Free Colorado Bill of Sale Template & Generator

Colorado Bill of Sale Requirements

Additional Forms Required in Colorado

• DR 2395 (Vehicle Title and Registration Application)
• DR 2173 (Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale)

Colorado handles private vehicle sales with a precision most states don't: it publishes an official bill of sale form (DR 2173), spells out exactly when you need it, and gives the buyer one of the longest transfer windows in the country — 60 days to title and register, with late fees of $25 per month (or any portion of one) capped at $100 after that.

The bill of sale rules are specific. If every field on the back of the Colorado title is completed — including the purchase price and date of sale — the title alone can carry the transfer. But the moment the sale price is missing from the title, a bill of sale becomes required, and when the document is used for the federally required odometer disclosure it must be the secure version of DR 2173, sold through licensed vendors like the Colorado Auto Dealers Association. Model year 2011 and newer vehicles need that odometer disclosure at every ownership transfer for their first 20 years; vehicles over 20 years old, trucks over 16,000 lbs GVWR, and trailers are exempt.

Colorado is also one of the few states where a bill of sale is legally required just to drive home. Under the 36-hour rule, a buyer may drive a newly purchased, unplated vehicle from the seller's storage location to their own for up to 36 hours — but only while carrying a signed bill of sale showing the vehicle's year, make, and VIN, the time and date of sale, both signatures, and proof of insurance. Without that document in the car, there is no legal way to drive the vehicle before it is titled or issued a temporary permit.

Both parties have jobs after the handshake. The seller should remove the license plates — in Colorado, plates belong to the owner, not the vehicle, and leaving them on means the seller can receive the buyer's toll bills and be contacted about incidents involving the car. Within 5 days, the seller reports the sale through myDMV's Release of Liability using the plate number and VIN. The buyer verifies the VIN against the title, checks the vehicle for title brands (junk and parts-only vehicles cannot be titled in Colorado at all), gets Colorado-compliant insurance before driving, and brings the endorsed title, bill of sale, secure and verifiable ID (DR 2841), and proof of insurance to the county motor vehicle office.

At that county visit the buyer pays Colorado's 2.9% state sales tax plus the county, city, and special district rates for their address. If the buyer lives in an emissions-testing area and the vehicle is more than 7 model years old, the seller must have provided a fresh passing emissions certificate — a cost that belongs to the seller, not the buyer, and a detail worth settling before agreeing on a price.