Free Tennessee Bill of Sale Template & Generator

Tennessee Bill of Sale Requirements

Additional Forms Required in Tennessee

• Application for Certificate of Title

Tennessee's vehicle tax is widely misquoted as "up to 9.75%," and that overstates what most buyers actually pay. The state runs a "single article" structure: 7% state tax applies to the full purchase price, but the local option tax (up to 2.75%) is charged only on the first $1,600, and a separate 2.75% state single-article tax is charged only on the portion between $1,600 and $3,200. Above $3,200, nothing but the 7% state rate applies. On a $20,000 vehicle in a maximum-local-rate county, the total comes to roughly $1,480 — about 7.4% effective, not the ~9.75% figure that treats the local rate as if it applied to the whole price.

Titling in Tennessee runs through the county clerk's office rather than a central DMV, which is unusual and worth knowing: the same office handles the title, the registration, and the tax, and the state title fee is a modest $8.50. Many counties also levy a wheel tax at registration, so the full out-the-door cost includes that local charge on top of the purchase tax.

Emissions testing has shrunk dramatically. As of January 14, 2022, the counties that historically tested — Hamilton, Rutherford, Sumner, Williamson, and Wilson among them — ended their programs. No Tennessee county requires an emissions test anymore. Everywhere else in Tennessee, there is no emissions requirement at all, which simplifies most private sales.

Tennessee sets no fixed day count for the buyer: the vehicle must be titled and registered at the county clerk before it is driven on a public road (the 30 days on the Department of Revenue site is for new residents). The clerk's document list is the properly assigned title, proof of ID and Tennessee residency, an odometer statement if applicable, and the registration if a plate is being transferred — a bill of sale is not on it — and a Tennessee title needs no notary. One point of confusion worth clearing up: Form RV-F1301201 is Tennessee's Affidavit of Non-Dealer Transfers, used for gifts, sales at 75% or less of fair market value, and transfers between relatives (spouses, siblings, lineal relatives, and spouses of lineal relatives) — it is not a general-purpose bill of sale, and our generator produces the standard sale document you actually want for an arm's-length transaction.