Bill of Sale For Your Car

If you’re planning on selling or buying a vehicle, you may find yourself wondering what kind of paperwork is involved in the deal. In the vast majority of cases, it’s a good idea to draw up a bill of sale for your car if you’re going to sell it, but what is a bill of sale for a vehicle in the first place?

Let’s take a look at what a motor vehicle bill of sale is, why you may need one depending on where you live, and the details that you’ll need to include in the bill of sale.

What is a Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale?

A motor vehicle bill of sale is a proof of purchase that includes the details pertaining to a transaction taking place between the buyer and seller of a motor vehicle. This acts as legal proof that you can show the DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) that a change of ownership has taken place for a specific vehicle.

If the new owner wants to properly register their new vehicle with the DMV, they will need a signed copy of the bill of sale. Keep in mind that this is not a sales agreement that can be drawn up before the transaction has taken place, acting more as a proof of purchase after the transaction has gone through.

Subsequently, you should wait until after the car has been paid for to hand the bill of sale over to the buyer and after the conveyance of the certificate of title from the seller.

What should be included?

There are a few key details that need to be included in a motor vehicle bill of sale, regardless of whether you draw it up yourself or you use a lawyer to do so.

The form should include the name and address of the vehicle’s buyer. It should also include the same for the seller. Unlike other bills of sale, you will also need to include some key details about the vehicle itself. It won’t suffice to say the make and model of the car because the year of production matters as well.

You’ll need to make sure that you include the car’s make, model, year of production, and even the body style of the car if the model has multiple body styles during that year. You will also need to include your Vehicle Identification Number or VIN, which can be found on the driver’s side windshield, though this varies based on the car model.

Other details to include in the bill of sale include the date of sale as well as the details pertaining to the transaction. This includes the price of the vehicle as well as any additional trades that may have been made to lower the price for the buyer.

Finally, you should include warranty details, though the vast majority of personal transactions involving a vehicle will be conducted on an as-is, where-is basis.