NC Form MVR-63 is North Carolina’s one-page motor vehicle power of attorney. It lets a vehicle’s buyer, seller, or legal owner appoint someone else to sign title paperwork on their behalf at the Division of Motor Vehicles. The form is a free PDF on the NCDOT website, and it has to be notarized before anyone can use it at a license plate agency or send it in with a title application.1North Carolina Department of Transportation. MVR-63 Power of Attorney
When You’d Use It
North Carolina requires the vehicle owner to sign the title assignment in front of someone authorized to administer oaths before ownership can transfer.2North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 20-72 – Transfer of Title or Interest When the person whose signature is needed cannot be at the DMV — a seller who moved out of state, a buyer deployed overseas, an elderly owner who can’t travel — MVR-63 lets that person pre-authorize a named agent to sign for them.
The form itself covers three specific actions: signing a certificate of title to transfer ownership, applying for a duplicate title, and applying for a new certificate of title.1North Carolina Department of Transportation. MVR-63 Power of Attorney Private sales, estate transfers where an heir needs to retitle a deceased owner’s vehicle, and dealer paperwork all fit within that scope.
Check the Lien Status First
Before you fill anything out, find out whether the vehicle has a lien on record. If a lienholder holds the title, physically or electronically, you need MVR-63A (Secure Power of Attorney) instead of the standard MVR-63.1North Carolina Department of Transportation. MVR-63 Power of Attorney The DMV will reject a standard MVR-63 submitted for a vehicle with an active lien. If you aren’t sure, a license plate agency can look it up.
Filling Out the Form
Download MVR-63 from ncdot.gov/dmv/downloads. It’s short, but every entry has to match the existing title or registration exactly, so keep those documents in front of you.
Your Role
At the top, the form asks whether you are the buyer, seller, or legal owner.1North Carolina Department of Transportation. MVR-63 Power of Attorney Check the right box. A seller granting authority for a title transfer and a buyer granting it for a new title application are different transactions.
Vehicle Information
Enter the year, make, body style, series, and full Vehicle Identification Number.1North Carolina Department of Transportation. MVR-63 Power of Attorney The VIN is seventeen characters. You’ll find it on the metal plate visible through the lower-left corner of the windshield, or on your registration card. Copy it character by character and then check it against the source. One wrong digit invalidates the form.
Principal and Attorney-in-Fact
The principal is the person granting the authority, usually the vehicle’s owner or buyer. Write your full legal name and current residential address as they appear on your government ID. Then enter the full legal name and address of the attorney-in-fact, the person who will actually go to the DMV or sign for you. That name must match the ID your agent will present at the counter. If it doesn’t, they’ll be turned away.
Getting It Notarized
The principal has to sign MVR-63 in the physical presence of a commissioned notary public. North Carolina law does not permit the notary to perform the act unless the principal is physically present at signing.3North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code Chapter 10B – Notaries Bring valid photo ID, such as a driver’s license or passport. Don’t sign the form ahead of time; a pre-signed document cannot be notarized after the fact because the notary did not witness the act.
After watching you sign, the notary adds their signature, prints their name, affixes their official seal, and records the date their commission expires. If any of those elements is missing, the DMV will reject the form.
North Carolina caps a notary’s fee at $10 per principal signature for a standard in-person acknowledgment. Electronic notarization runs up to $15 per signature, and remote notarization up to $25.4North Carolina General Assembly. North Carolina Code 10B-31 – Fees for Notarial Acts Many banks and credit unions notarize documents for account holders at no cost.
Submitting the Form
The attorney-in-fact takes the notarized MVR-63 to any North Carolina license plate agency along with the rest of the paperwork the transaction needs. For a title transfer, that usually means the MVR-1 title application, the assigned certificate of title, and the applicable fee. The power of attorney must be attached to the title application so the DMV can tie the authorization to the specific transaction.5North Carolina Department of Transportation. Vehicle Registration Section Title Manual
If an in-person visit isn’t practical, mail the complete package to:
Vehicle Titles/Liens, Duplicate Registration
3148 Mail Service Center
Raleigh, NC 27697-31486North Carolina Department of Transportation. Mailing Addresses
Mailed submissions can take several weeks. Include every required document in the same envelope; a partial submission stalls the whole transaction.
What MVR-63 Does Not Cover
The form is limited to title-related actions: transferring ownership, obtaining a duplicate title, and applying for a new title. It does not give your agent blanket authority over every DMV transaction. Registration renewals, plate surrenders, and insurance filings are outside its scope.
Federal odometer disclosure is separate. Under 49 CFR Part 580, odometer statements during a vehicle sale require their own federal power of attorney disclosure form.7eCFR. Odometer Disclosure Requirements Almost every sale involves both a title transfer and an odometer reading, so your attorney-in-fact will usually need MVR-63 and the federal odometer power of attorney together. Showing up with only one is a common reason transactions get sent home incomplete.
What “Irrevocably Appoint” Means
The form’s printed text uses the phrase “irrevocably appoint.” That means the principal cannot simply change their mind and cancel the authorization after giving it. A general durable power of attorney can be revoked at any time in writing; this one cannot. The irrevocable wording exists to protect the other party in the transaction, so a seller can’t authorize a buyer’s agent to complete the title transfer and then pull the authorization to hold up the deal.
If you have signed an MVR-63 but the transaction has not yet been processed, contact the DMV right away to discuss options. Once the title has actually been issued or transferred based on the form, undoing the transaction becomes a separate legal matter.
Mistakes That Get Forms Rejected
- A wrong VIN. Even one transposed character means the authorization no longer matches the vehicle, and the DMV will reject the form.
- Name mismatches. The principal’s name has to match their ID and the name on the title exactly. Nicknames, missing middle names, and maiden-versus-married name differences all cause problems.
- Missing notary elements. The seal, the notary’s signature, and the commission expiration date all have to be there. A signature without a seal is incomplete.
- Using MVR-63 when MVR-63A is required. If there’s a lien on the title, the standard form gets refused. Confirm lien status first.
- Submitting the form alone. MVR-63 is not a standalone application. It has to arrive with the MVR-1, the certificate of title, and any required fees.