Selling a car in Utah comes down to five things: signing the title over to the buyer, completing a Bill of Sale, providing an odometer disclosure when the vehicle’s age requires it, dealing with any remaining loan, and reporting the sale to the Division of Motor Vehicles so the state knows the car is no longer yours. Miss that last step and you can end up paying for the new owner’s parking tickets, tolls, and registration fees.
Documents to Have Ready
The title is the document that does the actual transferring. The signature lines are on the back, where you enter the buyer’s name, the date of sale, and your signature.
If the title lists more than one owner, look at the wording on the front. When names are joined by “or” or “and/or,” any one co-owner can sign alone. When names are joined by “and” or by no connector at all, every listed owner has to sign.1Utah Legislature. Utah Code 41-1a-702 – Endorsement of Assignment and Warranty of Title – Co-Owners Check that wording before you set a meeting with a buyer.
If your title is lost, damaged, or unreadable, apply for a duplicate on Form TC-123. The fee is $6.00.2Utah State Tax Commission. Utah Application for Duplicate Title Order it early. A missing title discovered the day a buyer shows up will kill the sale.
Bill of Sale
Utah’s official Bill of Sale is Form TC-843.3Utah State Tax Commission. Utah State Tax Commission Form TC-843 – Bill of Sale It records the price, the date, the VIN, and the names, addresses, and signatures of both parties. Fill in every field. The buyer needs it to register the vehicle, and your copy is proof of when the car left your hands and for how much.
Odometer Disclosure
Federal and state law require a written odometer disclosure when the vehicle isn’t old enough to be exempt. Utah uses Form TC-891.4Utah State Tax Commission. Utah TC-891 – Odometer Disclosure Statement You write in the exact mileage at the moment of sale, and both of you sign. A false reading can bring fines and jail time.
The exemption follows model year. Vehicles from model year 2010 and older are exempt. Vehicles from model year 2011 and newer need disclosure until they turn 20 years old.5Federal Register. Odometer Disclosure Requirements For a sale in 2026: 2011 or newer, you need the form; 2010 or older, you don’t.
If You Still Owe Money on the Car
When there’s a loan on the vehicle, the lender holds a lien on the title, and you can’t deliver a clean title until that lien is released. Call the lender first and ask for the payoff figure, which usually differs from your monthly statement balance because of accrued interest.
Most Utah banks and credit unions are electronic lienholders, so once the loan is paid off, their interest drops off the title automatically. If the lienholder’s name is printed on a paper title in your possession, get a written lien release from the lender, then apply to the DMV for a corrected title.6Utah Division of Motor Vehicles. Liens
The simplest path is to pay off the loan before you list the car. If you can’t, meet the buyer at your lender’s branch so the buyer’s payment goes directly to the payoff and the release is processed on the spot. Do not hand over the vehicle before the lien is fully cleared. A buyer who discovers an outstanding lien later has every reason to unwind the deal.
Emissions Certificate
If you or the buyer lives in Davis, Salt Lake, Utah, Weber, or Cache County, a current emissions certificate is required before the title can transfer. Used for a change of ownership, the certificate is valid for two months from the inspection date.7Utah Division of Motor Vehicles. Vehicle Inspections Outside those five counties, you can skip this entirely.
Some vehicles are exempt even inside those counties. Vehicles less than six model years old don’t need an inspection, and neither do vehicles from model year 1995 or older. Electric vehicles are fully exempt.8Alternative Fuels Data Center. Electric Vehicle Emissions Inspections Exemption If your car qualifies for an exemption, the buyer will still need to show proof of it at registration.
Safety inspections aren’t part of a normal private sale. Utah dropped mandatory safety inspections for most private passenger vehicles on January 1, 2018.9Utah Legislature. HB 265 Safety Inspection Amendments Commercial vehicles, buses, taxis, and salvage vehicles still need one, but a standard passenger car being sold privately does not.
Closing the Sale, Plates, and Reporting to the DMV
At the meeting, hand over the signed title, the completed TC-843 Bill of Sale, and the TC-891 odometer statement if the vehicle’s model year requires it. Take payment. Then handle the two things that keep the car’s future problems away from you: the plates and the state notification.
Take Your Plates Off
Utah law requires you to remove the plates unless you’ve specifically agreed the plates go with the car. Once you take them off, you have 20 days to either turn them in to the DMV for destruction or have them reassigned to another vehicle you own.10Utah Legislature. Utah Code 41-1a-701 – Transfer by Owner – Removal of Plates If the plates stay with the vehicle by agreement, the buyer is the one who applies to reassign them.
Report the Sale
Report the sale to the Division of Motor Vehicles as soon as you can. The fastest option is Utah’s Motor Vehicle Portal at mvp.tax.utah.gov, which returns an immediate digital confirmation. You can also report in person at a DMV office.11Utah Division of Motor Vehicles. Responsibilities of Buyer and Seller This step updates the state’s records so you’re no longer the registered owner, which is what protects you if the buyer wrecks the car, racks up tickets, or drags their feet on titling it in their own name.
Save the MVP confirmation with your copy of the Bill of Sale. If a red-light camera ticket shows up in your mail three months later, those two documents are your defense.
Taxes on the Sale
For most private sellers, there’s nothing to report to the IRS. Personal vehicles almost always sell for less than the original purchase price, and losses on personal-use property aren’t deductible.12Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 409, Capital Gains and Losses You don’t file anything; the IRS doesn’t want to hear about it.
The exception is a car sold for more than you paid. That happens now and then with classic cars, limited-production models, and vehicles that spiked in value during supply shortages. The profit is a capital gain and goes on your federal return, taxed at long-term capital gains rates if you owned the car more than a year.13Tax Foundation. 2026 Tax Brackets and Federal Income Tax Rates
Sales tax is the buyer’s problem, not yours. Utah collects it when the buyer registers the vehicle. Buyers do factor that cost into what they’re willing to pay, so expect it to come up in negotiation.
Avoiding Payment Scams
Private car sales draw a familiar set of scams. The most common one is a fake cashier’s check written for more than your asking price, with a request that you wire back the difference. By the time the check bounces, the car and your wired cash are both gone. Unfamiliar digital payment platforms that reverse the payment days later work the same way.
A second scam targets you before the buyer even shows up. Someone contacts you about the car and insists you buy a vehicle history report from a specific website first. The site charges a fee, collects your card information, and the “buyer” disappears.14Federal Trade Commission. Steering Clear of Vehicle History Report Scams If a buyer wants a history report, they can order it themselves.
The safest payment methods are cash counted in person or a wire transfer you’ve confirmed with your bank. If the buyer insists on a cashier’s check, meet at the branch that issued it so a teller can verify the check on the spot. Don’t release the title or the car until the funds have actually cleared into your account.