PEI Bill of Sale and Vehicle Ownership Transfer

Prince Edward Island Bill of Sale Requirements

Additional Forms Required

• Registration permit — the seller signs the application for transfer and writes the buyer's name, address and the sale date on the back
• Notification of Transfer on the registration permit — the seller notifies the Registrar within 7 days
• Motor Vehicle Inspection approval sticker in the seller's name, or "SOLD NOT INSPECTED" written on the permit
• Sworn/Affirmed Statement for Family Transfer of Designated Property (PEI Department of Finance, June 2017) — family transfers only

In Prince Edward Island, vehicle registration is run by the Highway Safety Division and its Registrar of Motor Vehicles. You deal with them at Access PEI, which has ten locations on the Island. When people search for a "PEI bill of sale", they usually want the paper that proves a private purchase. On the Island, that paper also does a tax job: a copy of it must go with the buyer's Retail Sales Tax payment.

PEI does not set a list of what a bill of sale must contain. The province's tax guide says the price should be backed by a bill of sale or a similar document. So include both names and addresses, the date, the vehicle's year, make, model and VIN, the odometer reading, the price, the payment method and both signatures. Our generator fills in each of these and adds warranty or condition notes. It is not an official Access PEI form.

The legal transfer happens on the registration permit. The seller signs the application for transfer, writes the buyer's name, address and the sale date on the back of the permit, and hands it to the buyer. The seller must also notify the Registrar within 7 days. The buyer has the same 7 days to put the registration in their own name. The transfer fee is $20.

PEI's best-known rule is about inspection. A vehicle must pass a Motor Vehicle Inspection in the seller's name right before it is sold, unless it already passed one in the seller's name. If it does not meet the standard, the seller removes the plates and the inspection sticker and writes "SOLD NOT INSPECTED" on the front of the registration permit. Selling any other way is an offence, with a fine of $100 to $500. The buyer cannot register the vehicle without a valid approval sticker.

The tax on a private sale is the 15% Retail Sales Tax (RST), not HST. GST/HST does not generally apply to a sale between two private people. RST is charged on the greater of the price paid or the average wholesale value in the Canadian Red Book. ATVs and snowmobiles use the Canadian Sport Vehicle Blue Book. If the book value seems too high, a written appraisal dated within 90 days can replace it. The buyer pays at any Access PEI centre or by mail.

A family transfer is not fully tax-free, but it can cost nothing. For listed relatives, RST is charged on the price actually paid, even $0, instead of the book value. The giver must have owned the vehicle for 12 months, or paid tax when they got it. A common-law couple must have lived together for the 6 months before the transfer. Aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews and cousins are not on the list. Inheritances, and transfers between spouses under a separation agreement or court order, are exempt.

Plates stay with the seller. A buyer may use their own valid plate for the same class of vehicle for up to 7 days while the transfer is registered. Before you pay, search the PEI Personal Property Registry for liens. Its Lien Check service lets anyone search by VIN for a fee.