The bottom line: Kentucky, Louisiana, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Wyoming require a notary to watch you sign the title. In those states an unnotarized title is rejected at the counter. Each words the rule differently, so the exact wording is what matters.
The other 44 states let you sign at home with no witness.
Our state rules come from each state’s own current source, because rules change and lists on other sites go stale.
If you would rather skip private sale paperwork altogether, you can compare offers from multiple buyers and sell to a dealer or online buyer instead.
Key Takeaways
- Who needs it: Only seven states require a notary on the title, and your row in the table below gives the current rule for your state.
- What it costs: State law caps the fee in most notary states, and remote online notarization costs more than signing in person. The cost table has your current figure.
- Where to go: In some notary states the office that processes the title has a notary on staff, so one trip covers both.
- Free options exist: Most banks and credit unions notarize at no charge for account holders, which beats every paid option.
- Sign in front of the notary: A signature made before the appointment cannot be notarized, and fixing it means buying a duplicate title.
- Distance is not a blocker: Two people in two states can each use their own notary, or meet in one online notary session.
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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What Is a Notarized Title?
A notarized title is one where a notary public watched you sign it and stamped the document to prove it.
The notary isn’t checking the car, the price, or the buyer. They confirm one thing: the person named on the title is the person who signed it.
That stamp is what stops someone forging your signature and moving the car into their name. It’s also why the notary has to see the pen touch the paper, rather than accepting a title you signed at home.
Where it’s required, a title without that stamp isn’t a valid transfer. The clerk hands it back at the counter and the sale stops there.
Title Notarization Requirements by State
These are the states where a notary has to be involved. The last column gives each state’s own wording, so you can see exactly who signs and when.
Every state left off that list lets you sign the title yourself. Open your state in the list to read its own wording, since a few of them still call for a notary somewhere other than the title.
Expand for every other state
What Title Notarization Costs and Where to Get It Done
Every state caps what a notary can charge, or leaves it to the notary to set a fair price. These are ceilings, so a notary can always charge less or waive the fee entirely.
Travel fees are separate and are not capped the same way. A mobile notary who drives to your home adds that cost on top, which is worth it when the car cannot be moved.
State Notes for the Notary States
These are the details that trip sellers up once they’re standing at the counter.
Kentucky
Bring photo ID with a name that matches the title exactly. A nickname or a missing middle initial is the most common reason a clerk sends someone home.
When there are multiple owners on the title, each person needs their own signature notarized. They do not have to do it at the same time or in the same place.
Louisiana
Louisiana can require a second notarization on the bill of sale, on top of the one on the title.
Bill of sale notarization: required
Budget for both stamps, and use a bill of sale that identifies the vehicle and the price. If you are handling the sale for a deceased person, you also need court documents proving you are the legal representative.
North Carolina
Two owners means two signatures to witness, and the fee attaches to each one rather than to the document.
Getting two people in front of one notary is the hardest part of this to arrange at a distance, so settle the logistics before either of you books time off.
Ohio
If one party cannot attend, a notarized power of attorney lets someone sign for them. That document carries its own notary fee.
Oklahoma
Keep your own copy of whatever you sign. It is the only record you will have that the car left your hands.
Pennsylvania
Not every notary qualifies to witness a Pennsylvania title, so an ordinary one at a shipping store may turn out to be no use. Call ahead before you drive over.
Those agents can usually complete the whole transfer at the same visit, which is worth asking about when you book.
Wyoming
Check the names printed on the front of your title and confirm who has to appear before you book. Bringing the wrong number of people means a second trip.
Release of liability: Wyoming has no release of liability filing. Keep a copy of the notarized title and signed bill of sale as your proof of sale.
Selling to a Junk Car Buyer or Scrapyard
A scrap sale can change the paperwork completely. Several states drop the title requirement when the car goes to a licensed recycler, and with no title to sign there is nothing for a notary to witness.
What replaces it varies. Some states hand you an affidavit the yard supplies at pickup, some want a state form, and in some cases nothing needs notarizing at all.
These exceptions are narrow. Most turn on the age of the car, its condition, and the buyer holding a recycler or scrap processor license.
If the car still has a title in your name, the normal rule applies and the yard cannot skip the notary for you. Online buyers such as Peddle and licensed scrapyards follow the same state rules you do, so neither one can waive the notary step for you.
Where no exception fits, the path back is a duplicate title rather than a workaround, which our guide to selling without a title walks through.
Title Notarization When the Buyer Is in Another State
The rule that applies is the one for the state that issued your title. You are signing that title’s assignment section, so its requirements travel with the document no matter where the buyer lives.
A notarization done in one state is recognized in the others. You do not need to find a notary commissioned where the buyer lives, and the buyer does not need to come to you.
When both parties have to sign and cannot meet
Two routes work here. Each of you can sign in front of your own local notary at different times, since the signatures do not have to be witnessed at the same table.
Using an online notary
Remote online notarization puts both parties in one recorded video session from separate states. Most states allow it, and the notary only needs to be commissioned in a state that permits it, not in yours.
Expect an identity check before the call starts, usually your ID held up to the camera plus questions drawn from your public records. The session is recorded and kept, and the notary applies a digital seal rather than a stamp.
None of that is the same as e-signing. Signing a title with an e-signature tool, or scanning a title you already signed and emailing it to a notary, leaves you with nothing witnessed.
Not every motor vehicle office accepts a remotely notarized title yet. Confirm with the office that will process the transfer before you book a session, because the fix afterward is a duplicate title.
Getting the title to the buyer safely
Mail the notarized title with tracking, and only after the money has cleared your account. A title in the mail is a title you no longer control.
A title and payment service like KeySavvy holds the funds and moves the paperwork if you would rather not carry that risk alone. Registration and tax questions come next, and our guide to selling out of state covers those in full.
What to Know Before You Go to the Notary
Do not sign before you get there. The notary has to watch you sign. A pre-signed title cannot be notarized, and fixing it means applying for a replacement title and waiting for it to arrive.
Bring the right ID. Government-issued photo ID is required, and your driver’s license works fine. The name on your ID has to match the name on the title exactly.
Check for a lien. If money is still owed on the car, the lender has to release its interest before the title can transfer. Confirm this before you schedule anything.
Write in blue or black ink. No white-out, no cross-outs, and no writing over a mistake, since any of those can void the title on their own.
Photograph both sides before you hand it over. That photo is your record of what you signed, what the odometer read, and when the transfer happened.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How much does it cost to get a car title notarized?
It depends on whether your state charges per signature or per notarial act, which is what changes the total when two people have to sign.
Banks and credit unions notarize free for their own account holders, so it is worth asking yours before paying anyone.
Where can I get a vehicle title notarized?
Banks, credit unions, shipping stores and AAA offices commonly have a notary on duty.
Call ahead whichever you pick, confirm they will notarize a vehicle title, and ask what identification they want to see.
What happens if I sign the title before seeing the notary?
You apply for a duplicate title and start over, and how long that takes depends on your state.
The buyer may not wait that long. That is the real cost of signing early, rather than the fee for the duplicate.
Does the notarization requirement apply when selling to a dealership?
Yes. The rule attaches to the title transfer, not to who is buying, so a dealership sale goes through the same step.
Dealers in notary states are set up for it and often have a notary on staff, so ask when you agree on the price.
Do I need a notary if my state is not on the list?
Not on the title, though you can still use one if you want. Some sellers do it for the extra record when the buyer is a stranger.
It costs the same small fee, and the title is just as valid either way.
The title was signed over to me but never put in my name. Can I still sell it?
Not directly. The assignment section has already been filled in with your name, so there is no clean space left for you to sign the car over to someone else.
Register it in your own name first and let the state issue a fresh title. In a notary state this matters even more, because the previous owner’s notarized signature only covers the transfer to you.
What if a co-owner cannot get to the notary?
Look at how the names are joined on the front of the title. “And” means both of you sign; “or” usually means either signature is enough.
Check that before anyone books an appointment, because it decides whether this is a problem at all.
Do I still need a notary if I am gifting the car to family?
Yes. The rule attaches to the title transfer itself, not to whether money changed hands, so a gift between family members goes through the same notary step.
Fill in the price the way your state directs for gifts rather than leaving it blank. A blank price field is a common reason paperwork gets sent back.
How do I sign the title if I am overseas or deployed?
A US embassy or consulate can notarize for citizens abroad, and military legal offices have notaries for service members and their families.
Remote online notarization is the other option, though you should confirm your state accepts it before booking, since availability can depend on where you are signing from.
Article Update History
Each state's title notary rule now follows its current DMV sources.
Originally posted and shared with our readers.
Sources
Bill of Sale Notarization Required?
"required" Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
Electronic Title Handling Note
"All titles issued on or after July 1, 2025 are electronic, and an existing paper title stays valid until its next transaction. To sell a car with an electronic title, you print Form 718, Bill of Sale of an Electronic Title, fill it in and have it notarized, and it takes the place of the paper title." Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
How to File Release of Liability
"Wyoming has no release of liability filing. Keep a copy of the notarized title and signed bill of sale as your proof of sale." Accessed Sep. 10, 2026
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