To sell a car privately in Georgia, you sign the title over to the buyer, complete an odometer disclosure and a bill of sale, remove your license plate, and then cancel your registration and insurance. The paperwork is simple once the title is clean and in your name. The traps are Georgia-specific: emissions rules in metro Atlanta, the plate-stays-with-the-seller rule, and the misdemeanor risk if you hand over a title signed in blank.
Get the Title Ready Before You List
Georgia law requires every owner other than a licensed dealer to hold the certificate of title in their own name before transferring the vehicle.1Georgia Department of Revenue. Transfer Vehicle Titled in Georgia Pull the physical title out and check three things: your name is on it, the VIN matches the car, and no old lien is still showing.
If a lien is still noted, the lender has to release it before you can transfer ownership. That usually means paying off the balance and having the lienholder send a release to the Georgia Department of Revenue so a clean title can issue. Give this a couple of weeks before you plan to sell.
Lost or damaged title? Apply for a replacement at your county tag office. The fee is $8 when the original is lost or stolen, and the replacement carries a notation that it isn’t the original.2Georgia Department of Revenue. Motor Vehicles Fees, Fines, and Penalties
The Three Documents You’ll Sign at the Sale
Every private car sale in Georgia turns on three pieces of paper: the signed-over title, a bill of sale, and an odometer disclosure. If any one of them is missing or wrong, the buyer’s tag office will bounce them back.
Signing Over the Title
Fill out the assignment section on the back of the title with the buyer’s full legal name, the sale date, and the sale price. Sign it in front of the buyer, not before.
Do not sign a title with the buyer’s name left blank, even if the buyer promises to fill it in later. Delivering or accepting a title assigned in blank is a misdemeanor in Georgia, punishable by a fine up to $100 or up to 30 days in jail for each occurrence.3Justia. Georgia Code 40-3-91 – Certain Acts Declared Misdemeanors
Bill of Sale
The bill of sale is your written record of the deal. It should list the year, make, model, and VIN, the sale price, the date, and the full names and addresses of both parties. Georgia’s Department of Revenue publishes an official form for this, the T-7, which you can download and print.4Georgia Department of Revenue. T-7 Bill of Sale Both of you sign, and each of you keeps a copy. For a 1985 or older vehicle that doesn’t require a Georgia title, the bill of sale may be the main proof of the transaction.
Odometer Disclosure
Georgia requires an odometer disclosure for most sales, recorded right on the title assignment under O.C.G.A. ยง 40-3-25.5Justia. Georgia Code 40-3-25 – Entry of Odometer Reading on Certificate of Title The exemption windows follow the federal rules updated in 2021: model year 2011 and newer vehicles need disclosure for the first 20 years after their model year, while model year 2010 and older follow the older 10-year rule.6NHTSA. Changes to Odometer Disclosure Requirements Vehicles with a gross vehicle weight rating over 16,000 pounds are also exempt.
Write in the current reading, print your name, and sign where indicated. The buyer signs to acknowledge the reading. If the current reading doesn’t square with the vehicle’s mileage history, the DOR has a separate Form T-107, the Odometer Discrepancy Affidavit, to document it.7Georgia Department of Revenue. T-107 Odometer Discrepancy Affidavit Rolling back an odometer is a misdemeanor and exposes you to civil damages of three times the buyer’s actual loss or $1,500, whichever is greater.
Emissions Testing in the 13 Metro Atlanta Counties
If the vehicle is being sold in one of Georgia’s emissions-testing counties, you’re responsible for having a passing inspection at the time of sale. The covered counties are Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, Coweta, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, Paulding, and Rockdale.8Georgia’s Clean Air Force. Before You Test A current, valid inspection report lets the buyer use it toward their initial registration.
Selling from a county outside that list? No emissions test is required on your end. Keep in mind that a buyer who lives in a covered county will still need a passing test before their tag office will register the car, so it’s worth mentioning in your listing whether the vehicle has a recent inspection.
At the Handoff: Paperwork Before Keys
When the buyer arrives, complete the paperwork before anything else. Sign the title assignment, complete the odometer disclosure on the title, and fill out and sign the bill of sale together. Doing it in one sitting keeps the date, mileage, and price consistent across every document.
For payment on a car, a cashier’s check or an electronic bank transfer is safer than a personal check or a stack of cash. If the buyer brings a cashier’s check, consider meeting at their issuing bank so you can verify it at the counter. Once payment is confirmed, hand over the signed title, both sets of keys if you have them, and anything else the car came with. File your copy of the bill of sale somewhere you can find it later.
What to Do After the Buyer Drives Away
Your job isn’t finished when the car leaves. Three things need to happen quickly.
Cancel your registration with the DOR. Georgia treats transferring ownership and canceling your registration as separate steps. Use Form T-158 to report or surrender the license plate.9Georgia Department of Revenue. T-158 Report of and/or Surrender of Georgia License Plate Filing promptly puts the sale date on the state’s record, which matters if the buyer picks up a parking ticket or is in a crash before they register the car in their own name.10Georgia Department of Revenue. Buying or Selling a Car
Take your license plate off the car. In Georgia, the plate belongs to you, not the vehicle. Remove it before the buyer pulls away. You can transfer it to another vehicle you own, keep it, or surrender it to the DOR.11Georgia.gov. Sell a Motor Vehicle
Drop the car from your insurance. Call your insurer to remove the vehicle from your policy. Do this after the sale is done and your registration is canceled, not before, so you never have a gap in coverage while the car is still legally yours.
What to Tell the Buyer So the Sale Sticks
A buyer who doesn’t register the car promptly keeps you tied to it on the state’s records, so it’s in your interest to walk them through what they’re about to face.
The buyer has 7 business days from the purchase date to title and register the vehicle at their county tag office.12Georgia Department of Revenue. When and Where to Register Your Vehicle They’ll need the signed title, a completed MV-1 Title/Tag Application, proof of insurance, and, if they live in one of the 13 covered counties, an emissions inspection certificate.13Georgia Department of Revenue. Title and Register a Vehicle Purchased in a Casual Sale
At the counter, the buyer pays Georgia’s Title Ad Valorem Tax at 7% of the vehicle’s fair market value as set by the state, which is not necessarily the price you agreed on.14Georgia Department of Revenue. Vehicle Taxes – Title Ad Valorem Tax (TAVT) and Annual Ad Valorem Tax On a $15,000 valuation, that’s $1,050. Add an $18 title fee and a $20 license plate fee.13Georgia Department of Revenue. Title and Register a Vehicle Purchased in a Casual Sale Mentioning these numbers during negotiation avoids a surprise at the tag office and a phone call back to you.