Kansas Form TR-12 Affidavit to a Fact: Filing Steps and 60-Day Deadline

Kansas Form TR-12, the “Affidavit to a Fact,” is a sworn statement your county treasurer’s motor vehicle office uses to document one of eight specific situations tied to a vehicle title: a gift to a non-relative, a name discrepancy on the title, a disclaimer of ownership, a name added to a completed title assignment, a full year of non-use, a registration renewal handled by a military member’s relative, an antique model-year plate registration, or an antique vehicle bill of sale. You check the box that matches your situation, fill in the vehicle information, sign under penalty of perjury, and submit it with your other title paperwork. TR-12 is not the title application itself. That form is TR-720B. TR-12 supports it.¹

When to Use TR-12

The form covers seven affidavit types plus an antique vehicle bill of sale. Only complete the section that applies. Leave everything else blank.

Vehicle Gift Certification. A vehicle is given as a gift to someone who is not a lineal relative. Gifts to lineal relatives (parents, children, grandparents, grandchildren, and their spouses) use Form TR-215, the Affidavit of Relationship, instead.
One and the Same Person. The name on the title doesn’t match the owner’s current legal name. A marriage-related name change, or something like “Jim” versus “James.”
Disclaiming Vehicle Ownership. The person named as purchaser on the title assignment is renouncing ownership.
Title or MSO Assignment. A name needs to be added to the title assignment after it was already completed. Everyone who will appear as a purchaser must sign.
Vehicle Non-Use. You’re registering or renewing after the vehicle went unused for a full registration year. A June-expiration vehicle that sat from one June through the next May, for example.
Relatives of a Member of the Military. A family member renews registration for a U.S. military service member. The signer must follow the priority order the form lists, per K.S.A. 8-129.
Antique Model Year License Plate. You’re registering an antique vehicle with a Kansas plate that matches the vehicle’s model year.
Antique Vehicle Bill of Sale. You’re buying or selling an antique vehicle (35 model years old or older) by bill of sale rather than by assigned title. Only vehicles that old can be transferred this way in Kansas. Everything else sold by or purchased from a Kansas resident must move by assigned title.¹

Filling Out Page One

Download TR-12 from the Kansas Department of Revenue website, or pick up a copy at your county treasurer’s motor vehicle office.¹ The form is two pages. Page one is the affidavit. Page two is the bill of sale and antique transfer.

Vehicle Information

At the top of page one, enter the vehicle’s year, make, and VIN. The form labels the VIN field “ID #.” Use the full 17-character VIN from the dashboard plate or the driver-side door jamb. The form does not ask for the model or an odometer reading. Kansas handles mileage disclosure on a separate form, TR-59, when it applies.²

Checking the Right Box

Below the vehicle information, check the box next to the statement matching your situation and fill in any details the form asks for in that section. Every other section stays blank. Doing a gift certification? Leave the name-change and disclaimer sections alone.

Signing the Affidavit

At the bottom of page one, sign and date the Affiant’s Certification. That signature states everything you’ve written is true under penalty of perjury.¹

Filling Out Page Two

Page two doubles as a bill of sale and an antique vehicle transfer document. If your transaction is a sale, enter the purchase price, the date of sale, and the vehicle’s year, make, and VIN again. Both parties then provide printed name, address, city, state, and ZIP code, and both sign. Those signatures certify the stated price is accurate, again under penalty of perjury.¹

Transferring an antique vehicle with no Kansas title in the seller’s name? Complete the “Antique Vehicle Transfer of Ownership” section at the bottom of page two as well. Both the bill of sale portion above and the transfer section below need to be filled in for the assignment to be valid.

Gifts and Sales Tax

The most common TR-12 use is the gift certification, and the tax rule is straightforward. A genuine gift, meaning no payment, trade, or other consideration changed hands, is exempt from Kansas sales tax regardless of the relationship between the parties. If the vehicle carries an active lien and the recipient takes on the obligation to pay it, that counts as consideration and the transfer becomes a taxable sale.

Which form you use depends on who you’re giving the vehicle to. Non-relative gift: check the Vehicle Gift Certification box on TR-12 and have both parties sign. Lineal-relative gift: use Form TR-215 instead. Either way, write “Gift” or “$0” in the purchase price field on the title assignment.

When TR-12’s bill of sale section shows a real purchase price, the county treasurer calculates sales tax from that figure. For private “isolated or occasional” sales, Kansas taxes the actual selling price at the higher of two rates: the rate where the sale took place or the rate at the vehicle’s registration address. If the stated price looks suspiciously low against fair market value, the county treasurer or the Director of Taxation can override it and compute tax from the NADA guide value instead.³

Antique Vehicle Bill of Sale

The 35-model-year threshold is the gatekeeper. Below that age, a Kansas resident’s vehicle must move by assigned title. At or above it, page two of TR-12 works as the transfer document.

One extra step catches people. Antique vehicles 60 model years old or newer still need a Motor Vehicle Examination (Form MVE-1) from the Kansas Highway Patrol before a title can issue. Vehicles older than 60 model years are exempt from the MVE-1 requirement.¹ The VIN inspection costs $20. You can have it done at a Kansas Highway Patrol inspection station or at a designated law enforcement agency such as a county sheriff’s office. KHP-station inspections are billed through the county treasurer when you apply for your title; inspections done elsewhere collect payment on the spot.⁴

Documents to Bring With TR-12

TR-12 almost never travels alone. Depending on your transaction, expect to gather some combination of these:

The existing Kansas certificate of title (or the out-of-state title), with the assignment completed by the seller.
Form TR-720B, the Manual Title Application. This is the actual application telling the state to issue a title in your name.⁵
Proof of insurance, required whenever a registration is issued. The document must show the insurance company name, policy number, owner’s name, coverage dates, and the vehicle’s year, make, and VIN.⁶
Proof of personal property tax payment. Kansas will not accept a registration application without a receipt showing the prior year’s personal property taxes were paid (or that the vehicle was exempt).⁷
Motor Vehicle Examination (MVE-1) for vehicles titled in another state or country, assembled or reconstructed vehicles, and antique vehicles 60 model years old or newer sold by bill of sale.⁸
Odometer Disclosure Statement (TR-59) for vehicles subject to federal odometer disclosure rules. For 2026, vehicles with a model year of 2006 or older are exempt.⁹
Power of Attorney (TR-41) if someone else is handling the transaction on the owner’s behalf. Starting January 1, 2025, a title transaction submitted with a power of attorney must also include a copy of the owner’s driver’s license or state-issued ID.⁵

Where to Submit and What It Costs

Bring the completed TR-12 and every supporting document to the county treasurer’s motor vehicle office in the county where the vehicle will be garaged. Title and registration work cannot be processed at the state office in Topeka. It has to go through your local county office.¹⁰

The Kansas title fee is $10.¹⁰ On top of that, expect applicable sales tax (unless the transfer is an exempt gift), registration fees, and any VIN inspection fees. Applying more than 60 days after the purchase date or bill of sale date adds a $2 late penalty.¹¹

The 60-Day Deadline

Kansas gives you 60 days from the date of purchase, the date the title was assigned, or the date a bill of sale was completed for an antique vehicle to apply for title and registration.¹² During that window you need a temporary tag to drive legally. Temporary 60-day permits are available from the county treasurer’s office. You’ll typically need the assigned title, proof of insurance, and a small permit fee. Some counties allow you to request a temporary tag by email or drop box rather than in person.

The $2 late penalty is the small consequence. The larger one is that operating an unregistered vehicle past the 60-day window puts you on Kansas roads without a legal registration application on file. If you’re waiting on a VIN inspection or chasing down supporting documents, get the temporary tag first and gather everything else on that clock.

1
Kansas Department of Revenue. Kansas Department of Revenue Form TR-12
2
Kansas Department of Revenue. Kansas Department of Revenue Division of Vehicles – Vehicles Forms and Publications
3
Kansas Department of Revenue. Pub. KS-1526 Business Taxes for Motor Vehicle Transactions
4
Kansas Highway Patrol. Regular VIN Inspection
5
Kansas Department of Revenue. TR-720B – Manual Title Application
6
Kansas Department of Revenue. Division of Vehicles – Proof of Insurance
7
Kansas Statutes. Kansas Code 8-173 – Registration of Vehicles; Proof of Payment of Personal Property Taxes or Assessment and Financial Security Required
8
Kansas Highway Patrol. Get a VIN Inspection
9
National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Consumer Alert: Changes to Odometer Disclosure Requirements
10
Kansas Department of Revenue. Kansas Department of Revenue Division of Vehicles – Frequently Asked Questions – Titling a Vehicle
11
Kansas Office of Revisor of Statutes. Kansas Code 8-135 – Transfer of Ownership of Vehicles
12
Kansas Department of Revenue. Vehicle Tags, Titles and Registration