SellCarAdvisor is reader-supported, when you sign up through links on this post, we may receive compensation at no extra cost to you. How We Work.
The bottom line: A notarized bill of sale comes up in Louisiana, Maryland, North Dakota, Tennessee and West Virginia. Only Louisiana asks for one on every private sale; in the rest it turns on the price, the form you use, or a lienholder.
The other 45 states accept a bill of sale without a notary. The conditional states each turn on something different, so the exact wording is what matters.
Watch out for one common mix-up. Some states notarize the title instead, which is a different requirement on a different document.
Before you sign anything, compare offers from multiple buyers to be sure the price is fair.
Key Takeaways
- Who needs it: Only five states ask for a notarized bill of sale, and your row in the table below gives the current rule.
- Often conditional: Several states only require it in narrow situations, usually tied to the sale price, the form you use, or a lienholder.
- Tax is the reason: Where notarization is required, it is usually there to prove the actual sale price so the state taxes that instead of book value.
- A notary line is not a rule: Several state bill of sale forms include a notary block that you are not obliged to use.
- Different from the title: A state can require the title notarized and not the bill of sale, or the reverse, or neither.
- Both parties sign: Where it is required, the buyer and seller usually both sign in front of the notary.
Automated assistant — general info, not legal advice
Answers come from our state paperwork data and published guides. Confirm anything binding with your state DMV.
Compare Instant Offers
States That Require a Notarized Bill of Sale
These are the states where notarizing a bill of sale comes up at all. The second column gives each state’s own wording, including the conditions that trigger it.
Every state left off that list accepts a bill of sale without a notary. Expand the list below to read your own state’s wording, since many of them still require a bill of sale itself.
Expand for every other state
State Notes and Which Form to Use
These are the practical details for each state, including whether a homemade bill of sale will be accepted.
Louisiana
In Louisiana the title carries its own notarization rule, so check both before you book. One appointment can often cover the two documents.
State form: Louisiana OMV Bill of Sale of a Motor Vehicle
Louisiana notaries hold broader powers than notaries elsewhere and set their own fees, so ask the price before the appointment starts.
West Virginia
Bring a copy of each person’s driver’s license along with the notarized form, since the DMV wants both submitted together. Turning up with only the form means a second trip.
State form: Form DMV-7-TR (Bill of Sale)
Maryland
Maryland ties the whole question to tax. The state charges excise tax on the higher of your sale price or the vehicle’s book value, and a notarized form is how you prove the lower number is real.
State form: Form VR-181
Call the MVA to check the book value it will use before you decide whether the trip is worth it. If your price is close to that figure, the notary buys you nothing.
North Dakota
North Dakota is unusual in that the form you pick decides the answer, so settle on the state form or a written one before anyone signs anything.
State form: Form SFN 2888 Seller's Certificate and Vehicle Bill of Sale
Tennessee
The trigger here is a lienholder, not the price or the age of the car, which makes Tennessee easy to misread from a summary table on another site.
If money is still owed on the car, sort the lien out first. Our guide to selling a financed car covers how that works.
Nebraska
Nebraska is the state most often listed incorrectly, and the notary line printed on the state form is what makes people think a notary is needed.
Where a notarized bill of sale is called for, it is standing in for a title the state has no record of. Those applications go through a county sheriff inspection before the DMV will issue one.
State form: Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles Bill of Sale, or Department of Revenue Form 6 as an alternative
Notarizing the Title Is a Different Requirement
Some states want a notary on the certificate of title rather than on a bill of sale. Those two requirements are separate, live on separate documents, and do not overlap much.
A state can require one, the other, both, or neither, and the two rules are set independently.
Learn more: What States Require Vehicle Title to Be Notarized?
Why Some States Require Notarization
Nearly every one of these rules traces back to tax. States that charge tax on a vehicle’s book value need a way to tell a genuine bargain from a number written down to shrink the bill.
A notary confirms who signed and that they signed willingly. That turns a sheet of paper into evidence the state is willing to accept over its own valuation guide.
How to Get a Bill of Sale Notarized
- Check whether the state form is mandatory. Some states accept any bill of sale, and some will only take their own form once notarization is triggered.
- Fill it in but leave the signatures blank. The notary has to watch both of you sign, so a pre-signed form gets turned away.
- Bring photo ID for both parties. Names have to match the document, and some states also want a copy of each license submitted with the paperwork.
- Find a notary. Banks, credit unions, shipping stores, libraries, and tag services all commonly have one, and mobile notaries will come to you for a travel fee.
- Keep your own copy. The buyer files theirs with the state, and yours is the proof the sale happened at that price on that date.
Using an Online Notary
Remote online notarization does the same job over a video call. The notary checks your ID on camera, watches you sign electronically, then applies a digital seal instead of a rubber stamp.
Most states allow it. The notary has to be commissioned in a state that permits it, but they do not have to be commissioned in yours.
What the session involves
You upload the document, then verify who you are. That usually means holding your ID up to the camera and answering a few questions drawn from your credit and public records, which the platform checks against a database.
The whole call is recorded and kept, often for years. That recording is the audit trail, and it is the reason the finished document carries more weight than a scan of a signature.
You need a device with a working camera and microphone, a current government-issued photo ID, and a few uninterrupted minutes. Sessions usually take under fifteen minutes once the ID check clears.
The catch worth knowing about
A state allowing online notarization is not the same as its motor vehicle office accepting one. Those are separate decisions, and some offices still want the original page with a wet signature on it.
Ask the office that will process the paperwork before you book. One phone call is cheaper than paying for a session that gets rejected at the counter.
Online notarization also costs more than signing in person, since the fee covers the identity checks and the stored recording. Where your bank notarizes free and you can get there, that is still the cheaper route.
Do not confuse it with e-signing
Signing a document with an e-signature tool is not notarization, and neither is emailing a signed page to someone. Nothing has been witnessed in either case.
Scanning a document you already signed and sending it to a notary does not work either. The notary has to watch the signature happen, whether that is across a desk or over video.
When the Buyer Is in Another State
You do not have to be in the same room. A notarization performed in one state is recognized in the others, so each party can use a notary local to them.
A notary only vouches for the person standing in front of them. Appearing in person means appearing before the notary, not appearing alongside the other party.
So a bill of sale can carry two separate notary blocks, filled in on different days in different states. The seller signs and gets it stamped, then sends it on for the buyer to do the same.
The other route is one online session that both parties join from wherever they are.
Ask the buyer what their motor vehicle office accepts before you choose, since they are the one filing it and some offices want the original page rather than a scan. Our guide to selling out of state covers the rest.
Compare Instant Offers
Compare Instant Offers
Frequently Asked Questions
Does Nebraska require a notarized bill of sale?
Nebraska rule: not required (the state form has a notary line, but it is optional)
If a buyer or a dealer asks for one anyway, signing in front of a notary costs a few dollars and settles the argument. It is not something the state will ask you for.
Do I need a notarized bill of sale in Texas, California, or Florida?
Texas: not required
California: not required
Florida: not required
All three transfer ownership through the title. A bill of sale is still worth keeping for your own records, especially in a private sale to someone you do not know.
Does a notarized bill of sale replace the vehicle title?
No. The title is the ownership document and a bill of sale never substitutes for it.
Where the title is missing, a notarized bill of sale can sometimes support a bonded title application, but that is a route to getting a title rather than a way around needing one.
Is a handwritten bill of sale valid if it is notarized?
In most states yes, as long as it carries the vehicle details, both parties’ information, the price and the date.
Write it out before the appointment. A notary will not draft it for you, and a page that is missing the odometer reading or the date is the usual reason one gets queried later.
What happens if I skip notarization when my state requires it?
Where the rule is tied to tax, the usual result is that the state ignores your sale price and taxes the buyer on book value instead.
Where the rule is tied to the paperwork itself, the filing gets rejected and the transfer stalls until it is done properly.
Learn more: What is a Bill of Sale for a Car? (Seller Guide + Templates)
Article Update History
This article was verified against official DMV sources for all 50 states, including Montana's recent law change removing its notarization requirement.
Originally posted and shared with our readers.
Sources
"Form VR-181" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"Form SFN 2888 Seller's Certificate and Vehicle Bill of Sale" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Bill of Sale Notarization Required?
"not required (the state form has a notary line, but it is optional)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Bill of Sale Notarization Required?
"not required" Accessed Sep. 15, 2026
Bill of Sale Notarization Required?
"not required" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Bill of Sale Notarization Required?
"not required" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"Louisiana OMV Bill of Sale of a Motor Vehicle" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"Nebraska Department of Motor Vehicles Bill of Sale, or Department of Revenue Form 6 as an alternative" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
"Form DMV-7-TR (Bill of Sale)" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
