How to Write a Florida Car Bill of Sale: Form HSMV 82050

A Florida car bill of sale is written on Form HSMV 82050, the state’s official “Notice of Sale and/or Bill of Sale for a Motor Vehicle, Mobile Home, Off-Highway Vehicle or Vessel.”¹ Fill in the vehicle and party details, sign it along with the title certificate, and file the notice with the state so your name comes off the vehicle. Generic bill-of-sale templates from the internet won’t do the job here; the county tax collector’s office needs this specific form to update state records.

Where to Get Form HSMV 82050

The Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles (FLHSMV) publishes the form on its website, and paper copies sit at every county tax collector’s office. Download it, print it, and complete it in ink. One copy for the buyer, one for the seller, and one for the state.

What to Write on the Form

Every field matters. A blank or a wrong character can bounce the paperwork when the buyer tries to register.

Full legal names and addresses of both buyer and seller, matching the identification each will present.¹
The 17-character Vehicle Identification Number (VIN). It’s on a metal plate visible through the driver’s side of the windshield and on a sticker in the driver’s door jamb. Copy it character by character.
Year, make, model, and color, matching what appears on the existing title.
The actual sale price. This figure sets the buyer’s sales tax bill, and the Florida Department of Revenue flags suspiciously low numbers. Understating the price is fraud.
The date of sale. This is the moment the seller’s clock stops and the buyer’s 30-day registration window starts.

Florida Statutes section 319.23 requires that a bill of sale used to support a title application contain the vehicle description including VIN, year, make, color, selling price, and the signatures of both seller and buyer.² Form HSMV 82050 collects all of that in one place.

Odometer Disclosure

Florida law requires the seller to record the vehicle’s exact odometer reading at the time of sale, and to complete the odometer disclosure block on the title certificate itself.³ Rolling back or misrepresenting the mileage violates state and federal law.

Older vehicles are exempt from the federal disclosure rule. For model years 2010 and earlier, the exemption applies 10 years after January 1 of the model year. For model years 2011 and newer, the threshold is 20 years.⁴ If the odometer has rolled past its mechanical limit or you know the reading is inaccurate, check the box on the title marking the mileage as “not actual.”

The Bill of Sale Doesn’t Transfer the Title

Form HSMV 82050 documents the transaction, but ownership transfers when the seller completes the “Transfer of Title by Seller” section printed on the back of the Florida title certificate. That section asks for the buyer’s name and address, the odometer reading, the selling price, and the date sold, and the seller signs where indicated.³ Hand the completed title and the bill of sale to the buyer, who takes them to a tax collector’s office to apply for a new title.

If There’s a Lien on the Title

When the seller still owes money on the car, the lender appears on the title as the lienholder, and the seller cannot legally sign the title over until that loan is paid off. The lender will either release the lien directly on the face of the title or send a lien release letter on its letterhead. Buyers should not hand over money for a car whose title still shows an unresolved lien. FLHSMV runs an online lookup at services.flhsmv.gov that lets you check title status before you agree to buy.

Signatures and Notarization

Both buyer and seller sign Form HSMV 82050 and the title certificate.¹ Florida doesn’t require notarization on every private sale, but a notarized signature makes disputes much harder to raise later. A notary verifies each signer’s identity with a government ID and applies a seal. Florida law caps the fee at $10 per notarial act.⁵ Most tax collector offices keep a notary on staff, so signing and filing can happen in a single trip. Notarize if the title has any irregularity, like a name that doesn’t match current ID or a missing co-owner signature.

File the Notice of Sale — Don’t Skip This

Signing the title and handing over the keys is not the end of the seller’s job. Florida law requires the seller to file Form HSMV 82050 with a motor vehicle service center to remove the seller’s registration from the vehicle.³ Until you file, the state still connects your name to the car.

Three ways to file:

In person at any county tax collector’s office. You leave with a stamped copy or a computerized receipt.
By certified mail to the appropriate regional office, so you have proof of delivery.¹
Online through the FLHSMV’s myDMV Portal, the fastest option.

Florida follows the dangerous instrumentality doctrine, which holds vehicle owners liable for injuries caused by anyone driving their car. Filing the notice of sale severs that connection by officially taking your name off the vehicle’s registration.³ Without the filing, an accident, a toll violation, or a parking ticket the buyer causes can still land at your door. Keep the confirmation receipt.

What the Buyer Does Next

The buyer has 30 calendar days to transfer the title into their name at a county tax collector’s office. Missing that deadline triggers a late transfer penalty fee.³

Insurance

The tax collector won’t register the car without proof of Florida auto insurance. The minimum is $10,000 in Personal Injury Protection (PIP) and $10,000 in Property Damage Liability (PDL).⁶ Line up coverage before your appointment so you don’t make two trips.

Sales Tax

Florida charges 6% state sales tax on the purchase price of a motor vehicle, paid at title transfer.⁷ Most counties add a discretionary sales surtax on the first $5,000 of the purchase price, at a rate that varies by county.⁸ The tax is calculated from the price on the bill of sale, which is why the state cares whether that number is honest.

Protecting Yourself in a Private Sale

The bill of sale is the legal backbone of the deal, but the paperwork won’t save you from a bad transaction on its own.

Check the Vehicle’s History

Before agreeing on a price, run the VIN through the National Motor Vehicle Title Information System (NMVTIS), a federal database maintained by the Department of Justice. It reports title brands like salvage, flood, or junk, and the most recent odometer reading on file.⁹ Approved providers sell the reports for a small fee.

Use a Secure Payment Method

Cash is straightforward but not always practical. A cashier’s check drawn on the buyer’s bank works well because the funds come from the bank rather than the buyer’s account. If the buyer offers one, call the issuing bank to verify it before you sign the title over. Look up the bank’s number yourself and don’t use the number printed on the check. Fake cashier’s checks are one of the most common scams in private car sales. Skip personal checks entirely; they bounce, and they can be canceled after you’ve already signed. When buyer and seller don’t know each other, an escrow service holds funds until both sides confirm delivery.

Private Sales Are “As-Is”

Unless the seller puts a written warranty in the bill of sale, a private vehicle sale in Florida is presumed to be as-is. The buyer accepts the car in its current condition, and the seller has no obligation to fix problems discovered later. Sellers should write “as-is, no warranty” on the bill of sale to make that explicit. Buyers should get a pre-purchase inspection from an independent mechanic before committing. Once the bill of sale is signed, your leverage is gone.

1
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. HSMV 82050 Notice of Sale and or Bill of Sale for a Motor Vehicle, Mobile Home, Off-Highway Vehicle or Vessel
2
Florida Senate. Florida Code Title XXIII Chapter 319 – Section 319.23
3
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Selling a Vehicle
4
eCFR. Part 580 Odometer Disclosure Requirements
5
The Florida Legislature. Florida Code 0117 – Section 0117.05
6
Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Florida Insurance Requirements
7
Florida Department of Revenue. Motor Vehicle Sales Tax Rates by State
8
Florida Department of Revenue. Sales and Use Tax on Motor Vehicles
9
U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Justice Programs. For Consumers