Texas: Private-Party Vehicle Title Transfer Requirements

Requirements one by one

Start with the Texas title, not a receipt

Transportation Code § 501.028 tells the seller exactly what belongs on the
assignment: sign and print the seller's name, print the transfer date, and
print the buyer's name and address. Transportation Code § 501.0721 requires delivery of the
properly assigned title when the vehicle is delivered. Section 501.071 adds
the lien rule: the transfer must certify no liens or include a release of each
lien.

Form 130-U is the separate application. Its current signature area has blocks
for seller or sellers, the applicant, and any additional applicant. The buyer's
signature must be original; TxDMV permits the seller's signature on that form
to be reproduced or faxed.

Ordinary signatures do not use a notary block

Neither the current ordinary-transfer checklist nor Form 130-U adds a notary,
witness, or agent-verification step to those seller and buyer signatures. The
form ends with ordinary signature, printed-name, and date lines. A power of
attorney, lien release, replacement-title request, or another special document
can have its own authentication rule, but it is not part of this ordinary
current-title answer.

The written sale record supplements the title

TxDMV's ordinary private-sale list calls for the signed title, signed Form
130-U with the sales price, and any supporting lien release or power of
attorney. It does not list a separate bill of sale. The agency does recommend
keeping a written record with the seller's name and address, the sale date,
vehicle information, and VIN. That record helps prove the transaction but does
not replace the title or application under §§ 501.071 and 501.145.

Mileage and title history are separate checks

Transportation Code § 501.072 makes the seller's transfer-time odometer disclosure accompany
the buyer's application, and the buyer records the reading on the application.
Texas follows the federal exemption. NHTSA's current explanation says model-year
2011 and newer vehicles remain subject for their first 20 years, while model-year
2010 and older vehicles are exempt from the extended rule.

The Texas title itself carries the last odometer reading and odometer brand when
disclosure applies. Transportation Code § 501.021(a), (c) also requires notice on the title after an
ordered manufacturer repurchase or replacement. TxDMV recommends checking the
VIN through Title Check for junk, salvage, rebuilt, flood, total-loss, and other
reported title history. Special salvage or rebuilt transfer procedure is outside
this ordinary-title page.

Seller notice and buyer filing do different jobs

The seller should submit VTR-346 online or by mail within 30 days and keep proof.
Transportation Code § 501.147(c) makes a timely complete notice the basis for presumptions that
the buyer is the owner and bears ownership-based liability. Subsection (g) gives
the filing seller a complete defense to vicarious civil or criminal liability
arising after filing. But subsection (f), and VTR-346 itself, say the notice does
not transfer title; the buyer must still apply.

Plate removal is an option, not a condition of title transfer. TxDMV says a seller
who removes plates may transfer them to the same vehicle class, retain them for a
later transfer, or deface unwanted plates to prevent misuse.

The buyer has 30 days and pays tax at filing

Section 501.145 gives the ordinary buyer 30 days from assignment to file the
title evidence with a county tax assessor-collector. The listed active-duty
military and National Guard buyers receive 60 days. Transportation Code § 501.023(a) permits the
buyer's home county, the purchase or lien county, or another county willing to
accept the application.

Bring the assigned title, current Form 130-U, government photo identification,
applicable lien release, and the insurance or inspection proof needed for
registration. Tax Code § 152.021 makes the buyer responsible for 6.25% tax. For
an ordinary private sale, § 152.0412(b)-(d-1) uses the stated price if it is at least 80%
of standard presumptive value; below that point, the taxable base becomes 80%
of SPV unless the buyer obtains a qualifying appraisal on the Comptroller's
form no later than the 20th working day after delivery.

Registration proof controls insurance and emissions

TxDMV requires liability-insurance proof when the buyer applies for both title
and registration, but permits title-only without it. A Vehicle Inspection Report
must be supplied when the state database lacks a current inspection record.
Noncommercial vehicles no longer need the ordinary safety inspection, but the
17 counties listed by TxDMV still require emissions testing before registration.
Transportation Code § 501.0276 blocks title issuance for a vehicle subject to that emissions
rule unless the required proof accompanies the application.

Do not treat the signed title as permission to drive. Transportation Code § 501.022(a)-(b) says the
owner may not operate or allow operation on a public highway until the owner has
applied for title and registration or obtained the allowed registration-purpose
title receipt.

Late and incomplete transfers have separate consequences

Under § 501.146, a private applicant who misses the § 501.145 period owes $25.
After day 60, another $25 accrues for every later 30-day period or part of one,
up to $250. Transportation Code § 501.161 separately makes it a $50-to-$200 misdemeanor to
transfer without fully completing and dating the documents, or to accept an
incomplete transfer document.

The more fundamental rule is § 501.073: a chapter-violating sale is void, and
title does not pass until the statutory requirements are satisfied. A seller's
timely VTR-346 can protect the seller, but it cannot cure the buyer's failed
title application.

What trips people up

• Treating Form VTR-346 as the transfer. It marks the record and can protect
  the seller, but the form expressly says ownership remains in the existing
  owner's name until the buyer completes the title application.
• Assuming a low handwritten price always controls tax. If the price is less
  than 80% of standard presumptive value, the tax office ordinarily uses 80% of
  SPV unless a qualifying appraisal supports a different value.
• Making plate removal mandatory. TxDMV describes removal as the seller's
  option. If plates are removed and not kept or transferred, deface them.
• Waiting until day 60 to worry about penalties. The initial $25 begins when
  the ordinary 30-day filing period is missed; the additional $25 increments
  begin after day 60.

Common questions

Does a Texas bill of sale transfer the vehicle?
No. Sections 501.071 and 501.0721 require the assigned title, and § 501.145
requires the buyer's county filing. A written sale record is useful evidence,
but it is not the title-transfer instrument.

Must the seller and buyer notarize the title or Form 130-U?
Not for this ordinary current-title transaction. The current official form uses
ordinary signature blocks without a notary or witness section.

Can I get title without insurance?
TxDMV says yes through a title-only application. Insurance proof is required
when applying for title and registration together, and lawful operation remains
a separate issue.

What if the buyer never files?
The seller should preserve the assigned-title and sale records and file VTR-346.
That notice can provide the liability protections in § 501.147, but title remains
untransferred until the buyer applies.

Statutes and sources

• Tex. Transp. Code §§ 501.021-.028 — title contents, operation boundary,
  county application, emissions-proof rejection, and assignment signatures.
  https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/TN/htm/TN.501.htm (accessed 2026-07-23)
• Tex. Transp. Code §§ 501.071-.073 — assigned title, lien release, odometer
  statement, delivery, and failed-transfer effect.
  https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/TN/htm/TN.501.htm (accessed 2026-07-23)
• Tex. Transp. Code §§ 501.145-.147 and 501.161 — buyer deadline, late fee,
  seller notification, liability effect, and incomplete-document offense.
  https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/TN/htm/TN.501.htm (accessed 2026-07-23)
• Tex. Tax Code §§ 152.021 and 152.0412 — 6.25% buyer tax and the private-sale
  standard-presumptive-value calculation.
  https://tcss.legis.texas.gov/resources/TX/htm/TX.152.htm (accessed 2026-07-23)
• TxDMV — Buying or Selling a Vehicle — ordinary seller and buyer document
  lists, written record, plates, insurance, inspections, tax, and 30-day workflow.
  https://www.txdmv.gov/motorists/buying-or-selling-a-vehicle (accessed 2026-07-23)
• TxDMV — Title Check — title-history and brand screening before purchase.
  https://www.txdmv.gov/motorists/buying-or-selling-a-vehicle/title-check-look-before-you-buy (accessed 2026-07-23)
• TxDMV Form 130-U and detailed instructions, both Rev. 05/26 — current
  application fields, signatures, identification, filing documents, tax, and fees.
  https://www.txdmv.gov/sites/default/files/form_files/Form-130-U.pdf and
  https://www.txdmv.gov/sites/default/files/form_files/VTR-130-UIF.pdf (accessed 2026-07-23)
• TxDMV Form VTR-346, Rev. 09/23 — seller's 30-day notice and its non-transfer
  warning.
  https://www.txdmv.gov/sites/default/files/form_files/VTR-346.pdf (accessed 2026-07-23)
• NHTSA — Changes to Odometer Disclosure Requirements — current federal
  20-model-year period beginning with model year 2011.
  https://www.nhtsa.gov/press-releases/consumer-alert-changes-odometer-disclosure-requirements (accessed 2026-07-23)