Updated October 11, 2026. Quick answer: Texas does not require a vehicle bill of sale as a separate document. The transfer runs through the title: TxDMV tells the seller to hand over a signed title and a signed Form 130-U that shows the sales price, and the buyer pays 6.25 percent motor vehicle tax when the vehicle is titled. The seller should also file the Vehicle Transfer Notification (VTR-346) within 30 days, which is what protects the seller from tickets and toll bills. A bill of sale is still worth writing because it proves the price, the date and the odometer reading.
Is a bill of sale required in Texas?
No statute or TxDMV page we read requires one. What the Transportation Code requires is a transfer of the title: a motor vehicle may not be sold again “unless the owner designated on the title submits a transfer of ownership” of the title. TxDMV’s seller checklist lists “A properly signed title, including the date of sale and odometer reading” and a Form 130-U “with the sales price clearly shown”. A bill of sale is not on that list.
It does appear in one place, as optional proof. For a buyer who has no title, TxDMV accepts “Any supporting evidence of ownership (Bill of Sale, Invoice, Cancelled Check, etc.)”. That is the practical reason to write one: if the title paperwork is ever questioned, the bill of sale is your record of what was agreed.
What Texas gives the buyer and seller to sign
There is no TxDMV bill of sale form. The state’s two forms are the Application for Texas Title and/or Registration, Form 130-U, and the seller’s “Texas Motor Vehicle Transfer Notification”, Form VTR-346. The buyer signs Form 130-U with an original signature. The seller’s signature is treated more loosely: “The seller’s signature may be reproduced or faxed.”
Notary and witnesses
Nothing on Form 130-U, Form VTR-346 or the TxDMV selling and buying pages we read asks for a notary or a witness. We searched all four for both words and found neither. That is what the state’s own documents say; it is not a statement that a notary could never be useful, for example if you want a notarized bill of sale as extra proof.
Write the bill of sale before the keys change hands
Texas gives you no official bill of sale form, so a clean written record of the price, date, VIN and odometer reading is yours to make. LawDepot builds a vehicle bill of sale you can fill in and print.
Make a bill of sale at LawDepot
LawDepot pays us a commission if you buy through this link. It costs you nothing extra. We are not a law firm and this is not legal advice. Affiliate Disclosure.
Odometer disclosure
Texas adopts the federal rule. The seller must make the odometer disclosure “in compliance with 49 U.S.C. Section 32705”, and the federal regulation lists what the statement has to carry, including “The odometer reading at the time of transfer” and “The identity of the vehicle, including its make, model, year, body type”. Not every sale needs it. Under 49 CFR 580.17 a vehicle from model year 2011 or later is exempt once the transfer happens “at least 20 years after January 1 of the calendar year”, and an older vehicle is exempt at 10 years. A vehicle over 16,000 pounds gross weight rating is exempt too.
Tax and fees
The motor vehicle tax is set in Tax Code section 152.021: “The tax rate is 6-1/4 percent of the total consideration.” That is 6.25 percent. It “shall be paid by the purchaser of the motor vehicle”, and TxDMV says it “must be paid when the vehicle is titled”. A low stated price does not shrink the base without limit. If the amount paid is “less than 80 percent of the standard presumptive value” of the vehicle, the county computes the tax on 80 percent of that value unless the buyer establishes the valuation with the documents subsection (d) lists.
The title application fee is $28, or $33 for an applicant who lives in a nonattainment or affected county (Transportation Code section 501.138). On a late application, section 501.146 sets the fee: $10 owed by the seller when the seller holds a dealer general distinguishing number, otherwise $25 for the applicant, with another $25 for each 30 day period after the 60th day. Registration and local county fees are separate.
Deadlines for the buyer and the seller
The buyer must title the vehicle “within 30 days” and the statute counts from “the 30th day after the date of assignment on the documents”. The seller has a 30 day window of their own: “Submit this form within 30 days of the vehicle’s date of transfer”. TxDMV explains the payoff: once the form is filed, “you cannot be held responsible for parking tickets and toll violations”. The statute adds that a transferor who files “has no vicarious civil or criminal liability arising out of the use” of the vehicle.
What to put in a bill of sale anyway
Because Texas prescribes no format, the content is yours. A record that lines up with what the state’s forms ask for is the safest: the names and addresses of seller and buyer, the vehicle’s make, model, year, body type and VIN, the date of sale, the price, and the odometer reading. TxDMV’s own seller-recordkeeping line is “name and address of the seller, date of sale and vehicle information”. Texas Business and Commerce Code section 2.201 provides that a contract for the sale of goods “for the price of $500 or more is not enforceable” without a signed writing, subject to the exceptions the section lists. In our reading a vehicle is goods, so a signed bill of sale is the simplest writing to have.
Common mistakes
- Assuming a bill of sale replaces the title. In Texas the signed title and Form 130-U are what move ownership.
- Leaving the sales price off Form 130-U. TxDMV wants it clearly shown.
- Never filing the seller’s VTR-346 notice, which leaves the seller exposed to the buyer’s tickets and toll bills.
- Skipping the odometer statement on a vehicle that is not old enough to be exempt.
- Writing a low price to cut the tax. Below 80 percent of the standard presumptive value, the county taxes 80 percent of that value.
Related on this site: bill of sale rules by state, Texas probate cost and transferring a car title after death.
Sources
- Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, Form 130-U, Application for Texas Title and/or Registration: https://www.txdmv.gov/sites/default/files/form_files/Form-130-U.pdf
- Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, Form VTR-346, Texas Motor Vehicle Transfer Notification: https://www.txdmv.gov/sites/default/files/form_files/VTR-346.pdf
- Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, Buying or Selling a Vehicle: https://www.txdmv.gov/motorists/buying-or-selling-a-vehicle
- Texas Department of Motor Vehicles, Bought a Vehicle with No Title: https://www.txdmv.gov/motorists/buying-or-selling-a-vehicle/bought-a-vehicle-with-no-title
- Texas Transportation Code chapter 501, Certificate of Title Act (Texas Legislature Online): https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TN/htm/TN.501.htm
- Texas Tax Code chapter 152, Taxes on Sale, Rental, and Use of Motor Vehicles (Texas Legislature Online): https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/TX/htm/TX.152.htm
- 49 CFR part 580, Odometer Disclosure Requirements (eCFR, data as of October 1, 2026): https://www.ecfr.gov/current/title-49/subtitle-B/chapter-V/part-580
- Texas Business and Commerce Code chapter 2, section 2.201, Formal Requirements; Statute of Frauds (Texas Legislature Online): https://statutes.capitol.texas.gov/Docs/BC/htm/BC.2.htm
Sources: the primary documents linked above, read on October 11, 2026. General information, not legal or tax advice. State agencies change forms, fees and deadlines, so confirm the current figure with your state motor vehicle agency before you sign or file.