The bottom line: To sell your car privately in Massachusetts, sign the title over to the buyer in blue or black ink, exactly as your name is printed on it, and fill in the sale price. No notary or inspection is needed before the sale, and you need a bill of sale only if your title has no space for the price.
Write carefully, because the RMV rejects a title with erasures, white-out or other changes. If a lender still holds the title, pay off the loan, and the lender sends you a lien release letter. If the title is lost, order a duplicate on myRMV with Form TTL 117 for $25.
Your plates stay with you. Move them to another car you own within 7 days, or cut them in half and cancel the registration online on myRMV or by mail with Form REG100. Until you cancel, the registration keeps drawing a yearly excise tax bill.
The buyer registers the car within 10 days from the date of sale and has it inspected within 7 days of registering.
- Sign the title over to the buyerPassenger vehicles model year 1980 or older bought before November 26, 1990 are exempt. Odometer reading: required for model year 2011 and newer vehicles.
- Take your plates off the carTransfer your plates to another vehicle you own (within a 7-day grace period), or cancel your registration online and recycle or destroy the plates by cutting them in half
- File Form REG100 (Affidavit for Cancellation of Registration)Once the car is no longer yours. File online through the myRMV portal (single-owner vehicles only), or by mail with the Affidavit for Cancellation of Registration, signed by both owners when there are two. It helps protect you from liability for the car after the sale.
- Cancel your insuranceOnly after you cancel the registration with the RMV (online or by affidavit) and give your insurer a copy of the Registration Cancellation Receipt; a registration revoked over insurance carries a reinstatement fee.
- Write a bill of saleNot required when the title's price space is filled in; required only when the title has no price space. It is your proof of the sale.
- Emissions test
- Safety inspection
- Notary on the title
- Notarized bill of sale
- Replacing a lost title
- $25Takes 7 to 10 business days online, 20 to 22 business days by mail; can be ordered online; Form TTL 117
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 Massachusetts
Step 1: Prepare Your Massachusetts Paperwork
Documents you’ll need:
- Vehicle title – paper, in your name, no open lien
- Driver’s license – the buyer will want to see who’s signing
- Lien release – only if the title still shows a lender
If your title is missing:
Order the replacement before you list the car. You apply online through the myRMV portal, or by mail to Title Division at P.O. Box 55885, Boston, MA 02205-5885, with $25; the mail-in form is Form TTL 117. Allow 7 to 10 business days online, 20 to 22 business days by mail, so start early.
If you can’t get a duplicate title:
A private buyer can’t register the car without one. Massachusetts allows two exceptions: licensed junk car buyers can accept vehicles with alternative ownership documents instead of a title when the vehicle is going to scrap; passenger vehicles model year 1980 or older purchased before November 26, 1990 are also exempt from titling.
If you still owe money on the car:
The lender’s part in Massachusetts: the lender holds the title until the loan is paid off, then provides a lien release letter on official letterhead specifying the year, make, VIN, and all owner names; faxes and photocopies are not accepted. Get the payoff figure the day you decide to sell, because the buyer can’t title the car while a lien still shows.
If you owe more than the car brings, you pay the lender the rest before the release comes.
Step 2: Prepare Your Car
Wash it inside and out, empty the glove box and the trunk, and put every service receipt in one folder. Run your own VIN through a history report before the first viewing, so nothing on it surprises you.
Step 3: Price Your Car
Step 4: Advertise Your Car
List it on Facebook Marketplace for a buyer who can come and see it, and on Cars.com or Autotrader if you’d sell to someone driving in from New Hampshire, Rhode Island, Connecticut, Vermont or New York. Lead the ad with the model year, the mileage and the month on the inspection sticker.
If you’d rather skip the listing, Peddle and Wheelzy quote on a car that’s old or damaged, 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
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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 pickup from any Massachusetts address
- Usually a cashier's check at pickup, sometimes cash
- Offer online or by phone without anyone seeing the car
- No title transfer or removal fees
Step 5: Meet with Buyers Safely
Meet in daylight where other people are around: a bank lot or the exchange spot some police departments mark out. Look at the buyer’s driver’s license before any test drive, and ride along.
Step 6: Handle Payment and Negotiate
Small sale, cash: meet at your bank and let the teller count it. Bigger sale, meet at the buyer’s bank and watch the cashier’s check get printed, or wait for the transfer to show in your account before the title changes hands.
Step 7: Complete the Massachusetts Title Transfer
The assignment is on the back of the Massachusetts title. Use blue or black ink and print clearly; the RMV reads every field.
Enter the buyer’s name and address, the date, the mileage, and the price in its own space.
If you make a mistake on the title, follow the RMV’s rule: any erasures, white-outs, or alterations on the proof of ownership or application will not be accepted by the RMV.
The RMV’s rule on signatures is that both buyer(s) and seller(s) are required to sign and hand print their name and date the transfer document.
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.
Massachusetts has no separate form for it; the reading goes on the title itself, or on the registration for a car old enough to be exempt.
The buyer then has 10 days from the date of sale to put it in their own name. Filing late costs them 1% of the sales tax amount per month for late filing, plus 0.5% per month for late payment, each capped at 25% of the tax owed, plus interest from the due date.
Photograph both sides of the title before it leaves your hands.
Step 8: Handle Massachusetts License Plates and Registration
Plates stay with you in Massachusetts, so unscrew them before the car leaves. From there you transfer your plates to another vehicle you own (within a 7-day grace period), or cancel your registration online and recycle or destroy the plates by cutting them in half.
Moving the plate to your next car costs $25 plus title fee and applicable taxes. New plates come with the buyer’s registration.
Step 9: Submit the Release of Liability
Massachusetts has no separate release-of-liability filing; canceling the registration does that job. File online through the myRMV portal (single-owner vehicles only), or by mail with the Affidavit for Cancellation of Registration, signed by both owners when there are two.
Do it once the car is no longer yours; no deadline is published.
Leave it and the bills keep coming: an excise tax bill, generated annually for every active registration, until the registration is cancelled.
Have the plate number and your license number ready; the online form asks for both. Save the cancellation receipt when it appears.
Step 10: Cancel Insurance
Keep the policy until the registration is canceled, then call the insurer with the cancellation receipt in hand.
Massachusetts Sale Checklist
Before the Sale
At the Sale
After the Sale
Massachusetts RMV Resources
State Resources:
- Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV)
- Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, Vehicle Title and Registration
- All 50 state DMV websites
Phone Support:
Massachusetts Fees and Costs
| What You Pay | Cost | When? |
|---|---|---|
| Duplicate title (if needed) | $25 | Before sale |
| Lien payoff (if applicable) | Loan balance | Before sale |
| Plate transfer (if applicable) | $25 plus title fee and applicable taxes | At sale |
| Registration cancellation | $0 | After sale |
| Everything else | $0 | Buyer pays the title fee, registration and sales tax |
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 Massachusetts?
When is a bill of sale required in Massachusetts?
In the RMV’s words, if the previous title does not have a space for a sales price, a bill of sale showing the sales price must be submitted; for a vehicle exempt from titling by age, the buyer registers with the previous owner's registration and bill of sale. The state publishes no form of its own, and notarizing one is not required.
Write one anyway and both of you sign it; it’s the one paper that shows the date and the price if a bill or a ticket turns up later. The free bill of sale generator on this site fills the blanks in a minute.
My car was inherited. What additional Massachusetts forms do I need?
A surviving spouse can submit the Affidavit of Surviving Spouse with the assigned title, certified death certificate, and Application for Registration and Title at any RMV Service Center. Other heirs need authority through voluntary administration (Probate and Family Court) for small estates, or formal probate appointment, before transferring the title. The forms are Affidavit of Surviving Spouse (for surviving spouse), Voluntary Administration Statement Form MPC 170 (for small estates), or Letters Testamentary or Letters of Administration (for probated estates). The small estate limit is $25,000 in personal property excluding one motor vehicle (small estate threshold for voluntary administration under MGL Chapter 190B Section 3-1201).
What if I make a mistake on the Massachusetts title?
Don’t write over it or sign a second time beside it. Ask the RMV how it wants the assignment redone before you hand anything to the buyer.
Do Massachusetts license plates transfer to the buyer?
No, the plates are yours and the buyer gets their own. Taking a plate off is not what ends your liability either, because in Massachusetts the registration is what has to be canceled.
Do I need to file a release of liability after selling my car in Massachusetts?
Yes, though in Massachusetts it is a registration cancellation rather than a notice of sale. File online is the quickest route, and Form REG100 (Affidavit for Cancellation of Registration) is the paper one for two owners or for filing by mail.
Does the car need to pass inspection before I sell it in Massachusetts?
No. A safety inspection before the sale is not required (buyer needs an inspection within the state deadline after registration), and no, the buyer arranges the safety and emissions inspection within 7 days of registration.
Can I give my car to a family member or sell it for $1 in Massachusetts?
The form depends on who is receiving it: MVU-26 for a transfer within the family list. MVU-24 for a gift to anyone else, which carries a $25 gift transfer fee. The person giving the vehicle completes the sales tax exemption form, not the recipient.
The family list for the exemption is short. Father, mother, brother, sister, husband, wife, son or daughter. Grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles do not qualify.
A one-dollar sale is still a sale: the back of the title is filled in the same way, with the dollar as the price.
Can I sell my car in Massachusetts without a title?
Only to scrap, or if the car is old enough to be exempt from titling. The paperwork is Form TTL 108 (Junking or Scrapping a Motor Vehicle, filed by the licensed buyer); the seller provides registration plus a bill of sale plus a photo ID.
How do I sell a junk car in Massachusetts?
The RMV side is the same title assignment; the difference is the buyer, a yard or an online service that tows it. Buyers in Massachusetts typically offer $573 for a junk car (cars 10 years and older, 312 offers, ranked 13 of 44 states). Our list of online junk car buyers covers who will quote on a car that won’t start.
Article Update History
Every rule on this page checked against the Massachusetts RMV, with title corrections, who signs the transfer and junk-car offers added.
Every legal requirement checked against the Massachusetts RMV's rules for private sales.
Originally posted and shared with our readers.
Sources
"Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles (RMV)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"with you" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"yes (passenger vehicles model year 1980 or older bought before November 26, 1990 are exempt)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"not required" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"$25" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Buyer Registration Deadline After Sale
"10 days from the date of sale" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Emissions Testing Required to Sell?
"not required (the buyer has the car inspected within 7 days of registering it)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Duplicate Title Application Form
"Form TTL 117" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Conditions to Sell Without Title
"licensed junk car buyers can accept vehicles with alternative ownership documents instead of a title when the vehicle is going to scrap; passenger vehicles model year 1980 or older purchased before November 26, 1990 are also exempt from titling" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Buyer Penalty for Missing Registration Deadline
"1% of the sales tax amount per month for late filing, plus 0.5% per month for late payment, each capped at 25% of the tax owed, plus interest from the due date" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"$25 plus title fee and applicable taxes" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"Vehicles with onboard diagnostic systems less than 15 years old must pass an annual emissions test, in addition to the mandatory safety inspection. Vehicles model year 1983 or older are exempt from emissions testing." Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Inherited Vehicle Form Requirements
"A surviving spouse can submit the Affidavit of Surviving Spouse with the assigned title, certified death certificate, and Application for Registration and Title at any RMV Service Center. Other heirs need authority through voluntary administration (Probate and Family Court) for small estates, or formal probate appointment, before transferring the title." Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Inherited Vehicle Estate Value Threshold
"$25,000 in personal property excluding one motor vehicle (small estate threshold for voluntary administration under MGL Chapter 190B Section 3-1201)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"Form TTL 108 (Junking or Scrapping a Motor Vehicle, filed by the licensed buyer); the seller provides registration plus a bill of sale plus a photo ID" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Replacement Title Processing Time
"7 to 10 business days online, 20 to 22 business days by mail" 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
"Massachusetts Registry of Motor Vehicles, Vehicle Title and Registration" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Release of Liability Form Name
"Form REG100 (Affidavit for Cancellation of Registration)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"MVU-26 for a transfer within the family list. MVU-24 for a gift to anyone else, which carries a $25 gift transfer fee" 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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