What an Odometer Disclosure Statement Is and When It Is Required
An odometer disclosure statement is a written record of a vehicle's mileage at the moment ownership transfers from one party to another. Federal law requires this statement on most car sales, and it exists for one plain reason, which is to fight odometer fraud. Mileage is one of the biggest factors in what a used car is worth, and rolling back an odometer to show fewer miles has been a form of consumer fraud for as long as cars have had odometers. The disclosure statement creates a signed paper trail that follows a vehicle through every sale, making tampering far easier to detect. This guide explains what the statement contains, why it is required, who is exempt, and how a major rule change in 2021 expanded which cars are covered.
What the Statement Actually Contains
An odometer disclosure statement is short, but every element on it matters. It records the exact mileage displayed on the odometer, the vehicle identification number, the make and model, the names and signatures of both the seller and the buyer, and the date of transfer. The seller certifies that the reading is accurate to the best of their knowledge. The statement also provides a way to flag a reading that cannot be trusted, through two standard checkboxes. One indicates that the actual mileage is unknown, and the other indicates that the odometer reading has exceeded its mechanical limits, meaning the odometer rolled past its maximum and started over. Marking either box is not fraud. Failing to mark a box when you know the reading is wrong is the violation.
On many vehicles the disclosure is printed directly on the title in a dedicated section. When the title has no space, when the title is being held by a lender, or when a duplicate is needed, a separate odometer disclosure form is used instead. Either way, the mileage information becomes part of the permanent record for that vehicle.
Why Federal Law Requires It
The requirement comes from the Motor Vehicle Information and Cost Savings Act, often called the Truth in Mileage Act, and the rules that carry it out live in Title 49 of the Code of Federal Regulations, Part 580. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA), the federal agency that administers these rules, has estimated that odometer fraud costs American consumers over one billion dollars every year. A buyer who pays for a car showing 60,000 miles that has actually traveled 160,000 miles is overpaying for a vehicle that is closer to the end of its service life and more likely to need expensive repairs.
Requiring a signed mileage statement at every transfer accomplishes two things. It gives the buyer certified information at the point of sale, and it creates a documented history that investigators can trace if a rollback is later suspected. Knowingly providing a false statement is a federal offense that can carry both civil penalties and criminal charges. The paper trail is the point. When one owner certifies 42,000 miles and the next owner a year later certifies 30,000 miles, the drop is obvious on paper, and that gap is exactly what allows regulators and buyers to catch tampering that would otherwise be invisible once the dashboard is reset.
The Standard Exemptions
Not every transfer requires an odometer disclosure. Under 49 CFR 580.17, a handful of vehicle types are exempt. A vehicle with a gross vehicle weight rating of more than 16,000 pounds does not require a disclosure, which covers many large trucks. Vehicles that are not self-propelled are exempt as well, so a trailer does not need one. A new vehicle transferred by the manufacturer before its first retail sale is also exempt, because there is no prior mileage history to certify. And the largest category of exemption is based on age, which is where the 2021 change comes in. Keep in mind that these are federal minimums. A state is free to require mileage information in situations where federal law does not, so an exemption at the federal level does not always mean your paperwork can skip the mileage entirely.
The 2021 Rule Change Explained
For decades, vehicles became exempt from the odometer disclosure requirement once they reached ten model years old. The logic was that older cars had lost most of their value, so the incentive to roll back the odometer was small. That logic weakened as cars grew more durable and held their value far longer. In response, NHTSA issued a final rule that extended the disclosure requirement, changing the exemption age from ten model years to twenty model years. The change took effect on January 1, 2021.
The way the extended rule applies depends on the model year of the car. A vehicle from the 2010 model year or earlier stays under the old system and became exempt after ten years. A vehicle from the 2011 model year or later is now covered by the twenty-year requirement, meaning a mileage disclosure is required on its transfers until it is twenty years old. In practical terms, a 2011 model year car that would once have been exempt in 2021 now requires an odometer disclosure on sales all the way through 2031. This closed a loophole that let sellers of relatively modern, valuable used cars skip the disclosure entirely.
What This Means for Your Sale Today
If you are buying or selling a car built in the 2011 model year or later, assume that an odometer disclosure is required until the vehicle turns twenty. Complete it accurately, sign it, and keep a copy. If you are dealing with a heavy truck, a trailer, or a car from the 2010 model year or older that has passed its exemption date, a disclosure may not be legally required, though including honest mileage information in your paperwork is still good practice.
The safest habit is to record the mileage on every sale regardless of whether an exemption might apply. A written mileage figure in your vehicle bill of sale costs you nothing and protects both parties. For the buyer it is a certified data point, and for the seller it is proof of what the car showed on the day it left your hands, which limits your exposure if a dispute arises later. Because state forms and thresholds can change, confirming the current requirement with your state motor vehicle agency before you sign is always worthwhile.
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Frequently Asked Questions
When is an odometer disclosure required on a car sale?
Under federal rules in 49 CFR Part 580, an odometer disclosure is required on most transfers of vehicles from the 2011 model year or later until the vehicle is twenty years old. Vehicles from the 2010 model year or earlier fell under the older ten-year rule. Heavy trucks over 16,000 pounds, non-self-propelled vehicles such as trailers, and brand-new vehicles before first retail sale are exempt.
What changed about odometer disclosure in 2021?
Effective January 1, 2021, the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration extended the disclosure requirement from ten model years to twenty model years. Cars from the 2011 model year and newer now require a mileage disclosure on their transfers for twenty years instead of ten. Vehicles from 2010 and earlier remained on the old ten-year schedule.
What does it mean to check the not actual mileage box?
It means the seller cannot certify that the odometer reading is the true mileage, perhaps because the odometer was replaced, repaired, or is known to be inaccurate. Marking the box is legal and honest. The federal violation is knowingly leaving it unmarked when you have reason to believe the reading is wrong, which conceals possible odometer fraud.
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.
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