the registration certificate for a refund — or the plates if the certificate is gone. Where: dmv.vermont.gov/sites/dmv/files/documents/VD-170%20-%20Registration%20Plate%20Cancelation%20-%20Fillable.pdf. Revision: 06/2025.
• Bill of Sale and Odometer Disclosure Statement (VT-005) — Bill of sale on the front, odometer statement on the back. Where: dmv.vermont.gov/sites/dmv/files/documents/VT-005-Bill_of_Sale_ODS.pdf. Revision: 01/2022.

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 Vermont’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 Vermont compares

Counted from the same answers, for all fifty states.

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