The bottom line: To sell a car privately in Georgia, print and sign your name under “seller” on the title in blue or black ink. If two people own the car, both do, and no notary is needed.
Add the odometer reading if the car is a 2011 model or newer, on the title or on a Form T-7 bill of sale, which is recommended. If you and the buyer both live in the 13 metro Atlanta testing counties, you provide a passing emissions test. There is no safety inspection.
Take your plates off: you can keep them, move them to your next car, or surrender them. Then cancel the registration on DRIVES e-Services or with Form MV-18J at your county Tag Office. Only after that cancel the insurance, or you risk insurance-lapse fines.
If you have lost the title, a replacement costs $8 at your county Tag Office. If a lender still holds the title, it is mailed to you once the lien is released, and you sign it over then. A car from model year 1985 or earlier needs no title at all.
- Get an emissions testIn the 13 metro Atlanta counties
- Sign the title over to the buyerModel year 1985 and older exempt. Odometer reading: required for model year 2011 and newer vehicles.
- Take your plates off the carKeep them, transfer them to your next vehicle, or surrender them to the DOR for cancellation
- File Form MV-18J (Registration Cancellation)Cancel your registration online via DRIVES e-Services, or by mailing or delivering Form MV-18J to the County Tag Office in the county where you live. It helps protect you from liability for the car after the sale.
- Cancel your insuranceOnly after you cancel the registration (DRIVES e-Services or Form MV-18J at the County Tag Office); Georgia fines a lapse in coverage.
- Write a bill of saleForm T-7
- Safety inspection
- Notary on the title
- Notarized bill of sale
- Replacing a lost title
- $8Takes 7 to 10 business days; can be ordered online; Form MV-1Faster: In-person at the Atlanta MVD office only, $10 special handling fee.
- Two owners on the title
- If jointly owned, each seller must print and sign.
- The buyer
- Registers the car within 7 days from the date of sale$10 title penalty plus 10% of the TAVT, both after 30 days, and 1% more each month
Automated assistant: general info, not legal advice
Answers come from our state paperwork data and published guides. Confirm anything binding with your state DMV.
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Step-by-Step Process for Georgia
Step 1: Prepare Your Georgia Paperwork
Documents you’ll need:
- Vehicle title – the paper title in your name; required: yes (model year 1985 and older exempt)
- Driver’s license – the buyer’s name goes on the title as it reads on theirs, so ask to see it
- Lien release – only if a lender is still on the title record
If your title is missing:
Apply for the duplicate title before you advertise; the DOR says a previous owner who has lost the title applies for the replacement, not the buyer. The form is Form MV-1, the fee is $8, and you apply at the county Tag Office.
The wait is 7 to 10 business days, and you can apply online: yes (eligible titles, via MyMVD).
There is a faster route: yes, in-person at the Atlanta MVD office only, for a $10 special handling fee.
If you have no title:
You can’t sell to a private buyer unless the car is old enough to need no title at all; an exempt car changes hands on Form T-7 and the old registration.
A newer car with no title has one buyer left, a licensed scrap or parts dealer. The condition: vehicle must be 12 model years old or older and worth $850 or less, sold to a licensed scrap or parts dealer.
If you still owe money on the car:
Georgia keeps most liens on file electronically, so there may be no paper title in your hands at all until the loan is gone. As the DOR puts it, ELT is for lienholders only; while a lien is on file no paper title is printed, and the seller signs the paper title once it is released.
With a loan on the car, the lender releases the lien electronically, or signs the release section on a paper title, or gives you Form T-4 when the title isn't available; the released title is then mailed to you
Ask for the payoff figure before the ad goes up. If you owe more than the car brings, you pay the lender the rest before the release comes.
Copy the title once it is signed: georgia.gov tells you to keep a copy of the transfer, the bill of sale included, and a photo of both sides does the job.
Step 2: Prepare Your Car
Wash it, clear out the console and the trunk, and put the service receipts in one folder with the newest on top. Georgia summers are hard on batteries and air conditioning, so have both checked before the first viewing. Pull a history report on your own VIN so nothing on it surprises you in front of a buyer.
Step 3: Price Your Car
Get the KBB and Edmunds numbers, then read a week of private listings for your year and trim near you. Prices for the same car can differ a good deal between the metro counties and the rest of the state, so compare like with like. Decide your lowest figure before you write the ad, and ask a little above it.
Step 4: Advertise Your Car
Facebook Marketplace finds the buyer in your own county. Cars.com and Autotrader reach the one prepared to drive in from Florida, Alabama, Tennessee, North Carolina or South Carolina. Put the year, the trim and the mileage in the first line, and say the title is paper and in your name.
If you’d rather not deal with callers, Peddle and Wheelzy quote on an older car or one with damage; Carvana is the one to try for a car under 10 years old in good condition.
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Offer amount 35% 5/5
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Process ease 20% 5/5
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Offer validity 15% 4/5
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Pickup / drop-off 15% 4/5
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Payment speed 15% 4/5
- Get a real offer online in 2 minutes
- Suits a car under 10 years old in good condition
- No haggling: its best offer comes upfront
- Pays off your loan when it buys the car
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Offer amount 30% 5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 4/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 5/5
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Process ease 15% 5/5
- Buys any car in any condition, running or not
- Free towing, with no fees taken off the offer
- You can cancel before pickup at no cost
- Pays by check on the spot at pickup
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Offer amount 30% 5/5
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Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 5/5
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Vehicle acceptance 15% 4/5
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Process ease 15% 4/5
- Free removal from any address in Georgia
- Pays by cashier's check as a rule, cash where the area allows
- Guaranteed offer by phone or online, no viewing needed
- No sale, title-transfer or removal fees
Step 5: Meet with Buyers Safely
Choose daylight and a place with people around, a bank’s lot or the marked exchange spot outside a police station. Photograph the buyer’s license before any test drive, then go along for the drive. Leave the title at home until the money is in.
Step 6: Handle Payment and Negotiate
Cash works for a modest price if you count it at your own bank with the buyer there. For a bigger sum, meet at the buyer’s bank and watch the cashier’s check drawn, or wait together until a transfer shows in your account. For extra protection on a private sale, KeySavvy handles the payment and the title transfer for both sides.
Step 7: Complete the Georgia Title Transfer
Georgia puts the assignment on the back of the title. The DOR’s instruction: Use blue or black ink, and print and sign your name under seller. No notary is required. Write the buyer’s full legal name as it reads on their Georgia license or ID card, their current address, the date of sale, and the mileage.
Fill the buyer’s lines before you sign; the DOR says not to hand over a title with the buyer’s name left blank.
If you make a mistake on the title, don’t reach for correction fluid. The DOR’s rule: lightly line through the wrong entry so it can still be read, write the correct information above it, and complete Form T-11 Affidavit of Correction; correction fluid, tape, erasures or blocking out require a new title.
Odometer disclosure is required for model year 2011 and newer vehicles, with model year 2010 and older, trailers, and vehicles rated over 16,000 lbs exempt.
Georgia has no separate form for it; the reading goes on the title, or on the bill of sale.
The buyer takes it to the county Tag Office, to title and register the car and pay the TAVT.
Georgia gives the buyer 7 days from the date of sale. Late titling costs them a $10 title penalty plus 10% of the TAVT, both after 30 days, and 1% more each month.
Step 8: Handle Georgia License Plates and Registration
A Georgia tag belongs to the person, so the plates stay with you. Take them off before the car leaves, then keep them, transfer them to your next vehicle, or surrender them to the DOR for cancellation.
Taking the tag off is not what releases you; you cancel the registration as a separate step.
The buyer gets a tag of their own at their county tag office when they register.
Step 9: Submit the Release of Liability
Georgia has no release-of-liability form. The DOR asks you to transfer ownership and cancel the registration. The cancellation takes a few minutes online with the plate number or the VIN.
The quickest route is DRIVES e-Services: File online.
On timing, before you cancel the insurance; no deadline is published. If you cancel the insurance first, you risk insurance-lapse fines under Georgia law if the insurance is cancelled while the registration is still open.
Keep the confirmation with your copy of the signed title.
Step 10: Cancel Insurance
The DOR’s order is fixed: registration cancelled first, insurance second. Once the DRIVES confirmation is in hand, call the insurer, and file the cancellation letter with the rest of the sale papers.
Georgia Sale Checklist
Before the Sale
At the Sale
After the Sale
Georgia DMV Resources
State Resources:
- Georgia Department of Revenue, Motor Vehicle Division (MVD)
- Georgia.gov, Sell a Motor Vehicle
- County Tag Offices
Phone Support:
- 855-406-5221 (Motor Vehicle Division)
You can also find all 50 state DMV websites in our state DMV directory.
Georgia Fees and Costs
| What You Pay | Cost | When? |
|---|---|---|
| Duplicate title (if the paper title is lost) | $8 | Before sale |
| Expedited title, in person at the Atlanta MVD office (optional) | $10 special handling fee | Before sale |
| Lien payoff (if applicable) | Loan balance | Before sale |
| Emissions test (if required) | $25 maximum per test | Before sale, if you and the buyer both live in a testing county |
| Everything else | $0 | Buyer pays the title fee and the TAVT |
Compare instant offers before you accept one
Compare instant offers before you accept one
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need to get the title notarized when I sign it over in Georgia?
No. The buyer prints and signs under buyer in the same way, with no notary either.
When is a bill of sale required in Georgia?
The DOR treats it as proof of sale rather than a requirement, and notarizing one is not required.
For a car too old to carry a title, it stands in for one. It doesn’t set the buyer’s tax; that comes from the state’s value table. Fill one in with our free bill of sale generator.
Can you sell a car without a title in Georgia?
To a private buyer, only when the car is old enough not to need one. Otherwise the buyer is a licensed scrap or parts dealer, under OCGA § 40-3-36, and the paperwork is Form MV-1SP.
My car was inherited. What additional Georgia forms do I need?
The forms are Form T-20 (Affidavit of Inheritance) or Letters of Testamentary/Administration if probated. On the estate’s value, no dollar threshold is published; Form T-20 is used when there are no Letters of Testamentary.
Inheritor must title the vehicle in their name first before selling or transferring ownership.
Both my spouse and I are on the Georgia title. Do we both need to sign?
Yes. The DOR’s instruction: if jointly owned, each seller must print and sign.
The buyer is from out of state. Does Georgia require anything special?
Nothing extra from you. The assignment is filled in the same way, the tag comes off and stays with you, and you cancel the registration as for any sale. Titling then happens in the buyer’s state, on that state’s terms; the Georgia deadline to title is for Georgia buyers.
Do Georgia license plates transfer to the buyer?
The tag comes off and stays with you, and the buyer gets their own at the tag office. On moving it to your next car, the plate is moved to your next vehicle at your County Tag Office; no separate transfer fee is published.
Does Georgia require emissions testing when selling a car?
Only in the metro Atlanta testing counties, and only when the buyer registers there. Required if the buyer registers the vehicle in Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding, or Rockdale county; the three newest model years are exempt (2024 and newer for 2026 registrations)
This is the one test that can fall to the seller: yes, when both parties are in the 13-county testing area.
Cost: $25 maximum per test
Valid for: 1 year
Where: any Georgia's Clean Air Force certified station (locator on cleanairforce.com)
Do you need an inspection to sell a car in Georgia?
Georgia has no safety inspection at all, either to sell a car or to register one.
The one test Georgia has is the emissions test, and it depends on the buyer’s county, not on the sale.
Do I have to report the sale of my car to the Georgia Department of Revenue?
There’s no report of sale in Georgia. The DOR learns the car has gone when you cancel the registration, and the same cancellation covers a trade-in: the form’s box reads sold or traded to a dealer.
What is TAVT and how does it affect my sale in Georgia?
TAVT is the one-time title tax the buyer pays at their county tag office when they title the car. For a used car it’s worked out from the state’s value table, so the price on your bill of sale doesn’t raise or lower it. You pay nothing and file nothing with the DOR.
Can I sell or gift the car to a family member in Georgia?
How do I sell a junk car in Georgia?
The assignment on the title is filled in the same way; the buyer is a yard or an online service that sends a tow truck. Buyers in Georgia typically offer $525 for a junk car (cars 10 years and older, 441 offers, ranked 18 of 44 states). For a car that won’t start, our list of online junk car buyers says which services still quote.
Article Update History
Every rule on this page checked against the Georgia Department of Revenue's Motor Vehicle Division, with co-owner signing, title corrections and junk-car offers added.
Forms, fees and deadlines checked against the Georgia Department of Revenue's motor vehicle division.
Originally posted and shared with our readers.
Sources
"with you" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"not required" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Release of Liability Form Name
"Form MV-18J (Registration Cancellation)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"yes (model year 1985 and older exempt)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"$8" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Replacement Title Processing Time
"7 to 10 business days" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Title Replacement Available Online?
"yes (eligible titles, via MyMVD)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Duplicate Title Application Form
"Form MV-1" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Sell Without Title: Legal Authority
"OCGA § 40-3-36" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"Form MV-1SP" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Buyer Penalty for Missing Registration Deadline
"$10 title penalty plus 10% of the TAVT, both after 30 days, and 1% more each month" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Inherited Vehicle Title Transfer Form
"Form T-20 (Affidavit of Inheritance) or Letters of Testamentary/Administration if probated" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"MV-16, Affidavit to Certify Immediate Family Relationship" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Emissions Testing Required to Sell?
"yes, in the 13 metro Atlanta counties" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"$25 maximum per test" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"recommended" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Release of Liability Filing Deadline
"before you cancel the insurance; no deadline is published" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Conditions to Sell Without Title
"vehicle must be 12 model years old or older and worth $850 or less, sold to a licensed scrap or parts dealer" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"the lender releases the lien electronically, or signs the release section on a paper title, or gives you Form T-4 when the title isn't available; the released title is then mailed to you" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Electronic Title Handling Note
"ELT is for lienholders only; while a lien is on file no paper title is printed, and the seller signs the paper title once it is released" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Title Notarization Explanation
"Use blue or black ink, and print and sign your name under seller. No notary is required." Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"lightly line through the wrong entry so it can still be read, write the correct information above it, and complete Form T-11 Affidavit of Correction; correction fluid, tape, erasures or blocking out require a new title" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"required for model year 2011 and newer vehicles, with model year 2010 and older, trailers, and vehicles rated over 16,000 lbs exempt" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Release of Liability Online Filing Portal
"File online" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"855-406-5221" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Where to Get Emissions Testing
"any Georgia's Clean Air Force certified station (locator on cleanairforce.com)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Junk Car Value Statistics, Sell Car Advisor
"On this page: 1 figure from 17,628 instant cash offers" Accessed Oct. 19, 2026
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