How long is a bill of sale good for?

A bill of sale does not expire. It is a record that a sale happened on a certain date, and it stays valid as evidence of that sale indefinitely. What runs out are the deadlines tied to that date, such as the buyer's window to title and register the vehicle.

Can I still register a car with an old bill of sale?

Usually yes, if you also have the signed title or your state accepts a bill of sale for that type of vehicle. Expect late fees or penalties for missing the title transfer deadline, and the motor vehicle office may ask for more proof if the sale was years ago.

How long should I keep a bill of sale after selling a car?

At least as long as a buyer could bring a claim over the sale, which depends on your state's statute of limitations for contracts, often several years. Keeping it for the life of any tax question about the sale is also sensible. A scan is easy insurance.

Does a bill of sale expire? How long it is good for and how long to keep it

A buyer finds a signed bill of sale in a drawer from a car they bought two years ago and never titled. A seller wonders whether they can throw theirs away. Both are asking whether a bill of sale runs out. It doesn't, but the clocks that start on the date it records do.

What the date on a bill of sale does

A bill of sale is a record: these two people agreed to this price for this vehicle on this date. That record doesn't lose force with time. A ten-year-old bill of sale proves a ten-year-old sale just as well as it did the day it was signed. What it starts is a set of clocks, and those are what people are really asking about.

The buyer's clock: titling and registering

Most states give the buyer a fixed number of days after the sale to transfer the title and register the vehicle. Across the 46 states in our data that set a deadline, it runs from 5 days to 180 days, and 30 days is the middle of the range. Miss it and the usual result is a late fee or penalty, sometimes growing with time. The sale itself stays valid. See how to transfer a car title and registering with a bill of sale.

A buyer who waited years should bring everything: the signed title, the bill of sale, ID, insurance, and any correspondence with the seller. The older the sale, the more the clerk may want to see, and the more likely sales tax and penalties have built up.

Create a Vehicle Bill of Sale ($5) Statute of Limitations Lookup

The seller's clock: liability and claims

For the seller, the date on the bill of sale marks when the car stopped being their responsibility for tickets, tolls, and accidents. Pair it with the release of liability or notice of sale your state offers. See the release of liability.

It also starts the window for any claim over the sale itself, such as a buyer saying a defect was hidden. That window is set by your state's statute of limitations for contract claims, which varies widely. Our statute of limitations lookup shows it by state.

How long to keep it

Sellers: at least through your state's contract limitations period, and through any tax question about the sale.
Buyers: for as long as you own the vehicle, and with the title records when you sell it.
Taxes: the IRS says to keep records relating to property until the period of limitations expires for the year you dispose of it.

Keep a scan as well as the paper. The bill of sale is worth the most in exactly the moment the original has gone missing. See what to include in a bill of sale.

Create Your Vehicle Bill of Sale ($5) →