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Table of Contents
- What Are the Basics?
- How Do I Sign the Title?
- What If I’ve Lost the Title?
- What Information is Included in the Bill of Sale?
- Why Do I Need to Include the Odometer Reading?
- Why Do I Need A Bill of Sale?
- May I Transfer Plates?
- What If I Don’t Transfer Plates to a New Vehicle?
- What If I Am Giving The Car to Someone Rather Than Selling It?
- How Do I, As Executor, Transfer the Car to An Heir?
What Are The Basics?
When you sell a car in Kansas, you must comply with certain legal requirements to ensure the sale is properly documented and to avoid penalties. You must remove the license plates and sign the title.
How Do I Sign the Title?
You complete the back of the title, listing the purchase price, date of sale, odometer reading, and print and sign your name. If you wish, you may complete a Power of Attorney Form TR-41, allowing the buyer to complete the assignment. If the vehicle is titled in the name of two people with and between the names, both must sign. You also must enclose the lien release, if applicable. You should also fill out a bill of sale.
If the title lacks space for the purchase price, you must fill in a Bill of Sale form, TR-12, with the purchase price.
What if I’ve Lost the Title?
You cannot sell a vehicle without a title. If you’ve lost it, you’ll need to obtain a duplicate title from the Kansas Department of Vehicles. You can request a new title by filling out a form TR720b.
What Information is Included in the Bill of Sale?
- Buyer’s name and address;
- Date of sale;
- Mileage odometer reading; and
- Sale price.
Why do I need to Record the Odometer Reading?
Kansas laws require you to provide an accurate odometer reading at the time of sale to show whether the vehicle has passed its mechanical limitations and is on a second or third cycle. If the actual odometer reading is inaccurate, you must estimate what you believe the reading should be.
Why do I Need a Bill of Sale?
A bill of sale records the information the buyer will need to title and register the vehicle in their own name. It also protects you from liability should the vehicle later be involved in an accident. The bill of sale also can settle legal disputes between you and the buyer should they arise later.
May I Transfer Plates?
License plates cannot be transferred to a new owner. However, you may transfer them to another vehicle that you own as long as the names on the registration are the same. This transfer must be done in person at the treasurer’s office in the county where the vehicle is garaged.
What if I Don’t Transfer Plates to a New Vehicle?
You can return the plates for a refund of the unused portion of your registration and property tax. You do that at the county treasurer’s office.
What if I Am Giving the Car to Someone Rather than Selling It?
If the vehicle is being given as a gift, you complete the Vehicle Gift Certification portion of the Affidavit to a Fact (TR-12). If the assignment of title has the “purchase price” space in the assignment of title, write the word “gift” in this space. If the buyer and seller are related as child, parent, grandchild, or grandparent, an Affidavit of Relationship, Form TR-215, can be completed and attached instead of the TR-12.
You must remove the license plates.
How Do I, As Executor, Transfer a Car to an Heir?
If you are an executor of a deceased person’s will, you will transfer property by using a Certificate of Trust, Form TR-81. A title fee will apply, along with any other appropriate fees or taxes.