Indiana: Private-Party Vehicle Title Transfer Requirements
The short answer
The seller completes every seller and buyer blank on the Indiana title—including the buyer's name, address, and sale price—endorses it with warranty of title and all liens, delivers it at the sale, and removes the plate; a private sale requires a paper title even if the seller currently has an electronic one. The buyer signs the title application under oath or affirmation and applies for title and registration within 45 days, paying 7% tax plus title and registration charges. The ordinary title assignment is not notarized, a bill of sale cannot replace the title, and an in-state title transfer needs no VIN inspection.
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This is the general rule in Indiana. Ezel applies current Indiana law to your specific facts and answers with citations to the statutes.
| Governing law, agency, and scope | Indiana Code articles 9-17 (title) and 9-18.1 (registration), with vehicle use tax under IC 6-2.5; administered by the Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles (BMV). Ordinary same-state private sale of a currently Indiana-titled used passenger vehicle. Since July 1, 2025 titles may be electronic, but BMV requires a paper title when selling to a nondealer. |
|---|---|
| Title assignment, owner signatures, and lien release | The transferring owner—or an agent holding the owner's power of attorney—endorses the title with an assignment and warranty of title, states all liens, completes every buyer-information blank including name, address, and price, and delivers the title at the sale or delivery after agreed initial payment (IC 9-17-3-0.6, -3.2, -3.4). Each titled owner whose interest is conveyed must execute the seller information; the buyer completes the purchaser section and signs the application. Before sale all lienholders must release their interests: sign the title's release, issue a signed letter stating owner, release date, year, make, and VIN, or release an electronic lien electronically. |
| Notarization, witness, or agent verification | No notary, witness, or BMV-agent acknowledgment is required for the ordinary Indiana title assignment. The buyer's Application for Certificate of Title for a Vehicle (State Form 205) is signed beneath an oath/affirmation and perjury warning, but the statute requires the applicant's signature rather than notarization (IC 9-17-2-3). BMV likewise says even its limited-use Bill of Sale (State Form 44237) need not be notarized. |
| Bill of sale requirement and contents | A bill of sale is not required and cannot transfer an ordinary vehicle that must be titled; the assigned Indiana title controls. BMV allows a bill of sale only in limited no-title situations, or as supporting proof of a missing sale date or price, and it cannot override information already written on the title. When accepted, it identifies the purchaser, year/make/model, VIN when primary proof, seller signature and address; it supplements rather than replaces the assigned title and BMV application. |
| Odometer, damage, and title-brand disclosures | The title application must contain the odometer reading as of sale or transfer (IC 9-17-2-6); an ordinary passenger vehicle is not within the listed exemptions, which include vehicles registered over 16,000 pounds. Use Odometer Disclosure Statement State Form 43230 only if the disclosure is not completed on the title. Failure to provide the reading or knowingly giving an erroneous reading is a Class B infraction. The ordinary checklist has no separate damage form; existing salvage, rebuilt, odometer, or manufacturer-buyback brands remain material, with special salvage/rebuilt procedures outside this cell. |
| Seller notice, plate handling, and liability | The seller removes the plate and registration when ownership transfers; the vehicle's registration expires (IC 9-18.1-4-6(a)). The seller may, but is not required to, deliver the registration plus proof of transfer to BMV within 30 days so the bureau marks the ownership transfer in its records (§ 9-18.1-4-6(b)); an endorsed-title copy is proof. The seller may transfer the retained plate/registration to another owned or newly acquired vehicle, subject to the current fee and any tax difference. This record notice does not title the vehicle for the buyer. |
| Buyer deadline, forms, tax, and fees | The buyer must apply for title and register within 45 days after acquisition (IC 9-17-2-14.7(b); 9-18.1-11-5(a)). Apply through BMV with the assigned title and the buyer's signed State Form 205/application information; BMV requires vehicle description, VIN, former title number, purchase date, owner identifying number, liens, odometer, and tax information. The title fee is $15. A private-sale buyer pays the 7% vehicle use tax to BMV at titling unless proof of prior payment or exemption is presented (IC 6-2.5-2-2; 6-2.5-3-2, -3, -6), plus registration, excise, plate, and transaction fees. |
| Inspection, emissions, insurance, and operation | No VIN inspection is required because IC 9-17-2-12(a)(3) exempts a vehicle transferred on an Indiana BMV-issued title. Lake and Porter County vehicles manufactured after 1975, 9,000 pounds GVWR or less, generally need biennial emissions/tampering testing after the four newest model years. Proof of financial responsibility is required to obtain a plate and registration. Highway operation otherwise requires registration, but a private buyer may drive for up to 72 hours solely by the most direct route to storage, an emissions station, or BMV/provider while carrying the assigned title; a buyer transferring their own valid plate from a disposed vehicle has a separate 45-day exception (IC 9-18.1-2-8). |
| Penalties, rejection, and failed transfer | A seller's failure to fill all buyer information or to endorse the warranty/complete the purchase information is a Class B infraction (IC 9-17-3-3.2(b), -3.4(d)); other chapter violations are generally Class C infractions. A buyer applying after 45 days owes a $30 title penalty (IC 9-17-2-14.7(e)) and a separate $15 registration penalty and commits a Class C infraction (IC 9-18.1-11-5). Failure to register is a Class C infraction, and police may take the plate or vehicle into custody until proper registration/plates or the legal owner is found (IC 9-18.1-2-10 to -11). BMV may investigate, demand more information, or reject any application whose genuineness, regularity, legality, or truth is unsatisfactory (IC 9-17-2-14.5). |
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Requirements one by one
Complete every blank and hand over a paper title
Indiana requires the seller to endorse the certificate with warranty of title,
list every lien, fill in all buyer information—including name, address, and
price—and deliver it at the sale or delivery. Leaving the buyer or price blank is
a Class B infraction. Each titled owner whose interest is conveyed signs the
seller information, or an authorized agent signs under a power of attorney; the
buyer completes the purchaser section.
Indiana now offers electronic titles, but a private sale still needs paper. BMV's
electronic-title guide says that if the buyer is not a dealer, “a paper title must
be requested.” With no lien, the seller can request it online, at a kiosk, or at
a BMV location without a printing fee.
No notary for the ordinary transfer
Neither the title assignment nor State Form 205 needs notarization or witnesses.
The buyer signs the application under an oath/affirmation and a warning that a
false statement may be perjury. That signed declaration is not a notarized
acknowledgment.
Before selling, clear every lien. A paper-title lienholder signs the release area
or supplies a signed letter listing the titled owner, release date, year, make,
and VIN. An electronic lien must be released electronically.
A bill of sale cannot replace the title
BMV says a bill of sale cannot transfer a vehicle that the law requires to be
titled. It can support a missing sale date or price, but it cannot contradict or
override information already written on the certificate. State Form 44237 is
primary ownership evidence only in narrow no-title situations outside this
ordinary sale.
Odometer disclosure belongs on the title or the separate form
IC 9-17-2-6 requires the application to state the odometer reading at transfer.
For an ordinary passenger vehicle, complete it on the title. Use Odometer
Disclosure Statement State Form 43230 only when the title does not contain the
completed disclosure. Omitting the reading or knowingly entering a false one is
a Class B infraction.
Both title and registration are due in 45 days
The buyer must apply for title and register within 45 days after acquisition.
Bring the fully assigned title and complete the State Form 205 information,
including vehicle description, VIN, former title number, purchase date,
identifying number, liens, odometer, and tax. The title fee is $15; current
registration, plate, excise, and transaction charges also apply.
A private sale is subject to 7% vehicle use tax, paid to BMV at titling unless
the buyer proves the tax was already paid or an exemption applies.
The seller removes the plate and may mark the BMV record
The old registration expires at transfer, and the seller removes the plate and
registration. The retained plate may be transferred to another vehicle the
seller owns or acquires. Within 30 days, the seller may send BMV the old
registration and proof of transfer so the record is marked; this optional notice
does not complete the buyer's title application.
Inspection and narrow operating exceptions
An ordinary Indiana-title assignment is exempt from VIN inspection. Emissions
testing is geographically limited: qualifying Lake and Porter County vehicles
are tested every two years, with the four newest model years and antiques among
the exemptions. Financial-responsibility information is required for the new
plate and registration.
The seller's plate is not the buyer's driving authority. A private buyer has a
narrow 72-hour exception to take the vehicle by the most direct route to storage,
an emissions station, or BMV/provider while carrying the assigned title. A buyer
who disposes of another vehicle and transfers their own valid plate has a
separate 45-day exception.
What trips people up
- Two late charges can apply. Filing the title after day 45 adds $30; late
registration separately adds $15 and is a Class C infraction. - Blank buyer information is itself an offense. The seller must enter the
buyer and price before delivery; an open title is not acceptable. - BMV can reject doubtful paperwork. It may investigate, demand more proof,
or reject an application if its genuineness, legality, regularity, or truth is
unsatisfactory. - Unregistered operation risks custody. Police may take the plate or vehicle
until proper registration and plates are obtained or the legal owner is found.
Common questions
Does an Indiana vehicle title have to be notarized?
No. The ordinary seller assignment and buyer application are signed without a
notary; State Form 205 uses an oath/affirmation and perjury warning.
How long does the buyer have to title and register?
45 days after acquiring the vehicle. Late title and registration create separate
$30 and $15 administrative penalties.
Can I use a bill of sale instead of the title?
No. BMV says a bill of sale cannot transfer an ordinary vehicle that is required
to be titled.
Who keeps the license plate?
The seller removes it. The seller may transfer it to another owned vehicle; the
buyer obtains a new plate or transfers the buyer's own eligible plate.
Statutes and sources
- IC 9-17-2 and IC 9-17-3 — application signature and contents, odometer,
inspection exemption, $15 title fee, 45-day/$30 rule, rejection authority,
seller assignment, all buyer blanks, lien statement, delivery, and infractions.
https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_9/Article_17/Chapter_2.pdf and
https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_9/Article_17/Chapter_3.pdf (2026 Code,
accessed 2026-07-23). - IC 9-18.1-2, IC 9-18.1-4, and IC 9-18.1-11 — registration and operation,
72-hour and transferred-plate exceptions, police custody, seller plate removal
and optional 30-day record notice, 45-day/$15 registration rule, and plate
transfer. https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_9/Article_18.1/Chapter_2.pdf,
https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_9/Article_18.1/Chapter_4.pdf, and
https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_9/Article_18.1/Chapter_11.pdf (2026 Code,
accessed 2026-07-23). - IC 6-2.5-2 and IC 6-2.5-3 — 7% rate and use tax on isolated vehicle sales,
paid to BMV at titling. https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_6/Article_2.5/Chapter_2.pdf
and https://iga.in.gov/ic/2026/Title_6/Article_2.5/Chapter_3.pdf (2026 Code,
accessed 2026-07-23). - Indiana BMV — Buying & Selling; Bill of Sale; Liens; Electronic Titles —
completed title sections, plate removal, private-sale tax, bill-of-sale limit,
lien releases, and required paper title for a nondealer sale.
https://www.in.gov/bmv/titles/buying-and-selling/,
https://www.in.gov/bmv/titles/buying-and-selling/proof-of-vehicle-ownership-bill-of-sale,
https://www.in.gov/bmv/titles/liens, and
https://www.in.gov/bmv/titles/files/e-titles-branch-customer-handout.pdf
(accessed 2026-07-23). - Indiana BMV — State Form 205; Vehicle Registrations; Emissions Testing —
current title-application fields and affirmation, registration workflow, and
Lake/Porter emissions limits. https://forms.in.gov/Download.aspx?id=12817,
https://www.in.gov/bmv/registration-plates/vehicle-registrations/, and
https://www.in.gov/bmv/registration-plates/vehicle-emissions-testing-program/
(accessed 2026-07-23).
Source links
Every statute quoted above, linked, with the date we checked it.
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