What a bill of sale actually is
A bill of sale is a written record that a specific item changed hands between two specific people on a specific day for a specific amount. That is all it is, and that is why it works. Between the two parties it is generally enforceable as a contract, and it is the thing you point at when someone's memory of the deal conveniently changes.
It is not a title, it is not a registration, and it is not a warranty. More on that below.
The nine things every car bill of sale needs
- Both parties' full legal names. As printed on their photo ID — not nicknames, not "Dave from Facebook".
- Both parties' street addresses. A dispute is much harder to pursue against someone you cannot locate.
- The vehicle's year, make and model.
- The full 17-character VIN. This is the single most important field. Copy it off the car, not the advert.
- The odometer reading on the day of the sale, as displayed.
- The sale price, written honestly.
- The date the vehicle actually changes hands — not the day you agreed, the day the keys move.
- An as-is clause, if there is no warranty. Nearly every private sale is as-is.
- Both signatures, with each party keeping a copy.
Miss the VIN or the date and the document loses most of its value the moment it matters.
Where to find the VIN, and how to read it
The VIN appears on a plate at the base of the windscreen on the driver's side, and on a sticker inside the driver's door jamb. It should also match the VIN printed on the title. If those three do not agree, stop.
A VIN is always exactly 17 characters and never contains the letters I, O or Q — they were excluded precisely because they look like 1 and 0. If you think you see one, you are looking at a digit.
The ninth character is a check digit calculated from the other sixteen under ISO 3779. Our free VIN check verifies it automatically, decodes the year, make, model and engine from the federal database, and lists any open safety recalls while you are there.
The odometer disclosure is federal, not optional
Under 49 U.S.C. § 32705, a written odometer disclosure is required on transfer for most vehicles under 20 model years old, in every state. The seller certifies the reading is the actual mileage to the best of their knowledge — or explicitly marks it as not actual, or as exceeding the odometer's mechanical limits.
This is not paperwork theatre. Odometer fraud is a federal offence, and the disclosure is what makes it one. Our bill of sale includes the disclosure automatically.
The as-is clause, and what it does not cover
"Sold as-is, where-is, with all faults, and without any warranty of any kind, express or implied" is the standard language, and it is what stops a buyer coming back in three weeks about the transmission.
What it does not do is protect a seller who lied. An as-is clause does not cover active misrepresentation — telling someone the car has never been in an accident when you know it has. Say what you know, put it in writing, and let the buyer inspect.
Do the paperwork here. Create a bill of sale, have both parties e-sign from their own phones, and get the legal PDF emailed to both of you. Start free →
Five mistakes that make a bill of sale worthless
| Only one party keeps a copy | A document only one side holds is barely evidence. Both parties keep one — an emailed PDF to both addresses solves this permanently. |
| Understating the price | States assess sales tax on their own valuation anyway, so it rarely saves anything. It is tax fraud, and it makes your document evidence of it. |
| Transposing the VIN | One wrong character and the document describes a different car — or no car at all. |
| Leaving the date blank | The date is what ends the seller's exposure to tickets and tolls. Without it you have given away the most useful thing in the document. |
| Assuming it transfers ownership | It does not. See below. |
Handwritten, typed, or electronic?
All three can be valid between the parties. A handwritten bill of sale on notebook paper containing the nine items above is a real document.
Two caveats. Some states publish an official form the DMV expects to see, and a few require notarization of the bill of sale or the title assignment. An electronic signature is not a notarization — if your state wants a notary, you need to sit in front of one. Check your state →
Electronic signatures themselves are on solid ground: under the federal ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. § 7001) and state adoptions of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, an e-signature generally carries the same legal effect as ink, provided both parties consented to sign electronically and the record is retained.
What it does not do — the part people miss
A bill of sale is the receipt. The title is the deed. You need both.
Legal ownership transfers through the certificate of title at your state's motor vehicle agency. Beyond that, most states require the seller to file a separate release of liability or notice of transfer, often within days of the sale. Skipping it is how sellers end up answering for a car they no longer own. How title transfer works →
Do it in five minutes instead
Enter the VIN and we decode the vehicle for you. Fill in the price and both parties. Sign on your phone, send the other person a link, and they sign on theirs — including the odometer disclosure and the as-is clause, formatted as a proper legal instrument and emailed to both of you.