Weight usually decides whether it gets a title
Many states title trailers above a weight threshold and only register lighter ones, and the threshold is not the same everywhere. That makes GVWR the most consequential number on the document — it decides which process applies.
GVWR is on the manufacturer's plate, usually riveted to the tongue or the left front frame rail. Record it exactly as stamped. Check what your state does →
What to record
- VIN or serial number, from the manufacturer's plate.
- Type — utility, enclosed, flatbed, horse, boat, dump, travel trailer.
- GVWR and axle count, which together determine the registration class in most states.
- Length, and anything included: ramps, spare, winch, tie-downs.
- Sale price, date, an as-is clause, and both signatures.
No odometer disclosure — a trailer is not a self-propelled motor vehicle.
Homemade and shop-built trailers
A shop-built trailer often has no manufacturer plate and no serial number, which is a genuine problem: with no identifier, the document cannot prove which trailer was sold.
Most states have a process for assigning a state-issued serial or VIN to a homemade trailer, usually involving an inspection and a weight slip, and often requiring the receipts for the materials. If you are buying one with no number on it, sort that out before money changes hands — the buyer is the one who gets stuck otherwise.
Selling a boat with its trailer
They are two separate items with two separate identifiers, and in most states two separate titles. Record the trailer's own VIN or serial explicitly. Our boat bill of sale asks for it as soon as you say a trailer is included.