How to Transfer a Car Title in Nevada: Steps, Fees, and Liens

To transfer a car title in Nevada, the seller signs the Nevada Certificate of Title and completes the odometer disclosure, and the buyer takes that signed title to a DMV office along with proof of Nevada insurance, an emission test (in Clark and Washoe counties), and a VIN inspection if the vehicle has never been registered in Nevada. The change-of-ownership fee is $28.25, paid by the buyer at the counter. Governmental Services Tax and registration fees apply on top if the buyer is also putting the vehicle on the road.

What the Seller Signs on the Title

On the front of the Nevada Certificate of Title, the seller signs and prints their full legal name exactly as it appears on their driver license.¹ If the title lists two owners joined by “AND,” both have to sign. If it says “OR,” either one can sign alone.² Read the wording on the title before you meet the buyer; the DMV rejects titles that are signed wrong.

The back of the title has the odometer disclosure. For any vehicle of model year 2011 or newer, the seller must write in the current mileage. A federal rule effective January 1, 2021, extended this requirement from 10 years to 20 years.³ Vehicles of model year 2010 or older are exempt (check the “Exempt” box), as are vehicles over 16,000 pounds gross vehicle weight rating. Once written, the mileage cannot be altered.

A Bill of Sale is not a substitute for the title, but keep one as your record of the sale price and date. Form VP-104 is available on the DMV website.⁴

h2>What the Buyer Brings to the DMV

Along with the signed title, the buyer needs:

Proof of Nevada liability insurance in the buyer’s name, matching the vehicle. Nevada’s minimum is $25,000 bodily injury per person, $50,000 per accident, and $20,000 property damage.⁵
A passing Nevada Emission Vehicle Inspection Report if the vehicle will be registered in the urban areas of Clark or Washoe County. Rural counties are not subject to the smog requirement.⁶
A VIN inspection for any vehicle not previously registered in Nevada, including out-of-state purchases, gifts from out of state, and vehicles brought in by new residents. Larger offices have an inspection station outside the main building and no appointment is needed there. Rebuilt, reconstructed, or homemade vehicles have to be inspected at a full DMV office rather than a county or AAA location.⁷
Application for Vehicle Registration (Form VP-222), only if a third party is registering the vehicle on the owner’s behalf. If you are at the counter yourself, the technician handles it.⁷

At the DMV Counter

Most Nevada DMV offices require an appointment for title and registration, scheduled online. The technician checks the signatures and odometer entry, verifies the VIN, and calculates fees. The buyer pays at the counter to complete the transfer.

New plates and a temporary registration go home with the buyer the same day if registering. The Certificate of Title itself is not printed on-site. Titles are printed and mailed from Carson City, and the DMV currently estimates about six weeks for delivery due to a processing backlog.¹ Expedited processing is available for an extra $20, and FedEx shipping is another $20 on top of the standard fees.⁸

If the vehicle will not be driven on public roads, the title can be transferred without registering it, insuring it, or getting a smog check. The $28.25 change-of-ownership fee still applies.¹

Fees and Taxes

The change-of-ownership fee is $28.25, made up of a $20 title fee and an $8.25 processing fee.¹⁹ If the title has to be mailed to an out-of-state address, it goes up to $35.¹⁰

If the buyer is registering the vehicle, the largest line item is usually the Governmental Services Tax. Despite the name, it is an annual vehicle property tax rather than a sales tax. It runs 4 cents per dollar of the vehicle’s depreciated valuation, which begins at 35 percent of the original MSRP and drops on a set schedule, bottoming out at 15 percent for a standard passenger vehicle nine or more years old.¹¹ Some counties add a Supplemental Governmental Services Tax as well.¹²

Nevada does not charge sales tax on private party sales, family sales, or gifts. Sales tax only comes into play with certain out-of-state dealer purchases.¹² Standard registration fees, plate fees, and any county fees are added at registration.

Late registration comes with a $6-per-month penalty on the overdue registration fee and a 10 percent penalty on unpaid Governmental Services Tax.¹²

What the Seller Does After the Sale

Signing the title over is only half the seller’s job. A few post-sale steps keep you from being tied to a vehicle you no longer own.

File a Vehicle Resale Notification

File the resale notification online through the DMV within five days of the sale.¹³ Under Nevada law the registered owner is presumed responsible for towing and storage costs on an abandoned vehicle. If the buyer never registers it and the car ends up towed, the bill can come to you without this notification on record.

Deal With the Plates

Plates belong to the seller in Nevada, not to the vehicle. After the sale you can transfer them to another vehicle you own or surrender them to the DMV.¹⁴ If you do neither within 60 days, the DMV can require you to turn them in for cancellation.¹⁵ Canceling gives you a credit for the unused portion of your registration fees, applicable to another vehicle in your name but not transferable to the buyer or to taxes. The credit expires on the date the canceled registration would have expired.

If you want the buyer to keep your plates, complete a License Plate Release form (SP-67), which the buyer submits when registering.¹⁴ Your existing registration for those plates is canceled either way.

Cancel Registration Before Insurance

Cancel the registration first, then the insurance. Nevada requires continuous insurance on registered vehicles, and dropping coverage while the vehicle is still registered in your name can trigger penalties.¹³

Replacing a Lost or Damaged Title

The sale cannot go through until you have a signable title in hand. The registered owner completes an Application for Duplicate Nevada Certificate of Title (Form VP-012); if the current title lists joint owners connected by “AND,” all owners have to sign. The application must be notarized or witnessed by an authorized DMV representative, and there is a 30-day waiting period from the date the last title was issued.¹⁶ The fee is $20 within Nevada or $35 to be mailed out of state.

For vehicles of model year 2010 or older, the duplicate title application can sometimes be submitted with a Bill of Sale to transfer ownership at the same time.⁴ For newer vehicles, the duplicate has to arrive before you can complete the sale.

Transferring a Vehicle With a Lien

A vehicle with an unpaid loan cannot be sold until the lien is released. Most commercial lenders use Nevada’s Electronic Lien and Title (ELT) system: when the loan is paid off, the lender releases the lien electronically and the DMV mails a paper title to the owner.¹⁷ You cannot sign the title over to a buyer until it arrives.

Private lienholders, such as a family member who financed the purchase, use paper titles and release the lien on Form VP-186. Original signatures are required, and the form must be notarized or witnessed by a DMV representative. Photocopies are not accepted, and the form cannot be modified after signing.¹⁸

If the loan has been paid off but the title still shows a lienholder, submit the original notarized lien release with an Application for Duplicate Title to get a clean title issued in your name.¹⁶

Inherited, Gifted, and Out-of-State Vehicles

Inherited Vehicle

For estates not going through probate, heirs can use an Affidavit for Transfer of Title for Estates Without Probate (Form VP-024) with a certified death certificate. This applies when the estate does not exceed $25,000, or $100,000 if the claimant is the surviving spouse, and at least 40 days have passed since the death.¹⁹ If the deceased had already filed a Transfer on Death designation (Form VP-239), the named beneficiary claims the vehicle by submitting the title (if available), a certified death certificate, and the standard title fee.²⁰

Gifted Vehicle

The process is the same as a sale: the giver signs the title, the recipient brings it to the DMV. Write “Gift” in the purchase price space. No sales tax applies. The Governmental Services Tax still applies at registration because it is based on the vehicle’s depreciated value, not the sale price.¹²

Out-of-State Title

A vehicle bought out of state, or brought in by a new resident, needs its title converted to a Nevada title. The fee is $20 when there is no change of ownership.¹ A VIN inspection is required.⁷ If a lender still holds the out-of-state title, contact them to get a printed title or lien release before the Nevada DMV can process the conversion.

Adding or Removing a Name

To add or remove a name without a full change of ownership, all current owners must sign the back of the title. The fee is $20.¹

Using a Power of Attorney

An owner who cannot come to the DMV can authorize someone else with a Power of Attorney (Form VP-136), which requires original signatures and must be notarized or witnessed by a DMV representative.²¹ One catch: this form cannot be used to disclose the odometer. The vehicle owner has to fill in the odometer section on the title personally before the person holding the power of attorney handles the rest.

1
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Title and Ownership
2
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Car Seller’s Guide
3
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. New Federal Rule Extends Odometer Disclosure for Used Vehicles
4
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Private Party Vehicle Registration
5
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles – Insurance
6
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Nevada Emission Control Program
7
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Nevada Registration Requirements
8
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Application for Expedited Processing of Nevada Title
9
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Registration and Title Guide
10
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Lien Payoffs and Lease Buyouts
11
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes Chapter 371 – Governmental Services Tax
12
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Nevada Vehicle Registration Fees
13
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Resale Notification
14
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. License Plate Surrender
15
Nevada Legislature. Nevada Revised Statutes 482.399 – Expiration of Registration
16
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Application for Duplicate Nevada Certificate of Title
17
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Electronic Lien and Title
18
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Lien Release Form VP-186
19
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Affidavit for Transfer of Title for Estates Without Probate – Form VP-24
20
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Transfer on Death Application
21
Nevada Department of Motor Vehicles. Power of Attorney VP-136