Jill Stradley
Jill Stradley writes about private sales, title transfers, and the paperwork that trips people up when buying or selling cars, boats, and everything in between. She got interested in the topic after a used car sale gone wrong taught her more about DMV requirements than she ever wanted to know. Now she breaks down what each state actually requires so other people don't have to learn the hard way.
Articles by Jill Stradley
What is curbstoning, and how to spot an unlicensed car dealer
Curbstoners sell cars for profit while posing as private individuals, which strips away the disclosures a licensed dealer owes you. Here are the tells and the checks that catch them.
The most you can recover in small-claims court after a private car sale
A private car sale that goes bad often lands in small-claims court. The dollar cap you can recover swings from $2,500 to $25,000 depending on your state.
How to replace a lost car title before you sell
A seller who cannot find the title has one job before listing the car: order a duplicate. Here is what states ask for, what it costs, how liens complicate it, and why handing over a bill of sale alone leaves your buyer stranded.
How to title a kit car, replica, or custom-built vehicle
A vehicle built from a kit or from parts has no factory title. States issue a specially constructed or assembled title after an inspection, a receipt review, and a state-assigned VIN. Here is the process and how to sell one later.
Selling a car with two names on the title: 'and' versus 'or'
One small word printed between two names decides whether both owners must sign or either one can sign alone. Here is what the conjunction controls, how survivorship fits in, and what to do when a co-owner is unreachable.
How to handle the test drive when you sell your car privately
The test drive is the riskiest moment in a private car sale. License checks, insurance questions, route planning, safe exchange zones, and what to do if the car comes back damaged.
Can you get car insurance with just a bill of sale?
Most insurers will issue a policy on a newly purchased car using the bill of sale and the VIN as proof of insurable interest, and in most states you need that policy before you can register. Here is how the process works.
Selling to a dealer vs selling privately: Which nets you more
A dealer trade-in is fast and can cut your tax bill. A private sale usually pays more but costs you time and effort. Here is how to tell which one wins for you.
Selling a car on a payment plan: Using a bill of sale with a promissory note
Letting a private buyer pay over time is workable if you paper it right. Pair a bill of sale with a promissory note and hold the title as security until the last payment.
Titled, Registered, or Neither: How States Classify Vehicles and Property
A title proves you own something. Registration lets you drive it on public roads. Those are two different things, and knowing which one applies saves headaches at the sale.
The Chain of Title: Why a Car's Full Ownership History Matters
A car's title is only as good as the unbroken record of owners behind it. Here is how the chain of title works, what breaks it, and why a clean history protects you.
How to Sell a Boat That Still Has a Loan on It
Selling a financed boat means clearing a marine lien, not a car loan. Here is how to handle the payoff, escrow, and a Coast Guard ship mortgage release.
Buying a Car With a Salvage or Rebuilt Title: What You Are Really Getting
Salvage and rebuilt titles are not the same thing. Here is what each brand means for safety, insurance, financing, resale, and your bill of sale.
How to Sign Over a Car Title to a Buyer
The car title is the legal proof of ownership, and signing it over the wrong way can stall a sale or leave you liable. This guide explains each field on the seller assignment, where notarization matters, and the mistakes that cause the most trouble.
What an Odometer Disclosure Statement Is and When It Is Required
The odometer disclosure statement is a small form with a big job. Here is what it records, why federal law requires it, and how the 2021 rule change expanded which cars it covers.
When You Need a Vehicle Appraisal, and How to Get One
States, insurers, and lenders sometimes refuse to accept the price on a bill of sale. Here are the five situations that trigger an appraisal request and what the report has to show.
How to Read a Vehicle Title, Field by Field
A vehicle title packs a surprising amount of information into a single page. Here is what each field proves and the red flags that should make you pause before you sign.
Only 2 States Require a Notarized Bill of Sale. Here Is When Notarizing Actually Protects You.
We reviewed all 50 states and DC. Only two legally require a notarized vehicle bill of sale. Here is when a notary stamp genuinely protects you, and when it is just theater.
How to Spot Odometer Fraud Before You Buy a Used Car
Rolled-back mileage still costs buyers real money. Here is how odometer fraud happens, the tells to catch it, and what to do if you suspect it.
Vehicle Power of Attorney: When You Need One to Buy or Sell a Car
A vehicle power of attorney lets someone handle a car transaction on your behalf, from signing the title to registering at the DMV. This guide explains what it does, the common situations that call for one, and how it differs from a general power of attorney.
A Signed Bill of Sale Does Not Prove You No Longer Own the Car. This Does.
You sold the car and both of you signed the bill of sale. In the eyes of your state, you may still be the owner of record, and still liable for tickets, tolls, and accidents. Here is what actually ends your ownership.
Selling a Car With Aftermarket Modifications: What to Disclose
Lifts, tunes, exhausts, and engine swaps add value for the right buyer, but only if you disclose them. Here is what to tell the buyer and what to write in the bill of sale.
Selling a Car to a Family Member Below Market Value: Taxes and Title
Selling a car to a relative for a token price feels simple, but the registration counter may not honor the number you wrote down. This guide explains how use tax is assessed, why states often tax book value, and how family exemptions and a bill of sale fit in.
What Paperwork Do You Need to Sell a Boat? A Complete Checklist
Selling a boat involves more moving parts than selling a car, because the hull, the motor, and the trailer can each carry their own paperwork. This checklist walks through every document a clean boat sale usually needs so you transfer ownership and end your liability.
Arkansas Vehicle Bill of Sale: What the State Actually Requires
Arkansas treats the bill of sale as price proof, and that proof drives how much sales tax you pay at the counter. This guide explains what the Arkansas DFA needs to title and register your vehicle, the registration deadline, and where notarization fits.
How Sales Tax Works When You Buy a Car From a Private Seller
Buying a car from a private seller does not let you skip sales tax. In most states the tax is collected when you register the car, and your bill of sale is the document that proves what you paid. This guide explains how the tax is calculated, why the declared price matters, and the cases where it works differently.
Does Oregon Require a Bill of Sale to Sell a Car?
Oregon does not force every private car seller to fill out a bill of sale, but the answer has an important catch. What the Oregon DMV actually needs depends on whether your name is on the title, and there is a separate notice you should file to release your liability. Here is what the state requires and what it only recommends.
Who Keeps the Bill of Sale, the Buyer or the Seller?
When a sale is done, one question comes up fast: who walks away with the bill of sale? The short answer is that both parties should keep a signed copy. Here is why each side needs one and how many copies to make.
Where Do You Sign a Boat Title When You Sell It?
When you sell a boat, the title is the document that legally moves ownership, and there is a specific place on it where you sign. Sign in the wrong spot, or leave a field blank, and the transfer can stall for weeks. This guide explains exactly where the seller signs and what each field proves.
How Long Do You Have to Transfer a Car Title After Buying?
Every state puts a clock on transferring a title after you buy a car, and missing the deadline means late fees that climb the longer you wait. The window is shorter than most buyers assume, and a couple of common situations can quietly stop the clock before you even start.
What Is Title Jumping and Why It Can Get You Fined
Title jumping sounds like jargon, but it is one of the most common and most dangerous shortcuts in private car sales. It happens the moment someone sells a car without putting the title in their own name first, and the penalties are far steeper than most people selling a car ever realize.
Does a Trailer Need a Bill of Sale? What to Know Before You Sell
Trailers sit in an awkward gap. Some are titled like cars, some are only registered, and some need nothing at all depending on weight and state. That patchwork is exactly why a bill of sale matters more on a trailer than people think, especially when there is no title to fall back on.
Bill of Sale vs. Title: What Each One Actually Proves
People treat the title and the bill of sale as interchangeable, then learn the hard way that they do completely different jobs. One transfers ownership. The other records the deal. You usually need both, and knowing why protects you from the gap that opens when you only have one.
Do You Need a Bill of Sale to Register a Car at the DMV?
Whether the DMV will hand you a registration without a bill of sale depends entirely on where you live and how you got the car. In some states it is required, in others it is merely smart, and in a few situations you cannot register without one. Here is how to know before you go.
How to Fill Out a Vehicle Bill of Sale, Field by Field
A bill of sale only protects you if every field is filled out correctly. A blank line, a single wrong digit in the VIN, or a missing signature can quietly turn a protective legal document into a worthless piece of paper at the exact moment you need it.
Why Do I Need a Bill of Sale?
The title transfers ownership. The registration proves the car is legal to drive. The insurance covers accidents. So what exactly is the bill of sale for? Most private sellers either don't know the answer or think it's just a formality. It's neither. A bill of sale does specific things that no other document in a private sale does, and the situations where you'll wish you had one are more common than most sellers expect...
How to Make Your Own Bill of Sale for a Car
Making your own bill of sale for a car is entirely possible and in most states completely legal. You don't need a lawyer, a notary in most cases, or a special form from the DMV. What you do need is the right information in the right format, and a clear understanding of where the DIY approach works well and where it tends to fall short...
Is a Handwritten Bill of Sale Legit?
Someone tells you to just write it out on a piece of paper. Or you're closing a deal on the spot and you don't have anything printed. Or you found a handwritten example online and you're wondering if it holds up the same way as a typed document. The short answer is yes, a handwritten bill of sale can be legally valid. The longer answer involves several ways it can fall apart that a typed, state-specific document doesn't.
How to Create a Bill of Sale in Georgia
Creating a bill of sale in Georgia is straightforward once you know what needs to be on it and where to use it. The state doesn't require one by law for most private sales, but the Georgia Department of Revenue and county tag offices use the documented sale price to calculate the Title Ad Valorem Tax, which makes a properly completed bill of sale one of the most financially important documents in any Georgia vehicle transaction. Here's how to create one correctly...
Does a Bill of Sale Need to Be Notarized in Michigan?
If you're completing a private vehicle sale in Michigan and someone tells you the bill of sale needs to be notarized, they're wrong. Michigan does not require notarization for a vehicle bill of sale. The Michigan Secretary of State will process a title transfer without a notary stamp. That said, there's one important exception to know about, and understanding the difference between what's required and what's smart to do anyway matters before you show up to close a deal...
How a Vehicle Power of Attorney Works in Alabama
Most Alabama vehicle sales go smoothly when the title owner is present and able to sign. When they're not, that's where transactions stall. A vehicle power of attorney is the document that keeps the sale moving when the person whose name is on the title can't be there in person. Here's how it works in Alabama, when you need one, and what happens if you try to close without it...
Do You Need a Bill of Sale When Selling a Car to Family?
Selling a car to your brother, your adult kid, or your cousin feels different from selling to a stranger. You trust them. You know where they live. If something goes wrong you can sort it out over dinner. So the question of whether you need a bill of sale when selling to a family member comes up constantly, and the honest answer is: yes, probably more than you think.
Private Gun Sale Bill of Sale: What to Include
A private firearm sale bill of sale isn't complicated to complete, but the stakes for getting it wrong are higher than almost any other private sale document. A vehicle with a missing odometer disclosure creates a DMV headache. A firearm with incomplete transfer documentation can create a federal investigation headache. Here's exactly what needs to be on the document, why each field matters, and what happens when something is left out...
Does a Bill of Sale Need to Be Notarized in Arizona?
If you're buying or selling a vehicle, motorcycle, boat, or any other titled asset privately in Arizona, you need a notarized bill of sale. Not because it's good practice. Because Arizona requires it. Showing up to a private sale without knowing this means either scrambling to find a notary at the last minute or completing a document that doesn't fully protect you or satisfy Arizona's requirements...
Can You Sell a Gun Privately in North Carolina Without a Background Check?
North Carolina sits in an interesting middle ground on private firearm sales. It's a state with real and specific requirements that go beyond the federal baseline, but those requirements are more manageable than what sellers in universal background check states deal with. Understanding exactly where North Carolina stands before you complete a private transfer is worth the five minutes it takes, because the rules here are different enough from the federal defaults that assuming you know them without checking is how mistakes happen.
How to Transfer a Boat Title in Texas
Texas has more registered recreational boats than almost any other state, and the private boat market here moves fast. Lakes like Travis, Conroe, Texoma, and Lewisville keep a steady supply of buyers and sellers transacting year-round. The title transfer process in Texas is specific enough that getting it wrong costs time and money, and most of the mistakes happen because sellers treated a boat transaction the same way they'd handle a car sale. They're similar but not identical...
Can You Sell a Car on Behalf of a Business?
Businesses sell vehicles all the time. A small LLC selling a company truck it no longer needs. A sole proprietor offloading a work van. A partnership selling fleet vehicles as the business winds down. The transaction is more common than most people realize, and it works differently enough from a standard private sale that getting the paperwork wrong can create real problems at the tag office or in a post-sale dispute...
Can You Email a Signed Bill of Sale or Does It Need to Be Physical?
Someone asks you to email the signed bill of sale after the transaction. Or the buyer is out of state and wants a digital copy before the physical document arrives. Or you're wondering whether a PDF signature holds up the same way a wet signature does. These questions come up constantly in private sales and the answers are more nuanced than most people expect.
What to Do If the Buyer Refuses to Sign the Bill of Sale
You've agreed on a price, the buyer has the cash, and you pull out the bill of sale. The buyer waves it off. Says they don't need it, don't want it, or that the title is enough. Maybe they're in a hurry. Maybe they're trying to avoid a paper trail for their own reasons. Whatever the explanation, a buyer who won't sign a bill of sale is a situation worth pausing on before you hand over anything...
How to Sell a Car You've Never Registered in Your Name
Buying a car and flipping it before registering it in your name is more common than most people think. So is inheriting a vehicle, receiving one as a gift, or winning one and deciding to sell before ever putting your name on the title. The situation sounds complicated but it's actually a specific and well-understood scenario that most state DMVs have a process for. The key is knowing what that process is before you try to sell, because getting it wrong can create a chain of title problem that takes months to untangle...
What Happens If a Bill of Sale and Title Have Different Information?
You completed the sale, handed over the keys, and both parties signed everything. Two weeks later the buyer calls from the tag office saying the clerk flagged a discrepancy between the bill of sale and the title. Or worse, you find out months later during a legal dispute that the two documents tell different stories about the same transaction. Mismatched information between a bill of sale and a title is more common than most people realize, and the consequences range from a minor inconvenience to a transaction that has to be partially unwound and redone...
How to Sell a Car Privately in New York (Step by Step)
New York has more specific requirements for private vehicle sales than most states, and the DMV here enforces them. Sellers who treat the process the same way they would in a simpler state tend to find out about missing steps when the buyer calls from the DMV window. Here's the complete process from start to finish...
Most People Get This Wrong Before Signing a Bill of Sale
Private sales move fast. Buyer shows up, you agree on a price, someone pulls out a pen. The paperwork feels like a formality at that point. That's exactly when mistakes happen, and some of them are the kind you don't find out about until months later when something goes wrong and you need the document to hold up.
6 States Require a Notarized Bill of Sale. Is Yours One of Them?
Most people assume a bill of sale is just a form you fill out and sign. In most states that's true. But in six states, a vehicle bill of sale without a notary stamp isn't just incomplete, it may be rejected at the DMV counter entirely. If you're about to complete a private vehicle sale and you're not sure which category your state falls into, this is worth reading before you show up with the wrong paperwork...
Does Your State Require a Notarized Bill of Sale? Look It Up Instantly
Most people going into a private vehicle sale don't know whether their state requires notarization, how many witnesses need to sign, or whether the title has to transfer within 10 days or 30. They either assume it doesn't matter or spend 20 minutes on Google getting inconsistent answers from outdated sources. The Notarization and Title Requirements Checker on YourBillOfSale fixes that in about 10 seconds...
Florida Has a $18,000 Boat Tax Cap. Here's How to Use It
Florida is the boating capital of the country. More registered recreational vessels than any other state, year-round water access, and a private boat market that never really slows down. It also has one of the most buyer-friendly tax rules in the country for high-value vessel purchases, and most people buying and selling boats privately have no idea it exists...
Florida Doesn't Require a Bill of Sale. Here's Why You Need One Anyway.
Florida is one of the busiest states in the country for private vehicle sales. Warm weather, no state income tax, and a massive retiree population means cars, boats, motorcycles, and trailers change hands constantly. If you're buying or selling privately in Florida right now, here's what the process actually looks like and where people consistently leave money or protection on the table...
Is a Free Bill of Sale as Good as a Paid One?
It's a fair question. A bill of sale is just a form, and forms are everywhere online for free. So what exactly are you paying for when you use a generator like YourBillOfSale, and does it actually matter? The answer depends on what you need the document to do...
Georgia Vehicle Bill of Sale: What the Tag Office Actually Needs
Most people show up at the Georgia tag office with a signed title and assume that's enough. Sometimes it is. But if you want the transfer to go through without a trip back home to get something you forgot, it helps to know exactly what the clerk is looking for before you walk in...
How to Sell a Car You Won or Received as a Gift
Winning a car or receiving one as a gift sounds like a straightforward windfall until you try to sell it. The title situation on gifted and prize vehicles is different enough from a standard private sale that sellers who don't know what they're dealing with often run into problems at the tag office. Here's what you need to know before you list it...
What should You Do if the Seller Refuses to Provide a Bill of Sale?
You've agreed on a price, you're ready to hand over the money, and the seller waves off the bill of sale. Maybe they say it's not required in your state. Maybe they say the title is enough. Maybe they just don't want the paperwork hassle. Whatever the reason, a seller who won't provide a bill of sale is a situation worth pausing on before you hand over any cash...
Can You Sell a Car With Expired Registration?
Your registration expired and now you're trying to sell the car. Maybe you stopped driving it, maybe you just never got around to renewing, or maybe you're selling it precisely because you don't want to deal with it anymore. Whatever the reason, the question is whether expired registration is a dealbreaker for a private sale. In most cases it isn't, but there are things worth knowing before you list it...
The Problem With Free Bill of Sale Templates
Search for a bill of sale online and you'll find hundreds of blank templates available as free downloads. They look simple enough. A few blank lines, some basic fields, print and sign. What could go wrong? Quite a bit, as it turns out, and most of it happens after the sale when you actually need the document to hold up...
Is It Safe to Buy a Car With a Bill of Sale but No Title?
You found a car you like at a price that makes sense and the seller is offering a bill of sale but says the title is unavailable, lost, or coming soon. It's a situation that comes up more than you'd expect in private sales, and the honest answer is that...
What Makes a Bill of Sale Legally Binding?
A bill of sale is a simple document but that simplicity sometimes makes people wonder whether it actually holds up when it matters. The answer is yes, a properly completed bill of sale is a legally binding contract. Understanding what makes it binding also tells you what can make it fall apart...
How to Sell a Car to Someone in Another State
Selling a car to an out-of-state buyer is more common than it used to be. Online listings reach buyers everywhere, and plenty of people are willing to travel or arrange shipping for the right vehicle at the right price. The sale itself isn't dramatically different from a local transaction, but there are enough extra considerations that going in without a plan tends to create problems...
What Documents Should a Private Car Seller Give You?
Buying a car from a private seller puts the research burden entirely on you. Unlike a dealership, there's no legal requirement for a private seller to hand you a packet of paperwork at closing. But there are documents you should absolutely expect, and walking away without them is a mistake that can cost you later...
Does Georgia Require a Bill of Sale?
Georgia is one of the more straightforward states when it comes to private vehicle sales, but straightforward doesn't mean there's nothing to know. If you're buying or selling a car privately in Georgia, here's exactly what the process looks like and where people typically go wrong...