To fill out Texas Form VTR-271, the Motor Vehicle Power of Attorney, enter the vehicle’s identifying information at the top, add the grantor’s and grantee’s full legal names and addresses in the sections that follow, sign in black or blue ink, and attach a photocopy of each party’s government-issued photo ID. The completed form travels with the underlying application (a title transfer, initial registration, or certified copy of title request) to your County Tax Assessor-Collector’s office. You can download VTR-271 from the TxDMV website or pick one up at the county office.
What VTR-271 Authorizes
VTR-271 is a limited power of attorney. It lets the grantee handle one of three specific tasks for a single vehicle: applying for a title transfer, completing an initial registration, or requesting a certified copy of a title. It cannot be used for anything else, and it applies only to the vehicle described on the form.
The form grants “full power of substitution,” meaning the person you name can delegate the task to someone else. If you want only the named grantee to act, say so directly to them; the form itself does not restrict substitution.
What to Gather Before You Start
Have these ready before you begin writing:
- Vehicle year, make, model, body style, and the full 17-character VIN. The VIN must match state records exactly. A single transposed digit will cause the county to reject the form.
- The grantor’s full legal name, county, state, and mailing address as they appear on your government-issued photo ID.
- The grantee’s full legal name, county, state, and mailing address.
- Photocopies of government-issued photo ID for both the grantor and the grantee. Texas law requires these to accompany a power of attorney used for a title application, initial registration, or certified copy of title request.
If the vehicle is owned by a business, the person signing for the entity should include their official title within the company, so the county can see they have authority to delegate on the company’s behalf.
Filling Out the Form
Use black or blue ink only. Pencil is not accepted, and no alterations are allowed on the form: no white-out, no cross-outs, no overwritten characters. If you make a mistake, print a fresh copy and start over.
Every field on VTR-271 must be completed for the form to be accepted. Vehicle information goes at the top. The grantor’s details and the grantee’s details follow. Spell names exactly as they appear on each person’s ID, and confirm the VIN against the vehicle’s title or registration before you write it in. Mismatches between the form and state records are the most common reason county clerks send these forms back.
Signing and ID Requirements
Both the grantor and the grantee must sign the form with original signatures. VTR-271 does not require notarization. This surprises people, because many general powers of attorney do need a notary; VTR-271 relies on original signatures and photo ID verification instead.
Acceptable ID includes a current driver’s license, state-issued ID card, or passport, so long as the name on it matches the name on the form. Photocopies of both parties’ IDs go in with the submission.
A certification statement on the form warns that falsifying any information is a third-degree felony under Texas law, punishable by two to ten years in prison. That warning applies to both the grantor and the grantee.
Submitting VTR-271 at the County Tax Office
VTR-271 does not stand alone. The grantee brings the signed form to the County Tax Assessor-Collector’s office along with the transaction paperwork it supports, typically Form 130-U for a title transfer or Form VTR-34 for a certified copy of title.
At the counter, the grantee presents their own valid photo ID. The clerk confirms that the ID matches the grantee named on VTR-271 and checks the vehicle details against state records. If the grantee is an employee acting for a business named as grantee, they also need proof of their connection to the company, such as an employee badge, a printed business card, or a letter on company letterhead.
The form itself has no filing fee, but the underlying transaction does:
- Title transfer: a $33 title application fee, plus a $2.50 registration transfer fee if the vehicle already has current registration. If it does not, the full registration fee applies instead. Sales tax on the vehicle’s value is also due at title transfer, calculated separately.
- Certified copy of title: $2.00 if requested by mail with Form VTR-34, or $5.45 in person at the county office.
The grantee should bring payment for these fees. The county office will not process the paperwork without them.
When to Use Form VTR-271-A Instead
VTR-271 cannot be used in any transaction where federal odometer disclosure is required and a power of attorney is involved. For those cases, Texas requires Form VTR-271-A, which is printed on tamper-resistant security paper and includes dedicated spaces for the odometer reading, checkboxes indicating whether the reading reflects actual mileage, and signature lines for the federally required certifications.
The distinction matters most in dealer-assisted transfers. A private individual selling or gifting a vehicle to a family member and handling the odometer statement directly on the title assignment can generally use VTR-271. If a dealer is involved in the transfer and odometer disclosure runs through the power of attorney, VTR-271-A is the correct form. Call your county tax office if you are unsure; using the wrong one means starting over.
Revoking or Ending the Authority
You can revoke VTR-271 at any time by putting the revocation in writing, signing it, and delivering notice to the grantee. Actions the grantee takes in good faith before receiving that notice are generally still valid, and revocation has no effect on a transaction the county has already completed.
The grantor’s death terminates the power of attorney automatically. VTR-271 is not a durable power of attorney, so it also ends if the grantor becomes incapacitated. Once the transaction you created the form for is finished, the authority is spent; there is no need to formally revoke a form whose purpose is already fulfilled, though keeping a copy in your records is a reasonable precaution.