To release liability on a vehicle in California, file a Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability (NRL) with the DMV within five calendar days of handing the vehicle over. California Vehicle Code § 5900 sets that five-day window,1California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 5900 and once the DMV has your notice, you’re shielded from responsibility for parking tickets, traffic violations, and other consequences tied to the vehicle after the transfer date. Miss it, and every citation the new owner racks up can come back to you as the registered owner.
What You Need Before You File
The DMV’s system identifies the vehicle from two small pieces of information: the license plate number and the last five digits of the VIN. You don’t need the full 17-character VIN.2California State Department of Motor Vehicles. Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability Gather the rest before you start:
- The new owner’s full name and current address.
- The exact date of transfer, meaning the date you handed over possession, not the date you listed the car or agreed on a price.
- The odometer reading at transfer. California requires this for vehicles nine model years old or newer.3California State Department of Motor Vehicles. Chapter 5 Odometer Mileage Reporting
Filing Online
The fastest route is the DMV’s online NRL portal. You enter the plate and last five VIN digits, confirm the vehicle, then fill in the buyer’s information, the transfer date, and the odometer reading. It takes a few minutes.2California State Department of Motor Vehicles. Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability
Print or save the confirmation page when you finish. That page is your proof you reported the transfer inside the five-day window, and it’s the document you’ll want on hand if a citation or toll charge surfaces months later.4California State Department of Motor Vehicles. Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability
Filing by Mail
If you’d rather do it on paper, download and complete form REG 138 and mail it to the address printed on the form. The DMV lists this as a valid alternative to online filing.5California State Department of Motor Vehicles. Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability FAQs
The tradeoff is time and the absence of an instant confirmation. Make a photocopy before mailing. To create a paper trail showing when the DMV received it, send the form by USPS Certified Mail, which gives you a mailing receipt and optional delivery confirmation.6USPS. Certified Mail – The Basics That receipt can matter if the five-day deadline ever becomes an issue.
The NRL Does Not Transfer the Title
Filing the NRL tells the DMV you no longer have the vehicle. It does not move the title into the buyer’s name. The vehicle record stays under your name until the buyer submits a transfer application and pays the required fees.4California State Department of Motor Vehicles. Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability Your job as seller is to sign the title and hand it to the buyer; what they do with it after that is on them. The NRL is what protects you in the meantime.
What Happens If You Don’t File
California Vehicle Code § 5602 is the source of the protection. A seller who has made a genuine sale and delivered the vehicle is not liable for later parking, abandonment, or operation of that vehicle only if the required notice has been delivered or mailed to the DMV.7California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 5602
Without the filing, you remain the registered owner on paper. Parking tickets, red-light camera citations, and toll violations get sent to you. If the buyer abandons the vehicle, the tow yard bills the last registered owner for removal and storage. The NRL is the single step that cuts that chain.
The five-day deadline in § 5900 is not a suggestion either. If a citation lands in the gap between the transfer and a late filing, proving you weren’t responsible gets harder.1California Legislative Information. California Vehicle Code 5900
Plates and Insurance
License plates stay with the vehicle when it’s sold in California. You only remove them if you want to keep personalized or special-interest plates, which requires arranging replacement plates before the sale. Standard plates go to the buyer with the car.
Don’t cancel your insurance until you’ve signed over the title, the buyer has taken possession, and your NRL is filed. Once those three steps are done, contact your insurer with a copy of the bill of sale. If you’re replacing the car with another, your insurer can usually shift coverage to the new vehicle on the same call. If you’re not replacing it and have other cars on the policy, just drop the sold vehicle from coverage.
Keep Your Confirmation
Once the DMV processes your NRL, the vehicle record shows you reported the transfer as of the date you gave. The confirmation, printed from the online filing or your mailed copy, is your proof of compliance with the five-day rule.4California State Department of Motor Vehicles. Notice of Transfer and Release of Liability
Keep it indefinitely. Disputes can surface months or years later, especially toll violations processed through out-of-state systems or parking tickets that reach collections before you hear about them. When an agency or collector contacts you about a ticket issued after your transfer date, the NRL confirmation is what ends the conversation.