Texas Form 130-U — Application for Texas Title and/or Registration

About Form 130-U

Official name: Texas Form 130-U — Application for Texas Title and/or Registration

Issued by: Texas Department of Motor Vehicles

Purpose: Serves as Texas's application for title and registration. Records the sale price for the 6.25% motor vehicle sales tax (or Standard Presumptive Value, whichever is higher).

When required: Required for every private vehicle title transfer in Texas. Must be filed at the county tax assessor-collector within 30 days of purchase to avoid a $25 late fee.

What Form 130-U is

Form 130-U is the Application for Texas Title and/or Registration from the Texas Department of Motor Vehicles. The current version is Rev 05/26. One form covers a title transfer, a registration, a corrected title and adding or removing a lien.

The buyer files it at a county tax assessor-collector's office, together with the fees, the supporting documents and the motor vehicle tax due. It is not a bill of sale: for a titled vehicle, TxDMV asks for the signed title and Form 130-U rather than a bill of sale.

Who signs, and which ID counts

• The seller (or donor, or trader) signs in the seller block at the bottom. The buyer signs as applicant/owner, and any co-owner signs on the next line.
• The form may be copied or faxed. The seller's signature may be a copy or a fax, but the buyer's signature must be original.
• Every title application must include one of the photo IDs listed in Box 15: a U.S. driver license or ID card, a U.S. passport, a U.S. military ID, a NATO ID, a U.S. Department of Homeland Security ID, a USCIS/DOJ ID, a U.S. Department of State ID, a Texas License to Carry a Handgun, or a Status of Forces Agreement ID.
• The certification warns that falsifying information on the form is a third-degree felony.

Filling it in, box by box

1. At the top, check what you are applying for. A normal private purchase is Title & Registration.
2. Boxes 1–8: VIN, year, make, body style, model, main and second color, and the Texas plate number.
3. Boxes 9–10: the odometer reading without tenths. Mark it if the mileage is not actual or exceeds the odometer's mechanical limits.
4. Boxes 13–19: applicant type, photo ID number, ID type, your name, mailing address and county of residence.
5. Box 20: the previous owner's name, city and state.
6. Boxes 30–34: lien details, if the purchase was financed.
7. Boxes 36–37: any trade-in vehicle.
8. Sales and Use Tax Computation: the sales price, minus any trade-in, gives the taxable amount. The tax is 6.25% of it, plus any late penalty.
9. Box 38: check any special fee or tax that applies, such as the $10 gift tax or the $5 even-trade tax.
10. Both of you sign and date the bottom of the form.

How the tax is worked out

• Texas charges a 6.25% motor vehicle sales and use tax on the sales price, less any trade-in allowance.
• For most used vehicles bought from a private party, the tax is based on the higher of the sales price or 80% of the vehicle's standard presumptive value (SPV) on the day you apply.
• Gift from an immediate family member, a guardian or a decedent's estate: a $10 gift tax instead of the 6.25% tax. Both the donor and the recipient sign the Comptroller's Affidavit of Motor Vehicle Gift Transfer (Form 14-317), and one of them submits it with the title application in person.
• A transfer with no payment that does not qualify as a gift is treated as a sale and taxed on the SPV.
• Even trade of two vehicles: a $5 tax. New Texas resident bringing a vehicle registered elsewhere: a $90 use tax instead of 6.25%.
• The tax is due within 30 days of the purchase. Paid 1–30 days late, the penalty is 5% of the tax; more than 30 days late, 10% (minimum $1).

Fees and deadlines

• File within 30 days of the date the title was signed over to you. After that, a delinquent transfer penalty applies; it starts at $25 and escalates up to $250.
• Title application fee: $28 or $33, depending on the county. Ask your county tax assessor-collector for the exact amount.
• Moving current registration to the new owner costs $2.50 on top of the title fee. If the registration is not current, full registration fees are due, unless you apply for Title Only.
• Bring proof of liability insurance, such as an insurance card or policy, and proper evidence of ownership (the signed title).
• A vehicle last registered in another state or country needs its VIN verified before Texas registers it, either through a state inspection station or by self-certification on the form.

What to Include in a Texas 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
• Both signatures