An El Paso County bill of sale for a vehicle is Colorado’s DR 2173 Secure Motor Vehicle Bill of Sale, a form you buy from an approved vendor, complete with the full purchase details, and submit with the signed title when you register the vehicle at a county motor vehicle office. The purchase price you write on it is the number the clerk uses to calculate your sales tax, so the document has to be accurate, legible, and complete.1Department of Revenue – Motor Vehicle. Buying and Selling
When You Need One
Any private-party vehicle sale in El Paso County calls for a bill of sale. Dealership transactions are handled differently, but when two individuals exchange a car, truck, or trailer, this document records the price and date the title alone doesn’t capture. The county needs both to process your registration and tax.
It also protects each side of the deal. The seller gets written proof they no longer own the vehicle. The buyer gets a dated record of what was paid and what was transferred.
The DR 2173 Is a Secure Form You Have to Buy
This is where most people get stuck. Colorado classifies the DR 2173 as a Title Secure Form, which means it is not available as a free download. You have to purchase it from one of the vendors approved by the Colorado Department of Revenue: the Colorado Auto Dealers Association, the Colorado Independent Automobile Dealers Association, A-B-C Enterprises, Colorado Automobile/Powersports Support Services, or BML Dealer Supplies and Title Service.2Department of Revenue – Motor Vehicle. Forms in Number Order
Plan ahead. If you are closing a deal on a Saturday evening without the form in hand, you will not be able to get one until the next business day.
What Goes on the Form
The DR 2173 collects the full legal names and physical addresses of both buyer and seller, a vehicle description including year, make, and Vehicle Identification Number, the purchase price, and the date of sale.1Department of Revenue – Motor Vehicle. Buying and Selling
It also includes an odometer disclosure. The current mileage reading goes on the form, along with an indication of whether that reading reflects the actual distance the vehicle has traveled.1Department of Revenue – Motor Vehicle. Buying and Selling Both parties sign. Every field needs to be legible; if the clerk cannot read the VIN or the price, you will be sent back to fix it.
Notarization and the DR 2445 Workaround
The bill of sale itself does not need to be notarized. The seller’s signature on the certificate of title normally does. Colorado offers an alternative: form DR 2445 substitutes a perjury clause for notarization on the title assignment. By signing the DR 2445, the seller certifies under penalty of perjury that they transferred ownership, and the notary requirement is waived.3Department of Revenue – Motor Vehicle. DR 2445 CSTARS The seller still signs the title in addition to the DR 2445.
Driving the Vehicle Home Before You Register
Colorado gives you a narrow window to drive a newly purchased vehicle without plates or registration. You can legally operate it on public roads for up to 36 hours after a private-party purchase, but only if the sale happened on a weekend, a legal holiday, or between 5 p.m. and 8 a.m., and only to move the vehicle from where the seller kept it to where you plan to keep it.1Department of Revenue – Motor Vehicle. Buying and Selling
During that window you must carry two things in the vehicle: the bill of sale showing year, make, VIN, date, and time of sale with both signatures, and proof of insurance.1Department of Revenue – Motor Vehicle. Buying and Selling If the purchase closed during normal business hours on a weekday, this exception does not apply.
You Have 60 Days to Register
From the date of purchase, you have 60 days to register the vehicle with El Paso County. Miss that window and you owe a late fee of $25 for each month or partial month overdue, up to a maximum of $100. Trailers have a lower late fee of $10 per month.4Department of Revenue – Motor Vehicle. Vehicle Taxes and Fees Registration fees are calculated from the purchase date regardless of when you walk into the clerk’s office, so delaying does not save you anything on the base fees either.
When you go in to register, bring the signed title, the completed DR 2173, the DR 2445 if you are using it in place of notarization, valid government-issued identification, and payment for taxes and fees.5El Paso County Clerk and Recorder. Motor Vehicle Department A new title is typically mailed to you within four to six weeks.
How the Purchase Price Drives Your Sales Tax
The number you write on the bill of sale is the number the clerk uses to compute sales tax. The total rate depends on where in the county you live, because several taxing entities stack:
- State of Colorado: 2.9%
- El Paso County: 1.23%
- Pikes Peak Rural Transportation Authority: 1.0%, assessed for addresses in El Paso County and within Colorado Springs, Manitou Springs, Ramah, Green Mountain Falls, or Calhan
Inside Colorado Springs city limits, add the city’s 3.07% sales tax, which brings the combined rate to roughly 8.2%. Residents of Fountain, Monument, and Palmer Lake are not subject to the PPRTA tax, so their total runs lower.6El Paso County Clerk and Recorder. Taxes and Fees On a $15,000 vehicle purchased in Colorado Springs, expect roughly $1,230 in sales tax.
Don’t Underreport the Price
Writing a lower price on the bill of sale to shrink the tax bill is treated as tax evasion. If the Department of Revenue determines tax was underpaid, it will issue a notice of deficiency for the unpaid amount with penalties and interest. Interest accrues from the original due date at a discounted rate of 8% if you pay within 30 days of the notice, or at the regular 11% if you do not. Colorado law also allows more severe consequences for negligence, fraud, or willful failure to file, which can escalate well beyond the tax originally at stake.7Department of Revenue – Taxation. Tax Topics: Penalties and Interest
Gifts and No-Price Transfers
If a vehicle is a genuine gift with no money or other consideration changing hands, no sales tax is owed on the transfer. If you take over loan payments or any other debt tied to the vehicle, the county treats it as a purchase and charges sales tax on that amount. A bill of sale may still be requested when the giver and the recipient have different last names, since the clerk needs documentation explaining why a title is changing hands without a recorded price.
What the Seller Should Do After the Sale
Sellers have their own loose end to tie off. Within five days of the sale, the seller should report the transfer of ownership either online through myDMV.colorado.gov or at a county motor vehicle office.1Department of Revenue – Motor Vehicle. Buying and Selling This step is technically optional, and skipping it is still a bad idea. Until the buyer registers the vehicle, the seller remains the owner of record, which means parking tickets, toll violations, and accident liability can all come back to them. Filing the report of sale creates an official record that ownership ended on a specific date.