A car bill of sale is the one page that protects both sides of a private sale. Here is exactly what belongs on one, what it can and cannot do, and a free version you fill out on your phone — both parties e-sign, and you each get a formatted legal PDF.
Fill it out instead of printing it
First deal free. No account needed to sign one sent to you. About five minutes.
A bill of sale is a written record that a vehicle changed hands. It does not have to be on an official form to be valid between the two parties, but it does have to be complete. Leave out the VIN or the date and the document loses most of its value in a dispute.
Both parties' full legal names and street addresses — matching the photo ID each one presents.
Year, make, and model of the vehicle.
The full 17-character VIN, copied exactly from the dashboard or the driver's door jamb — not from the listing.
The odometer reading on the day of the sale.
The sale price, written honestly.
The date the vehicle actually changes hands.
An as-is clause, if the vehicle is sold without a warranty — nearly every private sale is.
An odometer disclosure statement, which federal law requires on transfer for most vehicles under 20 model years old.
Both signatures, dated, with each party keeping a copy.
Our generated document includes all of the above by default, along with the signing time, each signer's consent, and a tamper-evident record of both — the details that turn a piece of paper into evidence.
Why the seller needs one more than the buyer thinks
Buyers usually ask for the bill of sale. Sellers are the ones it saves.
The gap between handing over the keys and the buyer actually registering the car can stretch for weeks — and in that window the vehicle is still associated with your name. Toll cameras, parking tickets, red-light citations, an abandoned vehicle, or a crash all trace back to the registered owner first. A dated bill of sale showing the exact moment you sold it, with the buyer's signature on it, is how you get out from under that.
It also fixes the quieter problem: the buyer who comes back in three weeks claiming you promised the transmission was rebuilt. As-is, in writing, signed by both of you is a much better answer than your memory of the conversation.
Do this too: most states require the seller to file a separate release of liability or notice of transfer with the DMV, often within a few days. The bill of sale does not do this for you, and missing the window is what leaves sellers on the hook.
What a bill of sale does not do
It does not transfer title
Ownership passes through the certificate of title at your state's motor vehicle agency. The bill of sale is the receipt, not the deed. You need both.
It does not register the car
The buyer still has to title and register it in their own name, and pay whatever sales tax the state assesses at that point.
It does not clear a lien
If a lender holds a lien on the vehicle, that lender has to release it before clean title can pass — no matter what the bill of sale says.
It does not verify anything
It records what the two parties assert. It does not prove the seller owns the car, that the mileage is genuine, or that the title is clean. That is what the VIN and a history report are for.
How to fill one out, step by step
Read the VIN off the car, not the ad. It is on a plate at the base of the windshield on the driver's side and on a sticker in the driver's door jamb. All 17 characters. A VIN never contains the letters I, O, or Q — if you think you see one, it is a 1 or a 0.
Check that the VIN matches the title and that the name on the title matches the seller's ID. A mismatch here is the single biggest warning sign in a private sale.
Photograph the odometer and write down exactly what it reads that day.
Write the real price. States assess sales tax at registration using their own valuation rules anyway, and understating a sale price to lower a tax bill is fraud.
Both parties sign, and both keep a copy. A copy that only one side holds is worth much less.
Sign the title over to the buyer and file your release of liability. This is the step people forget.
If you use our version, the VIN decoder fills in the year, make, and model for you, checks the VIN's check digit for typos, and both parties sign from their own phones — no printer, no meeting twice.
Paper template vs. e-signed document
Printed template
Free, familiar, and works if you have a printer, two pens, and both people in the same place. No proof of when it was signed beyond the date written on it, and if one party never gets a copy it barely exists.
E-signed document
Both parties sign from their own phones, wherever they are. The signing time, each party's consent, and their network address are captured automatically, and both sides get the same PDF by email. Valid under the ESIGN Act.
Neither one is a notarization, and neither one transfers title. If your state requires a notary for the title assignment, you still need to see a notary.
Both parties sign from their own phones
VIN decoder, odometer disclosure, as-is clause, and a legal PDF emailed to both of you.
Generally yes, between the two parties — a bill of sale does not have to be typed or on an official form to be valid. But several states require a specific state form before the DMV will accept it, and a few require notarization, so check your state's motor vehicle agency before relying on a handwritten one.
Do I need a bill of sale if I already have the title?
You should have both. The title transfers ownership. The bill of sale proves what was paid, when the car changed hands, and that it was sold as-is — which is what protects you in a later dispute or when a ticket arrives with your name on it.
Does it need to be notarized?
In most states, no. A handful require notarization of the bill of sale or the title assignment. Note that an electronic signature is not a notarization — if your state requires a notary, an e-signed document will not satisfy that requirement.
Can we sign it electronically?
Yes. Under the federal ESIGN Act (15 U.S.C. § 7001) and state adoptions of the Uniform Electronic Transactions Act, an electronic signature generally carries the same legal effect as ink on paper, as long as both parties consented to sign electronically and the record is retained.
What if the buyer and I are not in the same place?
One party fills in the deal and signs; the other gets an emailed link and signs from their own phone. They can also propose a different price, which the first party accepts or declines. When both have signed, everyone gets the final PDF.
What about selling something that is not a car?
The same document works for a trailer, a boat, a mower, an ATV, furniture, or a phone — swap the VIN and odometer for a serial number and a description. Start an item bill of sale.