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

Effectively yes. 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?

Effectively yes

Washington is the one state where the bill of sale is close to mandatory. Before the buyer can apply for a new title and pay the fees or taxes, both of you need to have signed a Bill of Sale — unless the sale price and date are written on the title itself. Keep a copy: DOL notes that replacing a lost one means filing a public records request. Do not confuse it with the Report of Sale; they are different documents doing different jobs.

Source: WA DOL, Sell a vehicle, step 2

Does the title need a notary or witnesses?

Neither

Washington sets out selling in seven numbered steps — find the title, complete a bill of sale, collect payment and sign the title over, remove the plates, remove your personal items, file the Report of Sale, then remove the vehicle from your online account — and a notary appears in none of them. Washington also gives safety advice: DOL recommends both parties meet at a vehicle licensing office, and failing that in a well-lit public area or with a trusted third party present.

Source: WA DOL, Sell a vehicle, checked Oct 12 2026

What happens to the plates?

Off — you are legally obligated

Not a suggestion: as the seller you are legally obligated to remove the plates, and DOL says plainly what it protects you from — towing charges, parking tickets, speed camera tickets and toll bills. You may move them to another vehicle you own of the same kind, car plate to car and truck plate to truck, or surrender them at a licensing office. Either way the buyer cannot use them. Unless you meet at a licensing office, the buyer needs a trip permit to drive it away.

Source: WA DOL, Sell a vehicle, step 4; Buy and register a vehicle

Do you have to tell the state you sold it?

Yes. Within 5 days, and it is an obligation

You are legally obligated to submit a Report of Sale within 5 days of the sale date. Filing protects you from liability for towing charges and for civil and criminal liabilities incurred by the new owner. The list of things that count is wide — selling privately, on consignment, out of state, trading to a dealer or a private party, gifting, donating, giving to a wrecking yard, turning it over to an insurer, or simply disposing of it. Filing online is processed immediately. A dealer may file for you on a trade-in, but DOL says it remains YOUR responsibility to confirm it was submitted.

Source: WA DOL, Sell a vehicle, step 6

Where does the odometer reading go?

On the title

The reading goes on the title when you sign it over, and federal law says the same for an owner selling their own vehicle. Washington asks for it on 2011 and newer models; 2010 and older are exempt. If you do not have the title, a licensing office prints an Odometer Disclosure form for you — it cannot be downloaded. Washington's Bill of Sale has no odometer space.

Source: WA DOL, Buy and register a vehicle; form 420065; 49 CFR 580.5(c)

The forms Washington publishes

  • Vehicle Report of Sale (420062) — Yours to file, within 5 days. Online is processed immediately. Nothing in the kit replaces it. Where: dol.wa.gov → Report the sale of a vehicle. Revision: R/7/21.
  • Vehicle/Vessel Bill of Sale (420065) — The buyer cannot title the vehicle without this, unless the price and date are on the title. Where: dol.wa.gov/forms/view/420065/download. Revision: R/4/24.

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 Washington’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 Washington compares

Counted from the same answers, for all fifty states.

See how Washington compares with the other 49 states
  • Washington 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.
  • In Washington the plates do not go to the buyer. They stay with the vehicle in only 4 states — Alaska, California, Hawaii and Minnesota.
  • Washington gives the seller 5 days to notify the state. 15 states set a day count for that notice: 5 days is the shortest, shared with California, Colorado, Idaho and Nevada.

Ready to handle the paperwork?

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What this page is

Every answer above was checked against Washington’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.