Free Delaware Bill of Sale Template & Generator

Delaware Bill of Sale Requirements

Additional Forms Required in Delaware

• Title Application

Delaware's reputation as a no-sales-tax state is true in general but misleading for vehicles. There is no general sales tax — and yet buying a car here costs you a 5.25% Document Fee, which behaves exactly like a sales tax at the DMV counter. It rose from 4.25% on October 1, 2025, so a great many guides, calculators, and older printed materials still quote a rate that is a full point too low. Budget for 5.25%.

The more important detail is how that fee is calculated: on the GREATER of your documented sale price or the vehicle's NADA trade-in value. A low figure on the paperwork does not produce a low fee if the book value is higher — Delaware simply uses the book number. This makes the bill of sale genuinely useful when a car sold cheaply for real reasons. A document that records high mileage, mechanical faults, or accident damage alongside the price is your support for the lower assessment; a bare number with no context invites the book-value default.

The buyer has 30 days from the purchase date to transfer the title at a Delaware DMV office, with late fees after that. Delaware is a small state with a correspondingly small number of DMV locations — Wilmington, New Castle, Dover, and Georgetown — so appointments are worth arranging rather than assuming you can walk in near the deadline.

Notarization is not required anywhere in a Delaware private sale; the parties' signatures on the bill of sale and title assignment are sufficient. Vehicle inspection is handled through the registration process, with newer vehicles exempt for their first several years and emissions testing folded into the same program, so confirming the vehicle's current inspection status before money changes hands avoids an unwelcome surprise.

One small Delaware quirk on the seller's side: plates stay with the owner and can be transferred to a replacement vehicle. Delaware low-digit plates carry genuine collector value in the state, so sellers rarely leave them on the car — and buyers should never expect them to.