Bill of Sale by State — All 50 US States
Requirements vary significantly by state: some require notarization, others have unique DMV forms, and tax rates range from 0% to over 10%. Select your state for state-specific requirements, a free PDF generator, and a how-to-fill-out guide.
Key findings — 50-state review
- 42 of 50 states require a bill of sale for a private vehicle sale.
- Only 6 of 50 states require a notary at transfer (Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania), and in most of them the notary applies to the title assignment, not the bill of sale itself. North Dakota and West Virginia add notary rules only in specific situations — see the notarization box below.
- No state requires witness signatures on a vehicle bill of sale.
- Title-transfer deadlines range from 2 days (Wisconsin) to 180 days (New York); the median is 30 days, and 9 states allow 15 days or less.
Requirements reviewed against state DMV/DOR sources; most recent source re-check July 2026. Each state page lists its sources.
Cite this page: BillOfSale.app, “Bill of Sale by State — All 50 US States,” https://billofsale.app/states#key-findings.
Notarization
Most states never require a notary for a private vehicle sale. The exceptions are narrower than commonly listed, and several attach to the title rather than the bill of sale:
North Dakota (its official form is notarized) · Louisiana (notarized title assignment or bill of sale) · West Virginia (only when the price is well below book value) · Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania (title assignment, not the bill of sale)
Montana is often listed as a notary state and is not one. Check your state page below.
No Sales Tax
Five states charge no general sales tax on vehicle purchases:
Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, Oregon
Official DMV Forms
Some states have official bill of sale forms required or strongly preferred by their DMV. Our state pages link to these alongside our generator.
Compare All 50 States
The core requirements side by side. Open a state page for tax rates, official forms, and the sources each row was checked against.
| State | Bill of Sale | Notary | Witnesses | Title Transfer Deadline |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Alabama | Required | — | None required† | 20 days |
| Alaska | Recommended | — | None required† | 30 days |
| Arizona | Required | — | None required† | 15 days |
| Arkansas | Required | — | None required† | 60 days |
| California | Required | — | None required† | 10 days |
| Colorado | Required | — | None required† | 60 days |
| Connecticut | Required | — | None required† | 30 days |
| Delaware | Required | — | None required† | 30 days |
| Florida | Required | — | None required† | 30 days |
| Georgia | Recommended | — | None required† | 30 days |
| Hawaii | Required | — | None required† | 30 days |
| Idaho | Required | — | None required† | 30 days |
| Illinois | Required | — | None required† | 20 days |
| Indiana | Required | — | None required† | 45 days |
| Iowa | Required | — | None required† | 30 days |
| Kansas | Required | — | None required† | 60 days |
| Kentucky | Required | Required* | None required† | 15 days |
| Louisiana | Required | Required* | None required† | 40 days |
| Maine | Required | — | None required† | 30 days |
| Maryland | Required | — | None required† | 60 days |
| Massachusetts | Required | — | None required† | 10 days |
| Michigan | Required | — | None required† | 15 days |
| Minnesota | Required | — | None required† | 10 days |
| Mississippi | Required | — | None required† | 30 days |
| Missouri | Required | — | None required† | 30 days |
| Montana | Required | — | None required† | 40 days |
| Nebraska | Required | — | None required† | 30 days |
| Nevada | Required | — | None required† | 30 days |
| New Hampshire | Required | — | None required† | 30 days |
| New Jersey | Required | — | None required† | 10 days |
| New Mexico | Required | — | None required† | 30 days |
| New York | Required | — | None required† | 180 days |
| North Carolina | Recommended | Required* | None required† | 28 days |
| North Dakota | Required | — | None required† | 30 days |
| Ohio | Recommended | Required* | None required† | 30 days |
| Oklahoma | Required | Required* | None required† | 30 days |
| Oregon | Required | — | None required† | 30 days |
| Pennsylvania | Required | Required* | None required† | 20 days |
| Rhode Island | Required | — | None required† | 30 days |
| South Carolina | Required | — | None required† | 45 days |
| South Dakota | Required | — | None required† | 45 days |
| Tennessee | Required | — | None required† | 30 days |
| Texas | Recommended | — | None required† | 30 days |
| Utah | Required | — | None required† | 60 days |
| Vermont | Required | — | None required† | 60 days |
| Virginia | Recommended | — | None required† | 30 days |
| Washington | Required | — | None required† | 15 days |
| West Virginia | Required | — | None required† | 30 days |
| Wisconsin | Recommended | — | None required† | 2 days |
| Wyoming | Recommended | — | None required† | 60 days |
*In most notary states the requirement is on the title assignment, not the bill of sale. See the state page for the exact rule.
†No US state requires witnesses for a standard vehicle bill of sale.
What Varies by State
Notarization Requirements
Most states do not require a notarized bill of sale for a private vehicle transfer, and the exceptions are narrower than the lists circulating online suggest. In North Dakota the official state bill of sale form is itself a notarized document. Louisiana accepts either a notarized title assignment or a notarized bill of sale. West Virginia requires a notarized bill of sale only when the sale price falls well below book value. In Kentucky, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma and Pennsylvania the notarization attaches to the title assignment rather than to a separate bill of sale — and Ohio publishes no official bill of sale form at all. Montana, widely listed as a notary state, requires none for an ordinary private sale. Because these rules change and vary by transaction, confirm the current requirement on your state page below or with your state agency. Where notarization is optional, it still verifies both parties’ identities and witnesses the signatures, which can help if a sale is later disputed.
Title Transfer Deadlines
After a private vehicle sale, the buyer must transfer the title into their name within a set number of days. Deadlines range from 2 days (Wisconsin) to 180 days (New York); the median across all 50 states is 30 days. Missing the deadline typically results in a late fee, but in some states it can also void the purchase or cause liability issues if the previous owner receives traffic violations in the interim.
Sales Tax Rates
Sales tax on vehicle purchases varies widely. Five states — Alaska, Delaware, Montana, New Hampshire, and Oregon — have no state sales tax. Others range from around 3% (Colorado) to over 8% (some California counties with local add-ons). Some states also distinguish between trade-ins, gifts, and private sales for tax purposes.
Additional State Forms
Some states have their own official DMV bill of sale forms that are required or preferred in addition to — or instead of — a generic bill of sale. Examples include Ohio (BMV 3774), North Carolina (MVR-1), and Michigan (TR-11L). Our state pages link to these official forms alongside our generator.
Odometer Disclosure
Federal law (the Truth in Mileage Act) requires an odometer disclosure statement for all vehicle transfers involving vehicles under 20 model years old. Many states print this directly on the vehicle title; our bill of sale generator includes it as a built-in section regardless of state.