The bottom line: To sell a car privately in Indiana, sign the title over to the buyer, with no notary. Fill in the odometer reading for a 2011 or newer car.
Take the plates off and move them to another car you own, or destroy them.
Indiana has no release-of-liability filing, so keep a copy of the signed title and the bill of sale as your proof of the sale. A bill of sale (BMV Form 44237) is recommended but not required.
If there is a loan, the lender signs off the lien on the title or gives you a release letter. An electronic title has to be released to you on paper before you can sell. A lost title is replaced with Form 205 for $15, online at myBMV, at a BMV branch or by mail.
- Sign the title over to the buyerOdometer reading: required for model year 2011 and newer vehicles.
- Take your plates off the carTransfer your plates to another vehicle you own, or destroy them. The Indiana BMV does not require you to return them.
- Keep your proof of the saleNo filing is required. Keep the signed title copy and a bill of sale as your proof of sale.
- Write a bill of saleForm 44237
- Emissions test
- Safety inspection
- Notary on the title
- Notarized bill of sale
- Release-of-liability form
- Replacing a lost title
- $15Takes up to 21 calendar days to process and mail; can be ordered online; Form 205Faster: A Speed Title, processed in a shorter period than the standard title for an extra fee, $25 extra for a Speed Title, on top of the standard duplicate title fee.
- Two owners on the title
- An owner who cannot be there to sign can give another owner power of attorney to sign for them with State Form 1940.
- The buyer
- Registers the car within 45 days from the date of sale$30 administrative penalty
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 Indiana
Step 1: Prepare Your Indiana Paperwork
Documents you’ll need:
- Vehicle title – in your name, with any lien released
- Valid driver’s license – for the buyer to check against the title
- Lien release – if a lender was on the title
If your title is missing:
Get a replacement first. It costs $15, takes up to 21 calendar days to process and mail, and you can apply online at myBMV.com, in person at any BMV branch, or by mail with Form 205 to BMV Central Office.
If you can’t get a duplicate title:
A private buyer needs the title, so replace a lost one before the sale, not after. The one route around that is scrapping: under Indiana Code 9-32-9-29, a licensed salvage recycler can take the car without a title if the vehicle is at least 15 model years old and is sold for scrap or parts, and the recycler files Form 55018 (Certificate of Authority – Disposal of a Vehicle) at the point of sale.
If you still owe money on the car:
In Indiana, the lienholder signs the lien release section on the title or provides a lien release letter on company letterhead. For electronic titles, the lien release is submitted electronically through the E-lien system. If the lender is no longer in business, a court order is required. Ask for that release as soon as you decide to sell; a lender can take a couple of weeks, and the buyer can’t title the car until it’s done.
If you owe more than the car brings, you pay the lender the rest before the release comes.
Step 2: Prepare Your Car
A car that looks cared for gets fewer lowball offers, so wash it, clear it out and put the service records in one folder. Run a history report on your own VIN before you list; if something is on it, you want to be the one explaining it.
Step 3: Price Your Car
Step 4: Advertise Your Car
List on Facebook Marketplace for buyers nearby, and on Cars.com or Autotrader if you want the listing seen across the line in Ohio, Illinois, Kentucky and Michigan too.
If you’d rather not run a listing at all, Peddle and Wheelzy quote older and damaged cars online, and 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
-
Quote speed 20% 5/5
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Pickup speed 20% 5/5
-
Vehicle acceptance 15% 4/5
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Process ease 15% 4/5
- Tows the car away for free in Indiana
- Pays by cashier's check at pickup
- Offer online or by phone in minutes
- Buys damaged cars and ones with mechanical problems
Step 5: Meet with Buyers Safely
Meet in daylight somewhere with cameras, a bank lot or the safe-exchange spot outside a police station, and bring someone with you. See the buyer’s license before any test drive, and ride along.
Step 6: Handle Payment and Negotiate
For a smaller sale, cash counted at your bank is simplest. For a bigger one, take a cashier’s check you watch the bank issue, or do the transfer at the buyer’s bank while you’re both standing there.
Step 7: Complete the Indiana Title Transfer
Turn the title over, find the seller section, and fill it in with blue or black ink.
The seller section takes the date of sale, the buyer’s full name and address, the price, and the mileage, then your printed name and signature.
Sign as your name is printed on the front, because a signature that doesn’t match sends the buyer back to you for a fresh one. Leave the buyer’s section to the buyer, whatever they ask.
If more than one owner is on the title, sign together if you can. Otherwise, an owner who cannot be there to sign can give another owner power of attorney to sign for them with State Form 1940.
If you make a mistake on the title, don’t reach for white-out. In Indiana, an error, erasure or alteration on the title is corrected with State Form 55582 (Affidavit for Certificate of Title Correction), signed by the seller and handed to the buyer with the title; an illegible title is not accepted.
The mileage goes on the title itself, and 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.
If your title has no space for it, use Form 43230 (used when the odometer statement is not completed on the title; trailers and vehicles over 16,000 lbs are exempt).
The buyer has 45 days from the date of sale to apply for the new title. After that the BMV adds a $30 administrative penalty.
Step 8: Handle Indiana License Plates and Registration
Plates stay with you in Indiana. Once they are off the car, transfer your plates to another vehicle you own, or destroy them. The Indiana BMV does not require you to return them.
Step 9: Cancel Insurance
Cancel the insurance once the title is signed and your plates are off the car, not before. Keep the cancellation notice with the sale papers, so the dates line up if anyone ever asks.
Indiana Sale Checklist
Before the Sale
At the Sale
After the Sale
Indiana BMV Resources
State Resources:
- Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV)
- BMV Branch Office Finder
- MyBMV Online Portal (titles, renewals, duplicate requests)
Phone Support:
- 888-692-6841 (Indiana BMV customer service, weekdays)
Indiana Fees and Costs
| What You Pay | Cost | When? |
|---|---|---|
| Duplicate title (if needed) | $15 | Before sale |
| Lien payoff (if applicable) | Loan balance | Before sale |
| Speed title, if you need the duplicate fast | $25 extra for a Speed Title, on top of the standard duplicate title fee | Before sale, optional |
| Moving your plates to another car you own | $9.50 | After sale, optional |
| Everything else | $0 | Buyer pays |
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 Indiana?
Indiana doesn't require the title assignment to be notarized; you sign it yourself and hand it over.
The bill of sale is the same. Notarizing it is not required, whichever form you use.
Is a bill of sale required to sell a car in Indiana?
No, the BMV does not ask for one. The state prints one, Form 44237, an official Indiana BMV form available at any BMV branch and online.
Make one anyway. It is the only paper with the price, the date and the buyer’s name on it that stays with you, and our free bill of sale generator fills one in a couple of minutes.
Do I need to file a release of liability after selling my car in Indiana?
No. Indiana has no release-of-liability filing at all, and no form to go with it. Handing the plate back is not a release either; your proof is the signed title copy and the bill of sale.
Do Indiana license plates transfer to the buyer?
No. Moving them to another car you own costs $9.50 at the BMV.
My buyer is in Northwest Indiana. Do they need an emissions test?
My car was inherited. What additional Indiana forms do I need?
The route without probate is for estates under $100,000 (gross probate estate, less liens and encumbrances) under Indiana Code 29-1-8-1(c).
What if I give the car away or sell it for $0 in Indiana?
A transfer with no money changing hands is a gift, and the buyer claims the sales tax exemption on ST-108E, Certificate of Gross Retail or Use Tax Exemption. Exemption 11 covers adding or removing a family member from a title. Exemption 7 covers an outright gift and is claimed separately.
Family, for the exemption, means: Spouse, child, parent, grandparent or sibling. A genuine gift is exempt separately whoever receives it. Step-relations, in-laws, aunts, uncles and cousins do not qualify.
How do I sell a junk car in Indiana?
The title work is the same; the buyer is different. Buyers in Indiana typically offer $455 for a junk car (cars 10 years and older, 211 offers, ranked 39 of 44 states), and our list of online junk car buyers covers who quotes on cars that don’t run. The Indiana junk guide has the offer figures by age and body type and the no-title route to a salvage recycler.
Article Update History
Every rule on this page checked against the Indiana BMV, with title corrections on State Form 55582 and junk-car offers added.
The page now reflects the Indiana BMV's e-title program and its bill of sale rules for private sellers.
Originally posted and shared with our readers.
Sources
"not required" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"yes" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"$15" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Bill of Sale Notarization Required?
"not required" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Emissions Testing Required to Sell?
"not required (buyer needs a passing test to register in Lake and Porter counties)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Buyer Penalty for Missing Registration Deadline
"$30 administrative penalty" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"Form 55018 (Certificate of Authority - Disposal of a Vehicle)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"lienholder signs the lien release section on the title or provides a lien release letter on company letterhead. For electronic titles, the lien release is submitted electronically through the E-lien system. If the lender is no longer in business, a court order is required." Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Separate Odometer Disclosure Form
"Form 43230 (used when the odometer statement is not completed on the title; trailers and vehicles over 16,000 lbs are exempt)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Inherited Vehicle Form Requirements
"If probated: letters testamentary or letters of administration plus the original title and Form 205. If not probated: Form 18733 plus a copy of the death certificate; at least 5 days must have elapsed since the death and no personal representative may be pending." Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Sell Without Title: Legal Authority
"Indiana Code 9-32-9-29" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Replacement Title Processing Time
"up to 21 calendar days to process and mail" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"an owner who cannot be there to sign can give another owner power of attorney to sign for them with State Form 1940" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"an error, erasure or alteration on the title is corrected with State Form 55582 (Affidavit for Certificate of Title Correction), signed by the seller and handed to the buyer with the title; an illegible title is not accepted" 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
"888-692-6841" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Bill of Sale Form Availability
"official Indiana BMV form available at any BMV branch and online" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"$9.50" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"ST-108E, Certificate of Gross Retail or Use Tax Exemption" 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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