Massachusetts Registration and Title Application (RTA)

About RTA

Official name: Massachusetts Registration and Title Application (RTA)

Issued by: Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles

Purpose: The insurance-agent-stamped RTA registers and titles the vehicle. A bill of sale records the sale price and is required only when the prior title has no sale-price field or the vehicle is title-exempt because of its age.

When required: All motor vehicles, and trailers over 3,000 lbs, must be titled within 10 days of purchase; a buyer who registers or titles the vehicle pays the sales/use tax to the RMV with the RTA in that same 10-day window. The title fee is $75.

The RTA and the old RMV-1

Massachusetts registers and titles a vehicle with one form, the Registration and Title Application (RTA). The RMV says it combines and replaces the older RMV-1 and RMV-3 forms. The copy we read carries the code TTLREG100_0923.

The RTA is not a bill of sale. It is the buyer's application, and a licensed Massachusetts insurance agent completes, stamps and signs it before you take it to the RMV.

What the RTA asks for

• Section A, the transaction. For a private purchase, that is "Register and title a vehicle".
• Section B, the vehicle: VIN, body style, registration type, color, year, make, model, fuel type, odometer and gross weight.
• Section C, the previous title: issue date, number and state, and whether it is clear, salvage or reconstructed.
• Section D, each owner: name, date of birth, license or ID number, and addresses. Section H lists any lender.
• Section I3, for a private ("casual") sale: the gross sale price, with proof required, and the tax. Section I4 takes an exemption code, with the exemption form attached.
• Section K is the insurance certification, and Section L is the seller's name and address.
• Section M is your signature. You certify under the penalties of perjury that no excise tax is owed on the vehicle by you, your household or a business partner.

When Massachusetts needs a bill of sale

• The previous title has no space for a sales price. The RMV then requires a bill of sale that shows the price.
• The vehicle does not need a title because of its age. You bring the previous owner's registration and a bill of sale instead.
• If the title does have a price space, the price must be filled in. The seller states the mileage, and both of you sign, print your names and date it.
• A bill of sale also helps later. The Department of Revenue asks for a copy if you request a tax abatement, for example when you think the book value used was wrong.

How the tax is worked out

• A private sale owes use tax at 6.25% of the higher of the price or the vehicle's clean trade-in (book) value. The RMV calls this the NADA trade-in value.
• The RMV adjusts the book value for high or low mileage, but not for the vehicle's mechanical or body condition.
• A vehicle with a salvage title is taxed on its actual sale price. So is a trailer.
• A trade-in does not lower the taxable price in a private sale.

Steps and deadlines

Keep the papers clean: the RMV rejects any with erasures, white-out or other changes, and the application must be printed on plain white 8.5 x 11 inch paper.

1. Buy insurance from a licensed Massachusetts agent, who completes, stamps and signs the RTA.
2. Within 10 days of the purchase, take the RTA and the signed title (or the registration and bill of sale for an age-exempt vehicle) to an RMV Service Center.
3. Pay the $75 title fee, the registration fee for your plate type, and the 6.25% tax.
4. Leave with a registration certificate, plates and a decal. The title arrives by mail in about 6 to 8 weeks, or goes to your lender if you have a loan.
5. Get a vehicle inspection sticker within 7 days of registering.

What to Include in a Massachusetts Bill of Sale

A complete bill of sale usually includes:

• Seller name, address
• Buyer name, address
• Year, make, model
• VIN
• Odometer
• Sale price
• Date of sale
• Seller signature